A prayer movement which usually centres around mass gatherings has adapted its plans to have a virtual ‘upper room’ for 24/7 prayer and activities to do at home.
The Thy Kingdom Come prayer movement started five years ago in the Anglican church and now encourages Christians from all denominations to pray for their friends and family to know Jesus.
In recent years there have been gatherings in Trafalgar Square in London with music by Matt Redman and The Kingdom Choir but also 2 million people taking part in praying for evangelism worldwide.
This year it will be called ‘Prayer and Care’ and people will be encouraged between 21st and 31st May to pray at home and also practically care for others during the coronavirus pandemic.
Archbishop Justin Welby told Premier: "We keep the emphasis on coming to know Christ. We're praying for our friends, relatives, those we love, to know the love of the one who loves us and who gave His life for us on the cross and rose on the third day.
"It's still around the world but will be in a very different style this year. But God is not limited by these circumstances. I'm amazed at the skills of the team who are working on it but I'm even more awed by the grace of God who reaches out to us regardless of our circumstances and hears our prayer and does not self-isolate himself from us."
To replicate the act of continuous prayer, there is an ‘upper room’ - a virtual prayer room run by the group 24/7 prayer where churches can go online and take part in rolling prayer, inspired by the upper room experience in the book of Acts where the disciples gathered to pray.
Thy Kingdom Come has also provided a prayer journal with Bible readings, featuring an illustration from artist Charlie Mackesy on the cover.
There is a prayer adventure map that families can print which links to an app with activities to do each day based on the daily theme, such as games, animations of Bible stories and short talks from Archbishop Justin Welby, CBeebies’ presenter Gemma Hunt, Guvna B, Eye Can Talk author Jonathan Bryan, author Sally Lloyd Jones and storyteller Philip Glassborow.
The Thy Kingdom Come app has been translated into eight languages and last year was downloaded in almost 100 countries.
