Prayer For Unity as One

A Cry for Unity

No one will dispute that the United States is in trouble. Tension, rancor, and disunity abound between people, in government, and in the Church.

In light of this, it is timely that Unity is the theme of the National Day of Prayer on Thursday, May 3. We encourage you and your friends to begin today to use these prayer points and prayers and join millions of other believers who are praying for unity in our nation.

1. Pray for unity in America.

“Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3).

The present spiritual crisis in America is calling us to pray for and take all necessary actions to come together as a nation.

• God is the only One who can bring unity, harmony, and oneness in America; therefore, we look only to Him in prayer.
• Call upon God to empower us to make every effort to live in unity, call for unity, and forward unity in America continually.

Father, we come before You now and cry out for America. We are in desperate need of peace in our nation. We humbly ask that You bring that bond of peace Your Word speaks of. Equip and encourage us as believers to keep the unity of the Spirit. May believers be a model of unity in these troubling days. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

1. Pray for unity in the Church in America.

“Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, that there be no division among you, and that you be united with the same understanding and the same conviction” (1 Cor. 1:10, hcsb).

God is calling His Church in America to unify upon the authority of the Bible and the certainty of Jesus Christ, the only Savior of the world.

• Ask God for thousands of local churches to unify as one body of Christ, agreeing together that Jesus Christ is our greatest need in America.
• Call upon God for Jesus’ Church in America to walk in unity, harmony, and oneness, so His Church would personify, call, and lead America to unity.

Lord Jesus, the Church is Your bride. We pray today that You will unify us in purpose, understanding, and conviction! We pray against division among us. We ask that You help us to recognize we are brothers and sisters in Christ. May Your Church in America once again be a spiritual force that can change this nation—and the world! In Jesus’ name, Amen.

1. Pray for unity in families, workplaces, communities, and cities in America.

“Also, the power of God was at work in Judah to unite them to carry out the command of the king and his officials by the word of the Lord” (2 Chron. 30:12, hcsb).

God’s power upon us is the only source to unite our families, workplaces, communities, and cities in America.

• Call families, workplaces, communities, and cities to look to our only King, Jesus Christ, who is not only the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, but also the Prince of Peace who can unify us.
• Pray for America’s families, workplaces, communities, and cities. God’s power is the spiritual energy that leads to forgiveness, reconciliation, healing, and unity.

Father, we pray for unity in our families, in our workplaces, and in our communities. Your power at work in us is the only way we can experience true unity. May we look to You, Lord Jesus, the Prince of Peace, as the Giver of all we need to be agents of unity in our spheres of influence. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

1. Pray for unity among all ethnicities and people in America.

“For He is our peace, who made both groups one and tore down the dividing wall of hostility” (Eph. 2:14, hcsb).

Since each of us is made in the image of God, we each bear His image regardless of the color of our skin or the uniqueness of our ethnicity.

• Through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, He has torn down the wall of division among all ethnicities and people.
• In God alone, we unify and live in peace with one another; standing as one people against all racial and ethnic division, denouncing it as sin and not God’s will for us.

Lord Jesus, You are our peace. You tore down the dividing wall between Jew and Greek. We need You now to tear down that dividing wall between races in our nation.

Father, we repent of this heinous sin that has so stained Your Church in this nation. Through Your work on the cross, You tore down that dividing wall.

Show us how to walk through the wall’s rubble and reach out to, be in relationship with, and love our brothers and sisters of a different ethnicity. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

1. Pray for unity that we will agree clearly, unite visibly, and pray extraordinarily for the next Great Spiritual Awakening in America.

“All these were continually united in prayer” (Acts 1:14, hcsb).

Preceding the epic movement of God on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, Jesus’ followers were continually united in prayer together.

• Convict the Church in America to wake up spiritually, agree clearly, unite visibly, and pray extraordinarily for the next Great Spiritual Awakening in America to occur in our generation.
• Call upon God to bring spiritual awakening now in America, shaping the future of America, just as the Great Spiritual Awakenings in our history have shaped our spiritual heritage as a nation.

