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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 6 OF 25: “We Pray for Full Joy in Unity, Abiding Together in the Hearts of All Our Brethren, of Every Christian Denomination and Group”
We gladly give up the former carnal life, so poor in spirit, which we had in this world before we knew Jesus and His words, and trade it for the life of joy together in His kingdom, which we now have and keep forever for He said, “He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal” (John 12:25), and He said “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3).
We cast off the old life and our spirits now work together to serve Jesus, and to follow Him in the spirit and the word to all the places where He is now and forever, for He said “If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be” (John 12:26). We want to serve Jesus, and follow Him to be where He is now and where He’s always been from the foundation of the world, Father: namely, in your love for your children, for Jesus prayed, “Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world” (John 17:24).
In order to serve Jesus, and see His glory, we work together to be where He is, and we know where to find Him, for we find Jesus abiding in the hearts of all our brethren, abiding there with God’s word, and with God’s love for all His children (for God is love), and because the Bible says, “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” (1 John 4:16), and again, “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us…” (1 John 4:10).
We follow Jesus who we know is in our own hearts, and it gives each of us great joy in his presence there. And we know Jesus is also in the hearts of all our brethren, of every Christian denomination and group. So we follow Jesus into the hearts of all our brothers for the full joy of abiding there in the His presence, everywhere He is, in the hearts of every Christian, for Jesus said, “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full” (John 15:11), and the Bible says, “Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Psalms 16:11). In order to abide in the love in which Jesus died for His own brethren, we obey Him in all things, including His commandment to love our brethren by laying down our own lives for them, for Jesus said “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love,” (John 15:10), and again, “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you” (John 15:12). Jesus is one with you, Father, and you are truly both “…Our Father which art in heaven…” (Matthew 6:9) and also our Father which is in the hearts of all those who keep the words of Jesus, for He said “…If a man love me he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him” (John 14:23).
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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