Ascension Day of Prayer

Thursday 9th May 2024

What?

A day of focussed prayer for the coming of the Holy Spirit. There will be

touch-points throughout the day when we can gather to pray together,

but the church will also be open for people to come in by themselves and

pray, guided by some prayer stations.

Although the church building will be open for private prayer for the whole

12 hours, there will also be four opportunities to gather with others to pray

for the coming of God’s Spirit:

10.15am – the Thursday morning service (in the Parish Centre)

1.00pm – a short, structured service of midday prayer

4.00pm – a guided prayer time for families with children

(feel free to bring a packed tea for afterwards)

8.00pm – an evening of praise and prayer for revival

When?

From 10am till 10pm on Thursday 9th May—the day the Church celebrates

Jesus’ ascension to the right hand of the Father, 40 days after Easter.

Why?

Before Jesus ascended into heaven, He commissioned them to be His

witnesses in all the world. But, before that, He told them: “Stay in the city

until you have been clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). If they

were to fulfil their task, they would need the power of the Holy Spirit to

come upon them (Acts 1:8). Luke then tells us that Jesus’ followers “joined

together constantly in prayer” as they waited for the gift of the Holy Spirit.

We believe that the same is true today: that if we are going to be effective

in the work that Jesus calls us to, we need the power of the Holy Spirit to

fill us and equip us. One of our values is that we want to be a church that

prays dependently—i.e. as if everything depends on God. Because it does!

Therefore, we invite you to take part in this day of prayer for the coming of

the Spirit afresh here at Christ Church. Join us to pray, “Come, Holy Spirit!”