Father, bring revival to Your Church and spiritual awakening to the people of our nation! Pour out Your Spirit afresh on believers of all stripes and streams. I don’t believe You are done with the United States. But only a fresh outpouring from You can change America.

Only a fresh outpouring from You can purify the Church. Only a fresh outpouring from You can bring Your transforming power into the hearts and lives of people—taking them from darkness to Your light.

Raise up an army of believers who will cry out to You for such a revival and spiritual awakening! I pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen. 

2018 Prayer for America

Note: This prayer is designed to be prayed in unison at each prayer gathering on the National Day of Prayer.

Our Dear Heavenly Father, while we come to You in complete humility, we also come to You with boldness in the authoritative name of Your One and Only Son, Jesus Christ, who is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. In Jesus’ name, fill us now with Your Holy Spirit and lead us as we pray in Jesus’ name for America.

Oh God, we are burdened for our nation today. We turn from the sins that we have committed against your Word and your Name. We turn away from our contentious words and ways toward one another that has led us to division and polarization.

We turn away from our disrespect and lack of dignity toward each other, and we turn away from our continual devaluation of all human life from the womb until death in this world. We also turn away from and refuse to participate in skepticism, criticism, and cynicism in our nation.

Lord, in this critical hour in our nation, we pray for unity in America. Only You can bring unity, harmony, and oneness in America. As your Word calls us in Ephesians 4:3, “Making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace”, we ask You to empower us to make every effort to live in unity, to call for unity, and to forward unity in America continually.

We pray for the churches in America to unify in Jesus Christ and to pray as one unified spiritual family for America. May Your Church pray for America passionately, perpetually, privately, and publicly.

We pray for God’s power to unify families, workplaces, communities, and cities in America. By Your Spirit, lead us to forgiveness, reconciliation, healing, and unity.

We pray for people of all ethnicities and races in America to come together as one, living in peace and unity together. Oh Lord, because each of us is created in Your image, please give us the courage to stand against all racial and ethnic division, denouncing it as evil and sinful, while simultaneously coming together in unity with all persons knowing this is God’s will for us.

We pray in unity for the security of our nation. We ask You to preserve the United States of America from the forces of evil that are threatening our lives and our future. God, please guard all persons in public and private settings from anyone or anything that desires to harm us or take our lives. Our future is in Your hands.

We agree clearly, unite visibly, and pray extraordinarily for the next Great Spiritual Awakening in America. Oh Lord, wake up Your church spiritually and convict Your people to agree clearly, unite visibly, and pray extraordinarily until the next Great Spiritual Awakening occurs in our generation.

Oh God, we stand together upon Your words in Psalm 133:1, “How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony.” Through Jesus’ name and by the Holy Spirit’s power, we pray for all Americans to unify and to live together in unity.

Dr Ronnie Floyd, President, National Day of Prayer Task Force; Senior Pastor, Cross Church.

Resources for National Day of Prayer

If you are leading or attending an event on the National Day of Prayer, and want to promote the Unity theme, we recommend checking out these resources:

Источник: //www.prayerleader.com/a-cry-for-unity/

The Story of the “Prayer for Protection”

The “Prayer for Protection” is known the world over, and Unity is often asked how it came into existence. James Dillet Freeman explained once in his Unity Magazine column, “Life Is a Wonder”:

Let me tell you how I wrote Unity's “Prayer for Protection.”

When World War II was raging in Europe, we received many letters and phone calls from people caught in the conflict, but for a long time we did not have a prayer for protection that we were all satisfied with. This is how one came.

Silent Unity has always written a special Christmas Prayer Service just for Silent Unity workers. And in 1940 I was asked to prepare this service. We had never before needed a prayer for protection, but in 1940 we needed one, so I wrote one to go with the Christmas service. What I wrote was a little four-line verse:

“The light of Christ directs me; The love of Christ enfolds me; The power of Christ protects me; The presence of Christ upholds me.”

