One Heart – Together as One

Scriptures: Ephesians 3:18-21, Ephesians 3:10, Colossians 1:13-14, Romans 8:37-39

One Heart Introduction 

We are so glad you have decided to join in on this One Heart prayer guide towards Reconciliation and Oneness. This is week four of seven. If you have not participated before, consider starting with One Heart: Father Let Them Be One. This guide is not limited to racial reconciliation but reconciliation across the board (i.e. family, denomination, marriage, etc.) and it can be used in contexts across the globe. We know that the Holy Spirit will work mightily on the hearts of all who choose to journey with this guide. 

One of the last prayers Jesus Christ prayed while He walked this earth as a human being is recorded in John 17:20b – 22 (NIV) “… I pray 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.” Jesus also said in John 13, that if we love one another the world will know that we are His disciples. To truly love one another we need to intentionally reach out to one another. The Word says that if we know our brother has something against us, we need to go and make right. It is time to acknowledge, repent, and make right the sins of the past or in some cases to forgive as the Lord forgave you (Colossians 3:13). 

The unity Jesus prayed for is very difficult to achieve because Christians all over the world are so fractured and divided. What must encourage us, however, is that if He prayed it, it must be possible. Time and time again there are testimonies of God’s Spirit breaking through all the divisions, as we surrender to Him, die to self, and choose love. Only when we do that can we see how the love that covers a multitude of sins starts flowing through us to bring healing and wholeness. It is a daily decision. May we become less, so that He can become more; so that we can be one with Him and one another; so that the world may know that we are truly His disciples. 

TOGETHER AS ONE: FEARLESS, BOLD, CONFIDENT AND READY

“To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that He has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in Him.” Ephesians 3:8-12 ESV 

CORPORATE PRAYER (Ideally)

Heavenly Father, according to your eternal purpose, your manifold wisdom should be made known by the church to the principalities and powers of darkness (Eph.3:10). Thank You that through the blood of Jesus Christ, we have redemption and forgiveness of sin; You have delivered us from the power of darkness and have transferred us to the kingdom of your beloved Son (Col.1:13-14). We are more than conquerors because of Your love for us. For neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor any other created thing can separate us from the love of God (Rom.8:37-39). Lord Jesus Christ, Head of the Church, You have given us the authority over all the power of the enemy so that the spirits are subject to us (Luke 10:19-20). You have given us the command to go the nations with this good news, to open the eyes of unbelievers, to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they too might receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who believe in You (Luk.9:1-2; Mat.28:18,19; Act.26:17,18). The weapons that You have given us are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ (2Cor.10:4,5). We stand in this evil day, having girded our waists with truth; protected by the breastplate of righteousness and the helmet of salvation; our feed shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. We take up our shields of faith with which we are able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one, and the sword of the Spirit, the Word God, as we pray and resist the evil one (Eph.6:10-18; Jam.4:7; 1Pet.5:9). We will overcome because of the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony, and because we do not love our lives even if we have to die (Rev 12:11). Greater is He that is in us than He that is in the world (1Joh.4:4). 

John 17 was Jesus’ prayer for His disciples the night before He was betrayed. It is still His prayer today. We want to encourage you to memorise the chapter of John 17 or at least the verses that speak to your heart, to pray it daily, and to ask that Jesus’ prayer would be fulfilled in you and through you. 

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” – Martin Luther King Jr., “Strength to Love”.

Scriptures: Galatians 3:26-29, Ephesians 1:11-14, Revelation 5:9, 1 Peter 1:3-5, Romans 8:15, Colossians 2:11

A NEW IDENTITY

“For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:27-28 NKJV

Ethnicity is defined as “large groups of people classed according to common racial, national, tribal, religious, linguistic, or cultural origin or background.” These factors shape our identities as people, our faith, and our beliefs. From a common origin and biological kinship, complex ethnic groups developed over time. The history of Israel proves that no nation or culture is ethnically pure. Abraham was a Hebrew, originally of Semitic origin. Through intermarriage, Abraham’s offspring became a mixture of Hebrews, Egyptians, Canaanites, and Moabites—a multi-ethnic group that was to become a mono-cultural nation: Israel. How did it happen? Firstly, by circumcision. Secondly, by covenant. The covenant with YHVH separated Israel from all other nations. Through national idolatry, both Israel and Judah broke their covenant with YHVH and He divorced Himself from them, announcing a new covenant that could not be broken. 

