[Awake4HisReturn] Fw: [FaithatWork] Devotion, Thurs. 2/24/11, United in Prayer
From: Stephen C <faithandworklife@yahoo.com>
To: FaithatWork@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thu, February 24, 2011 11:22:50 AM
Subject: [FaithatWork] Devotion, Thurs. 2/24/11, United in Prayer
United in Prayer
By: Jack McCall
John 17:23
... may (they) be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
How can unity possibly have a chance if we continue to side with the enemy? How prejudiced or discriminatory will we admit to being? Would anyone be attracted to us if we were visibly divided but called ourselves followers of Jesus Christ? I don't think so. It's probably one of the biggest reasons people outside of our faith judge it to be hypocritical; they hear us say one thing, but see us live out another.
One week, God invited me to visit and pray with more than a dozen pastors and at least 20 to 30 other people. During these divine appointments, God didn't ask me to waste time debating the differences in church doctrine, critique each particular faith denomination, or inquire about the church each person was attending.
What I found God urging me to do with each opportunity he presented was to build bridges by finding things that were common to our faiths. Prayer is one thing that we all have in common and a gift that God wants to use to bring about more unity. Praying with those we know or even strangers has a way of leveling the playing field. Prayer also neutralizes the greater percentage of situations that could otherwise take a wrong turn.
A fellow employee once shared with our office some bad news that had been given to her by her doctor. Someone asked me if we could pray for her. I said, "Great idea." So, we rounded up half a dozen folks in the office and invited her to join us. There was no survey on who believed what or a debate over the right or wrong prayers to say. There was no structured approach to gathering together. We came together in love. There we were, holding hands in the middle of the office, petitioning God as a united church on behalf of our friend. We prayed openly and spontaneously from the depths of our hearts. In that moment, we experienced the peace and love of God's anointing. God's healing was made available for everyone present. It wasn't just the power of the word God spoken through us, but the love for one another that was generated in the process. In our willingness to be one with God through prayer, we were brought into complete unity with each other.
TAKE THE CHALLENGE: Do we pray about the divisions in our families, churches, communities, and country? How can God empower us to deal with division if we ourselves are not one with Jesus Christ? It is through him, with him and in him that we find unity. Have we allowed our personal opinions to keep us away from worshipping as one body? Does our anger keep us from building bridges for God where none presently exist?
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