Melksham Family of Churches-What is prayer?

Thy Kingdom Come

What is prayer? A quick internet search defines it as:

“A solemn request for help or expression of thanks addressed to God or another deity; a religious service, especially a regular one, at which people gather in order to pray together; an earnest hope or wish”.

Everyone will have their own view of what prayer means to them. We have heard of people who are offended by the idea of someone praying for them, and to Christians this is bewildering. A Christian sees prayer as an essential part of their relationship with Jesus and a merciful God, and knows that prayer and Christian life are inseparable.

We live in a busy world, full of commitments and responsibilities that all jostle for our time and attention, and it is easy to reduce prayer to a ritual of words. For those who are not regular church-goers, or who have little experience of praying, it can be difficult to know where to start! But prayer can be done at any time and in any place, and if your heart wants to be truly open to Christ, there are no right or wrong ways.

All Christians will recognise the words “Thy Kingdom Come” from the Lord’s Prayer, and over the last few years, a global Christian prayer movement has arisen, also called “Thy Kingdom Come”. What started as a UK-based movement in 2016 has now grown to become a world-wide call to prayer undertaken by Christians of all denominations. This year’s event will run from 10th – 20th May.

For more information on this, visit the Thy Kingdom Come website www.thyking domcome.global. The site includes a global map of those who have pledged to pray – just look at the UK! – and there are resources available  to inspire you and help both individual and family prayer, but everyone is also very welcome, indeed encouraged to visit one of our Melksham Churches and join in with our prayers too.

Never underestimate the power of prayer.

S Pearce