Christians are being urged to write their own prayers to celebrate God's love during the Thy Kingdom Come global prayer event.

They are then being asked to post them on social media such as Twitter and Facebook.

The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, has described how his own conversion as a child inspires him even now to write prayers.

'I encountered Jesus Christ at the age of 10 and he gave me one of his greatest gifts, the gift of joy,' he says in a video.

'That joy has made me the sort of person I am, constantly wanting to tell other people about his love, his forgiveness and his greatest gift of life. Why not try the same thing? Ask him to give you the gift of joy. You will be so bubbling with his love that you can't help but tell others about him.'

Speaking in his chapel at Bishopthorpe, York he says: 'I wrote this special prayer at Holy Island, Lindisfarne, preparing for my pilgrimage of walking around the diocese of York, for six months.'

A prayer in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, it reads:

Father in heaven, 
mould me into Christlikeness;
and stir up in me,
the fire of your love.
Holy Spirit,
fill me with your power;
and help me to tell of the love
and salvation in Jesus of Nazareth.
Lord Jesus Christ,
Son of the Father,
renew my friendship in you;
and help me to serve you
with a quiet mind and a burning spirit.
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
please keep me
In the joy, simplicity,
and compassion
of your holy gospel. Amen 

Thy Kingdom Come is a global prayer movement in which Christians around the world are invited to pray between Ascension and Pentecost for more people to come to know Jesus Christ. It started out as an invitation from the Archbishops of Canterbury and York in 2016 to the Church of England and has grown into an international and ecumenical call to prayer.

Churches and pastors worldwide are running prayer events, such as 24-7 prayer, prayer stations and prayer walks across the UK and in other parts of the world;

The hope is that people will be 'empowered through prayer by the Holy Spirit, finding new confidence to be witnesses for Jesus Christ,' organisers say.