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This page was last updated on May 14, 2000
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, below is an excerpt from a Christian unity prayer. Please give it prayerful consideration and, if the Spirit leads, please pray this yourself and let us agree together in it, in prayer before the Lord.
CHRISTIAN UNITY PRAYER, PART 12 OF 25: “As Loving, Younger Children to One Another, We Receive Every Believing Child in the Name of the Father’s Love for All His Children”
Dear heavenly Father, we would never hinder any man who has been delivered by you to confess Jesus. Indeed, we thank you, Lord, that all of us have been delivered from the former life to confess before men that Jesus is in our hearts and we know that when we claim Jesus, He claims us back for He said “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32).
Anyone Jesus claims, we would never disallow. When Jesus claims one who appears in our eyes to be a child in the spirit, as yet immature in understanding of the word, nevertheless because he has confessed Jesus, we know he belongs to Jesus, and we receive him as our brother. In love we receive him as we would receive Jesus, for He said “And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me” (Matthew 18:5).
If, Father, you have given us by your great grace to know and understand some truth in the word which our brother has not yet found, then in this thing he is our younger brother in the spirit, and though younger, always cherished. And if we are truly the elder in any thing then we know also the word concerning who shall be greatest in the kingdom of heaven, and we make ourselves small so that he will listen, because no younger brother wants to hear words of correction from any elder, save by the voice of his own sweet Father. We don’t judge or reprimand an elder brother, as if you, dear Father, don’t know how or you aren’t watching. Instead, we go to him as a servant, and as the younger brother, in humility bearing gifts of the words of the Father, taking all care not to offend him by our own words, for Jesus said “But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted” (Matthew 23:11-12), and again, you said “…but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve” (Luke 22:26).
Father, we make ourselves small among our brethren, so that our brother will listen to us, and so that we also may be given to learn. For if our brother has a voice to speak your words, the words of the Bible, to us for our own hearing, then we listen and search the scripture for things in which we may be the younger. We all make of ourselves little children to one another, innocent of malice, so that we all may be instructed by the word and by your Spirit of Truth which speaks the understanding of your word in the heart of each of us, for you said “…Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3-4). We become as little children to each other, in order to follow Jesus in His love, into the hearts of all our brothers and to serve Jesus there as our king by serving all in the word.
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Love in Jesus to All!
We cordially invite any interested Christian to read and pray the rest of this prayer, or just to come and talk with Christians of all backgrounds, on a Christian unity email discussion mailing list. We’d love to hear from you about any Christian topic at all, and especially to discuss any topic related to unity of all Christians, of all Christian denominations and groups. (Btw, non-Christian visitors are welcome too!) You can find info on the email discussion mailing list, which is called the “Christian Unity Conference” (CUC), or info about a combined effort on a larger prayer for Christian unity, part of which is shown above, called the “Christian Unity Prayer Project” (CUPP), by going to the following URL:
http://www.superior.net/~pjrcmr/prayerparts.html