I had hardly finished this Christmas service before Silent Unity came to me again and asked me to write a protection pamphlet that we could send to people, so I did. It was called His Protecting Spirit.

A Prayer for Wartime

They told me they wanted affirmative prayers for protection on the back page. Among these was the verse from the 23rd Psalm: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me” (Ps. 23:4 KJV).

One of the young women who worked in Silent Unity was reading my manuscript as I wrote it, and as she finished it, she came up to me and said: “Jim, if I were a woman in England and they were dropping bombs on my roof, or if I were a soldier and someone was pointing a loaded gun at me, I wouldn't want to feel I was walking through the valley of the shadow of death. Can't you do better than that?”

I thought, You want me to do better than the 23rd Psalm? You have to be your mind. But rolling around in the back of my mind was the little verse I had written as a prayer for protection at Christmas.

How the “Prayer for Protection” Was Written

I had written it just for Silent Unity, but now it came rolling up to the front of my mind and demanded that I pay attention to it. It enticed me to see what I could make of it.

First I took the rhymes from it. I felt it would be more universally received if it was not a rhyme. Then I changed Christ to God. It had been Christ because it was a Christmas prayer, but I felt if we were going to send it around the world, God might be more acceptable to more people. So the little prayer became:

“The light of God surrounds me, The love of God enfolds me, The power of God protects me, The presence of God watches over me.”

That is the way we first printed it. Then a line came to me that I felt would make the prayer even more powerful. The line was:

“Wherever I am, God is.”

I added it as the fifth line. The “Prayer for Protection” first appeared as a four-lined prayer in 1941, but when we reprinted it in 1943, it appeared in the form it has had ever since.

“The light of God surrounds me; The love of God enfolds me; The power of God protects me; The presence of God watches over me. Wherever I am, God is!”

God’s Message of Love

The “Prayer for Protection” came through change after change, not at all “I Am There,” when I felt that God spoke those words to me.

But what is the word of God? It is possible that no prayer Unity has ever printed has reached so many people as the “Prayer for Protection,” for not only has Unity printed it over and over, but almost every Unity church uses it to conclude its services. “I Am There,” it was carried to the moon.

On the very first flight to the moon, on Apollo 11, astronaut Col. Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin carried the Unity “Prayer for Protection” with him. He did not know me or Unity.

It has appeared in hundreds of different publications that have no connection with Unity, and millions of people have carried it around on cards that fit into their pocketbooks, pockets, and billfolds. It has been translated into many languages. Sometimes it appears with me as the author. Often no author is given. Sometimes other people are named as the author.

It has been changed and changed again before it reached the form that it now has that best meets people's needs. This prayer is the product of much thought and concentration and of a mind that was willing to stay open to receive divine inspiration.

I think Unity's “Prayer for Protection” is as much God's word as “I Am There” is. Sometimes God speaks to us when we don't even know it is God.

I think God has many ways of speaking to us and not only in words that we hear with our ears. I think God speaks to our hearts and minds, and sometimes God's message has nothing to do with words. God is love and intelligence and life.

Источник: //www.unity.org/resources/articles/prayer-protection

Answering Jesus’ Prayer for Unity

Editor’s note: This is the seventh piece in our series on Christian Unity.

As a teenager reading the biography of D. L. Moody, I was highly influenced by a statement Moody’s friend Henry Varley made to the young evangelist: “The world has yet to see what God can do with a man fully consecrated to Him.

” As a boy, I said, “I want to be that person.” Now at 74, I still do! But even more, I want the world to see what God can do with a people who truly become disciples — His church on this earth, totally surrendered and committed to becoming an answer to Jesus’ prayers.

Believers living in supernatural unity.

Earlier in The Stream’s #ChristianUnity series I shared how God has led me to meet with many diverse Christian leaders who religious tradition and the opinions of others had taught me to avoid. During these times of sharing and seeking together to know God’s heart, I have never disregarded or knowingly compromised God’s Word — and I never will.

