- 9am – Tuesday, online only
- 2/28/24 – Learning Lab for Intercessory Prayer 6pm, 12 Bassett Street PVD
- 2/28/24 – Heart Worship & Prayer Service 7pm, 12 Bassett Street PVD
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
- Ephesians 4:1-6
PRAYER GUIDE
The Aposle Paul has just spent the past three chapters telling the Ephesian church who they are in the Messiah Jesus. Three chapters, rooting their identity in the love and calling of God, who has raised them from death to life and lavished his grace on them, adopting them and predestining them to be conformed to the image of His Son.
Now Paul shifts from the indicative to the imperative mood for the first time in this letter. Now, in chapter 4, he tells the Ephesians how they are to live because of their identity and calling. As it turns out, a life worthy of the calling of Jesus is one of humility and gentleness. Jesus, we learn in Matthew 11 is “gentle and humble in heart.” Paul calls us to be like him. A life worthy of the calling of Jesus is a life of patience…a life in which we “bear with one another in love.”
Paul is under no illusion that life in any kind of human community is easy. He knows that the closer the community, the easier it is for us to become angry, harsh, or bitter with each other. But the hallmark and calling card of God’s Kingdom community is the Spirit of Jesus, which empowers his followers to live with Jesus’ patience, love, humility, and gentleness in a world full of anger, bitterness, strife, posturing, and competition.
In a world divided by race, class, politics, gender, geography, nationality, and nearly every other human category that exists…the church exists to put on display the manifold wisdom of God to the rulers and powers and authorities, by gathering together male and female, slave and free, Jew and Gentile, people from every tribe, nation, and tongue into an other-worldly community smack dab in the middle of this divided world as a sign post of the age to come.
But as Paul reminds us in the verses above, we must live into this calling. We must recognize the importance of our unity. And prioritize it. Paul therefore commands us to “make every effort,” to keep the “unity of the Spirit.” Because after all, there is only one church, one faith, one Lord, one baptism. Our job is to make this reality visible on the earth. It is our unity, hard-fought, gained through prayer, through grace and truth conversations, through renouncing our own way, our own ego, and the ways of the world, that will stand as the brightest signal to the world that Jesus is Lord of the world and His Kingdom is coming.
As we consider past revivals, some of the first levers the devil pulls (and unfortunately, often the only ones he has to) to disrupt or derail awakenings and revivals are strategies to undermine the unity of God’s people. The First Great Awakening was halted because of disunity in the clergy. The Azusa Street Revival was undermined by factions. If indeed, we are due for revival, one of the most important things we can do to prepare and safeguard its longevity is to guard the unity of the church. Unity does not mean the avoidance of conflict or the absence of hard conversations. But it means we engage issues as they come up prayerfully, humbly, and following Jesus’ instructions in Matthew 18. It means we repent of bitterness and forgive others, as we have been forgiven. And it means we run from slander and gossip, dealing graciously and directly with those with whom we have conflict, inviting Jesus’ Spirit to bring reconciliation.
PRAYER PROMPTS
- Pray for the unity of the church…in your church but also unity across local churches and denominations.
- Pray that churches will collaborate and partner together as the Spirit leads.
- Pray for conflicts to be resolved in a holy way that glorifies God
- Pray for God to uproot bitterness, starting in our own hearts.
- Pray for your “enemies,” those who have hurt you or others – that they would repent and seek reconciliation.
- Pray for forgiveness, starting with yourself and in your heart towards those who have wronged you.
- Pray for those who are proud and arrogant to be humbled in the church.
- Pray for the Church’s witness to a watching, divided world.
In Our Time 