Colossians 3:12-15
“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.”
There are many reasons why we fast as a church family. Many of us have deep needs we are contending for. Some of us need healing, others are interceding for a child. There may be a relationship you desire to see restored or a financial need you are lifting up in prayer. When we come together collectively as a family, we can link arms together and combine our faith to lift one another up. It is an act of unity in Christ where we come into agreement with God’s will for each situation. And while our primary reason for fasting may be for God to move in a specific circumstance, God sometimes has a bigger plan in mind.
One of the most beautiful pictures of unity in the body is when we come together corporately to worship. We are all singing the same words together in agreement in those moments. We may not all express ourselves the same way, some may be quietly sitting in their chair allowing the words to penetrate their heart, another may be standing with arms raised singing at the top of their lungs, yet another is dancing before the Lord, and someone else may be kneeling and weeping. All glorify God, all are acts of worship, and all are expressed differently. Unified. God delights in our unity and yet he doesn’t expect us to all be the same. In fact, we can completely disagree with someone and still be unified with them. How we handle our differences is important. Do we use differences against one another to cause division or do we use it as an opportunity to see things from a different perspective and create room for God to be expressed through them in a different way than he does in you?
Division is greatly at work in our culture. We are polarized by our political views, our social ideologies, and our religious preferences. What is particularly heartbreaking, is the way those within the body of Christ lash out at one another. In today’s culture, nothing is off-limits for offense and division. Whether those opinions are warranted or not, how we interact with one another is a witness to the world for Jesus. His desire is that we walk in unity as believers. While unity doesn’t always mean agreement, and while it can be messy, when we walk in biblical relationship with one another, we can accomplish far more together. Together is a fuller picture of the image of God. Together brings a greater variety of spiritual gifts. Together draws the presence of God. You have something the body of Christ needs that no one else carries exactly the way you do, and so does each person who is a Christ follower. No one is perfect. No one interprets or executes scripture perfectly. 1 Corinthians 13:9 says, “ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.” We are all works in progress, all flawed in some way, yet all gloriously designed and gifted to work together to bear good fruit for God’s purposes. We need one another.
As we quickly approach the Worship Prayer and Healing Gathering, let us walk in humility and contend together for unity in our church. Let us ask the Lord for his unifying strategies so we can link arms in faith together, pray for one another, encourage one another, and be a shining example to our community of what it looks like to extend grace, love, and mercy to those who are like us and those who are not.
Listening Prayer:
Holy Spirit, how have I contributed to division in my church and my community? How do you want me to operate differently as a representative of you? How do you want me to interact with people who believe and think differently than I do? Reveal to me the “plank” in my own eye before I call out the “speck” in another’s. Write down what the Holy Spirit reveals and pray as he directs.
Prayer:
Holy Spirit, we need your help. We repent for all the ways we have been critical of one another and the world around us. We repent that we have contributed to division in the church and division in our community. We repent that we have been selfish, self-seeking, and same-seeking. We come humbly before you and ask you to forgive us. Forgive us for judging one another. Forgive us for our unrighteous anger and hatred. Forgive us for making personal attacks on those who don’t align with us. We break agreement with all ungodly division and the divisive tactics of the enemy. We renounce division and command all division to leave our church family now, in Jesus’ name. Holy Spirit, we invite you to do a mighty work in our hearts both individually and collectively. Help us to live, speak, and respond from your heart. Lord, we want to be a good representative of you. We desire to bring healing and disperse your love. We want to see people come to know you and be transformed through encountering you. We desire to see those you love through your perspective. Show us how to pray with your heart, your mind, your agenda. Thank you that in you, unity is attainable in you. Lord, heal our church and heal our community. May we be carriers of your presence and may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven through us. As we approach WPHG, Holy Spirit, we ask for a unified heart to see people healed, delivered, and set free. Thank you that you have an abundance of power, an infinite supply of miracles, and you have every strategy and resource to fix every problem and heal every disease. In unity, we come into agreement with your perfect plan for each situation and each need. We recognize that we have all fallen short of your glory and none of us is deserving apart from your beautiful grace. Lord, in your mercy, we ask that each need be met, each sickness healed, each chain of bondage broken. Lord, we believe you can do it. We ask that it be done. In the matchless name of Jesus, Amen.
Resource: Bible Verses on Unity
1 Corinthians 1:10
“I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.”
2 Corinthians 2:11
“Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.”
John 13:34-35
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Philippians 2:1-4
“So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
Psalm 133:1
“Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!”