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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 17 OF 25: “We Come Together to Be Made Perfect in One, to the End of our Scattering, as God’s Flock and God’s Children Making Peace in Jesus”
We now come together, to the righteousness and strength of Jesus, and we pray, Father, that you would bring the multitude of Christian denominations and groups together in your love for all your children, in our love for all our siblings. We look at all the divisions we have made among ourselves, between brethren, Lord, and we wonder how we ever became so scattered?
We read in the Bible where you answer us to say that it first began when Jesus let Himself be crucified, for He said “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep” (John 10:11-12). Then just prior to His crucifixion Jesus said, “…All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered abroad” (Matthew 26:31), and again “Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:32-33). And also, the Bible says “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful” (Colossians 3:15).
We understand, Father, that the scattering of us who are your flock and your children, first began after Jesus was crucified, when the true shepherd who owns the flock was nowhere to be seen, and others in charge, somehow, sometime, let the wolf come in and scatter us. We don’t ask exactly when, or which hirelings to blame for running off, Lord. We don’t know and we don’t care, for the petty strife it would cause. Now we just give thanks that we are called in one body to the peace that only Jesus, the one shepherd and door, can give us. Since we have already begun and now continue to work together to unite in Jesus, we ask when will our unity be made complete?
Only you know the day and the hour, Father, but in answer seen now only in part, the Holy Spirit gave the prophet Daniel to tell us of the wonders of the last days, how that a king of wickedness will come “…and magnify himself above every god…” (Daniel 11:36), and some of us of understanding will fall to be tried, and purged, and made white. And although a time of great trouble and tribulation comes, nevertheless, at least in the end if not before, we will all certainly be delivered, “…every one that shall be written in the book…” (Daniel 12:1). We read, that at the finish of these days, you will unite us completely, that the scattering of our power will certainly be ended and accomplished in full unity, for the Bible says, “…and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished” (Daniel 12:7).
We are your holy people, Father, made holy together only in Holy Jesus, and we know that your power in us will be made completely full at the end of the tribulation when we have been made into the whole and perfect body of Christ. We shall be like Him, perfected as one together in God’s love for all His children, because the Bible says, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). “And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. ¶ Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world” (1 John: 16-17). We have already begun to unite in Jesus, together with all our sisters and brothers in all Christian denominations and groups. And we know, Father, you now give us all the power we need to do your will in making peace among ourselves to become one in Jesus, for the Bible says “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (John 1:12), and Jesus told us, “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God” (Matthew 5:9), and again the Bible says “In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. For this is the message that ye have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another” (1 John 3:10-11).
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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