As a result, I have experienced firsthand the powerful truth of the psalmist, “How good and pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity” (Psalm 133:1). During these exchanges, I have many times felt what I perceived as the Father’s pleasure just as Betty and I experienced it when we watched our three children when they were young playing together in joyful harmony.

The same has been true with our eleven grandchildren.

God’s Children in Harmony

What Jesus prayed for His followers is perhaps what seems to many as the impossible dream — “that they may be perfected in unity” (John 17:23).

Knowing what I know about myself, other Christians, and especially ministers, this is the most difficult to see answered.

If Jesus prayed it, however, it is more important than words alone can describe and obviously will be continually assaulted by the powers and principalities of darkness.

The thought of believers being perfected in unity and love — truly becoming a family of faith with hearts in harmony with our Father in heaven — causes the forces of hell to tremble. The church standing on this foundation will overpower the realm of darkness, deception and destruction, setting free all captives who respond to the kingdom reality Jesus prayed for.

Hope, Even When God’s Children are Split

However, God’s children are split. Not merely on denominational lines, but on whether to hold firm to or abandon God’s timeless truths.

When we look at God’s divided family, we need to consider the parable Jesus shared concerning the father in the story of the prodigal son. This boy took from his father money that he had not earned or helped produce. He left the father’s presence, moved his shelter, and wasted everything the father had provided and entrusted to him.

He damaged the family’s reputation with no regard for it, squandered his wealth in riotous living, and found himself in want. He was in such desperate need that of all things, this Jewish son had to live in a pigpen feeding unclean animals and eating what they ate.

What was the response of the father concerning his son’s rebellion? He certainly didn’t condone it. He didn’t approve of it or continue to enable it. He didn’t act as the federal government often does by funding him while in rebellion in order to make him more comfortable. He prayed continually for the son.

He cared deeply for him. The father’s love never diminished and he looked with a longing in his heart every day for that boy to return to the shelter, shadow and security of the father’s house.

Sure enough, the day came, and he rejoiced to see his son come home! In love he embraced him, covered him and confirmed his sonship.

This should be the attitude of every Christian toward other believers even when they are defeated by sin or turn from the Truth.

While not approving their actions, we continually pray for and long for a repentant heart leading to a return to the watch care of the Shepherd.

In order for us to be perfected in the unity Jesus prayed for, we must have the love of our heavenly Father for one another. This is absolutely crucial.

Becoming Perfected in Unity

Consider the part of Jesus’ prayer that we be one with the Father as He is (John 17:22). Think about that a moment. Jesus was continually seeking to do only those things that please the Father. He moved as God directed His steps. He would separate Himself from the sounds of the world to know clearly the Father’s mind and be able to live in sync with His heart.

Can we not do the same?

Would you join me seeking to be one with the Father, perfected in unity so the world will know we are His disciples because of our love for Him, for one another, and for a world in darkness and pain? I may not know you personally, but I love you and I ask you to join with me seeking to be an answer to Jesus’ prayers so that the world may behold the glory of the Father and the Son in our lives! It is the manifestation of God’s love and our supernatural unity that can transform our nation’s leaders and citizens.

Источник: //stream.org/answering-jesus-prayer-unity/

5 Prayers For Church Unity

Here are five prayers that may help you pray for church unity.

Prayer for Unity in the Community

Righteous Father,

You know that we are called into a community of believers who are to have one mind, and that is to glorify You and to make disciples of all nations, even if we’re only able to reach those in our own community.

We realized that we cannot possibly have unity in our local community, the church, unless Your Spirit has His way with us. Until we are gathered together with one mind, we cannot be as effective as a church as we can be.

Until You send Your Spirit, our carnal natures may try to dictate what we think we should do, but please Father, help us to focus on the mission that You have for each one of us, and as one body, we can do more when we are working together and not placing our own opinions above those of others, than when we work alone.

