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Devotion

Praying for Unity
  |  May 23, 2022
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“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. (John 17:20-23)

The prayers of Jesus give us a pattern for our prayers while they reveal his heart - perhaps because they reveal his heart. Jesus prays here for the unity of those who believe in him - for the unity of the church. So our hearts should be toward the unity of God’s people - at Calvary and throughout the wider church world. Even with Christians we disagree with (especially with Christians we disagree with). As the church is in complete unity (not agreement on all things), Jesus says “the world will know that you sent me and have them them een as you h ave loved me.” The truth of the gospel and the loving appeal of the church is hindered with disunity. We should desire unity in the church because Jesus did.

Unity is the heart of Jesus and should be our heart, so we should pray for the unity of the church. This means that God can work among us to bring us together (what we are praying for), if we let him. We should pray for the unity of the church because Jesus did. We should pray for the unity of the church because it is a message (one way or the other) to the world around us. Of course, that implies we should act toward the unity of the church - as much as it is up to us to do so.

Action: First, pray for the unity of the church this week. Second, takes steps toward that unity - seek reconciliation with a brother or sister in the faith, refrain from social media ‘hot takes’ about Christians, perhaps emphasize common ground. Or, ask God to help you find what your step toward unity should be.