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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 4 OF 25: “We Accept Jesus in One Another, and Crucify the Carnal Self of Division”
Each of us confesses before men and in prayer to you, Father, that Jesus is the Christ come in the flesh, the Son of God who died for our sins, was then resurrected, and who gives of his Spirit to live in each of us, for the Bible says “Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God” (1 John 4:15), and again “hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit” (1 John 4:13). We hear and believe each other’s confession of Jesus, and with love in Him we accept each other as sisters and brothers, for the Bible says, “We are of God; he that knoweth God heareth us…” (1 John 4:6), and again “…God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him” (1 John 4:16), and again the Bible says, “…that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost” (1 Corinthians 12:3). Together we confess, “…Jesus Christ is come in the flesh…” (1 John 4:2) because we have accepted the Spirit of Jesus in all of us, in each of ourselves, and in all other members of the body of Christ. In Jesus our flesh is made dead to past sin, and alive with the Spirit in righteousness.
While there is life in our physical bodies and our flesh still breathes the air of this world, yet we are not of this world, for we give over our whole hearts to be filled by the love of Jesus for all His brethren, in every Christian denomination and group. In the name of Jesus we repent of all fleshly sins and unrighteousness, including the failure to love all our Christian sisters and brothers more than ourselves. Together in the love of Jesus for all of us in Christ, we are “…not carnal…” anymore, nor do we “…walk as men…” (1 Corinthians 3:3), for each of us has crucified the old, carnal man who once we were; and with that corrupting corpse, put to rest the old envying, strife, and divisions among ourselves. We, in the body of Christ, now live to serve the Holy Spirit which by grace is in us, and we already have part in the life eternal together for we all know in our hearts Jesus, Son of the living God, the Son who was given power over all flesh and became firstborn among many brethren to eternal life, for He prayed “As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent” (John 17:2-3).
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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