Truly, we know we must be striving to live a holy life and to make Jesus Christ the center of our lives, and only then can we hope to do anything for His glory, and not ours, and in the mighty name of Jesus Christ I pray, Amen.

Prayer for One Purpose

Great God in heaven,

please help our church that we have one purpose in life and that is to glorify You and Your Great Son, Jesus Christ.

Nothing else matters because You have said in Your Word that we will not glorify You in our lives if we are not striving to live in obedience to You, and to love one another, which is what we need to do to show the world that our love for one another is how they will know that we are truly Jesus’ disciples (John 13:35).

You have testified in Your Word that “everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made” (Isaiah 43:7), should be striving to bring You glory and to not rob You of glory for things that we do and ascribe these works to ourselves.

We must realize that we have nothing that we did not receive from You Lord (1 Cor 4:4), so if we boast, let our church boast only in You for all the marvelous things You have done for us, and that is our prayer and it is in the name of and for the glory of Jesus Christ, in Whose name we pray, Amen.

Prayer for Oneness of Mind

Blessed Father God,

You are so good to us, even though none of us deserve Your goodness (Rom 3:10-12), and that You alone are good, and so let us join together in one mind for one express purpose and that is to proclaim Your goodness to those who do not yet know You. Oh, God, that they would know You so that You might extend Your grace to them (James 4:6) that they might be saved.

Please help us take heed to Jesus’ Words in praying that we might be one, praying “Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one” (John 17:11), and that should be our prayer too Father.

Let us join hands and hearts in this single purpose for us to all have one mind and a mind that is focused on You for Your work that You have prepared beforehand for us to do (Eph 2:10), and it is for this that we pray in the precious name of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

Prayer for Mission

Holy God, most reverenced above all,

Please help us to focus on the mission You have given us all, and that mission is to reach the lost and to make disciples of all with whom we come into contact, and to teach them the same things that You taught Your disciples (Matt 28:19-20) and by their writings in Your Word, that we may be taught these very same things.

Oh Lord, Your Word stands forever, so let us put feet on our faith in doing what You have commanded us to do, and that is to help the poor, the widows and orphans (James 1:27), but also to visit the sick and those in prison, and to welcome into the family those who are strangers among us (Matt 25:34-35), because we understand that what we do for the least of these, we are really doing it for You (Matt 25:40), but also what we don’t do for others, we are not doing for You Lord (Matt 25:45). I know You take these marching orders seriously, so let us invest our lives into doing what You have commanded us to do, but always doing it for Your glory and not ours, and in the precious name of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, Amen.

Prayer for the Body

God, my Father,

You have placed each one of us in the Body of Christ, the church, as it has pleased You and not us. Help us to recognize that it is You Who have organized Your church and have placed each one of us exactly where we need to be to do Your work and for Your glory.

If we can respect those who some might consider to be in a less-than-honorable position, then we can understand that even those who seem to be less in the body are actually those who are more honorable in Your eyes, just as Paul said that the “parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty” (1st Cor 12:23). We know that You have no greater respect or regard for one person over another, so help us to not have a higher regard for some and not for others (Acts 10:34), and for what we ourselves have been called to do for You. This is all about You Lord and not about us, so help us to prioritize our calling within the body and to respect all members as the same, as You also do, and in the name above all names, Jesus Christ, I pray, Amen.

Conclusion

Perhaps you could comment by giving us a much better prayer than the ones that I have written from the heart. There is such importance in our prayers and in particular, our corporate prayers as we send our requests to God through Jesus Christ.

May we be of one mind, one purpose, having one mission, and for our community of believers to all be in agreement in beseeching Your help in doing what you’ve called us to do.

That is to reach the lost, glorify You in our lives, and to show the world what the love of God truly looks in the hopes that they might be drawn to You and place their trust in You so that they too might be saved.

Read more about prayer here: Different Types of Prayer in the Bible

Resource – Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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as: Church, church unity, community, corporate prayer, mission, Prayers, purpose

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Источник: //www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/5-prayers-for-church-unity/