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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 19 OF 25: “Give Us Now, Father, for All Christians, of All Christian Denominations and Churches and Congregations and Groups, to Unite in the Name of Jesus, Whom We Know is Your Unending, Total Love to All Your Children”
But we are the people who do know you, our one God. We know, Father, that of all fathers you are the most loving, and of all you are the most powerful for the Bible says “…God is love…” (1 John 4:16), and again “God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth unto God” (Psalms 62:11). We know, Father, that you dote on your children and lavish on us all manner of gifts which we can never begin to earn, for you spoke by the prophet saying “But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD” (Jeremiah 9:24), and again the Bible says “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (James 1:17), and again the Bible says “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8).
We know your unbounded power and love, Lord, and when we see you now work miracles through us, they aren’t wonders to us, because we don’t wonder where the power comes from: we know it is yours, never ours. And the miracles you work through us are not signs to us, but signs to those who don’t yet know you, because we are blessed to know, without signs, that you have all power, and a love for us beyond measure, and the Bible says “blessed are they which have not seen, and yet have believed”.
We pray to you Father, as your obedient children who obey you by working to make ourselves one in your love for all your children, and who know you, our loving Father, as giver of all good things for which we cannot recompense. We pray for the fullness of the power of your Holy Spirit in us, not as an evil generation who seek a sign, but as obedient children who seek all the unmerited gifts you have promised by your absolute grace to those who truly seek to come together in love in the name of Jesus Christ.
Give us now, Father, for all Christians, of all Christian denominations and churches and congregations and groups, to unite in Jesus’ name, because to us Christians, the name of Jesus means God’s unending, total love to all His children. Give us unity in that name and the love it means to us from you, Father. Give us to work together in love to become united in a common understanding of your word. Give us all now to know Father, that if we desire unity in Jesus’ name, we have only to ask you for it, for Jesus said, “…Verily, verily, I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you” (John 16:23). Father, we now come together to ask that we be given unity in the name of Jesus Christ. In Jesus’ name give us all now to know that the only limit to the power which is given to us of the Holy Spirit is the limit to which we ask for it, for Jesus said, “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” (Luke 11:13). We therefore come together in prayer in the name of Jesus Christ to ask, Father, that the power of the Holy Spirit be given to us to the full extent of your goodness to your children, and your love for your children, and your grace to your children, all of which we know have no limit. The goodness of you, our loving Father, is without bound and because of this we know you now give us the Holy Spirit with power that is far more than sufficient to unite us, and far more than enough to work all signs and wonders in order to show the world that we, who love both Jesus and all our brethren, are indeed the children of God, whose hearts are perfected in your love for all of us. And the Bible says, “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him…” (2 Chronicles 16:9).
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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