Jesus inaugurated the new covenant at the Lord’s Supper on Passover. But it was Pentecost that was the beginning of something new called the church, the expression of the new covenant with YHVH but through Jesus, not through Moses. The fledgling church in Jerusalem was a Jewish church consisting of Jews who accepted Jesus as the Jewish Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament. They continued observing the Jewish feasts and Law, and worship at the temple. These Jews spoke Aramaic or Greek (Hellenistic Jews) in the church. No Jews at that time could speak their native Hebrew language. Even the Old Testament was translated into either Aramaic or Greek. The first trouble in the church arose because Hellenistic Jewish widows were neglected. It prompted the ordination of the first deacons in the church. These deacons were all Hellenistic Jewish Christians. Among them was Phillip, the first Jewish Christian who planted a church among Gentiles in Samaria. By divine revelation, Jesus revealed to Peter that Gentiles are to be included in the church. Hellenistic Jews carried the gospel with them to Antioch and elsewhere, and the Gentile church grew. The church in Jerusalem remained mainly Jewish. With the addition of Gentiles to the church, new problems arose, which prompted the first church council meeting in Jerusalem (Acts…), laying down the pattern for the church. Gentile Christians were not expected to convert to Judaism, but they were forbidden to eat blood, worship idols, and commit sexual immorality. The central factor binding them all together was faith in Jesus as the Anointed One and growing understanding that the new covenant had usurped and incorporated the old covenant. Jesus’ resurrection and the promise of their resurrection were the focal points of the gospel. 

If anyone, from both Jewish and Gentile backgrounds, becomes a Christian, they undergo an identity transformation. They step over from the old covenant into the new covenant. They are born-again into a new spiritual family. They are redeemed (bought) out of their previous identity, their cultural heritage, and their national identity, and sealed by the Holy Spirit and baptism. They become citizens of a new kingdom. Their first allegiance now is to Jesus Christ as Lord and to their new family who were all redeemed from their previous identities. They are uniquely equipped by the Holy Spirit to rise above nationalism, culture, language, and tribal identity. They are part of a body where there is no distinction between being Jew or Greek or any other nationality, between male and female, slave or free. They are all equal. Through the ages, the church battled to express this oneness. At times, they regressed into Judaism (Hebrews), paganism (syncretism), or even Christian nationalism in various forms expressed first as the Holy Roman Empire. Wars erupted between Christians because of tribal allegiances. The failure to become one has hurt the church in more ways that can be explained. There is a price to be paid to fulfill the prayer of Jesus in John 17. It is not going to be easy. But it is our time to believe that it is possible. 

Each day we will focus on the different aspects of becoming one. First becoming one with God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. Secondly, becoming one with our brothers and sisters in the Body of Jesus Christ, the Church. Thirdly, our role as peacemakers in the world around us. Daily prayer points focus first on our own lives (ME), then on the Church (US), and then on the world (THEM). 

PRAYER POINTS

ME: Pray that the Holy Spirit will transform you so that you can help others to change the way they think. 

US: Ask the Lord to enable and empower us to live together as many different cultures to the honour and glory of His name, to help others change the way they think, and to encourage a new mindset and culture of brotherly love and acceptance for one another. 

THEM: Our nations are filled with many different races. Pray that the purpose the Lord has in making our nations this way will be fulfilled. Pray that every person in your nation will see and discover the beauty in other cultures and not cling only to their own culture. Pray that a new generation will arise, untainted by the past, who will want to be united in diversity, and who will value people of other cultures. 

If we all give up hope and do nothing, then indeed there is no hope. It will be helped by all of us taking action of some sort. Cumulatively our small decisions, choices and actions, make a very big difference. – Jane Goodall.

THE LANGUAGE WE USE

“And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. And at this sound, the multitude came together, and they were bewildered because each one was hearing them speak in his own language… Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” Acts 2:4-6, 9-11 ESV 

The first language any child learns to speak is the mother tongue. In multi-ethnic societies, a child soon learns to speak other languages as well. A possible hindrance to the spread of the Gospel to new cultures was that the first Christians were mainly Jews, and spoke only Aramaic and Greek. When the Holy Spirit was poured out on Pentecost, He brought them a heavenly gift, the supernatural ability to speak in other languages. That gift enabled the disciples to share the Gospel in the heart language of Jews visiting Jerusalem from other parts of the Roman Empire. The same gift was given to the Romans in the house of Cornelius, an indication that the commission to share the Gospel was not limited to the Jewish Christians only. The confusion of languages by God at the building of the Tower of Babel was reversed. Language was no longer a hindrance to unity. 

There are thousands of languages and dialects in the world. Expanding Empires had one thing in common – they forced people to speak their language. Most conquered people eventually lost their mother tongues. The Jews lost their Hebrew language in Persia, learning to speak Aramaic. When the Greeks conquered Persia, the people were again forced to speak another language, Greek. The Romans introduced Latin. Spain and Portugal introduced Spanish and Portuguese to South America. The British forced almost the whole world to speak English. The Soviet Union forced all conquered nations to speak Russian. The language of the conquerors was always seen as a curse. Languages became a division in the church. The Roman Catholic Church forbid the Bible to be translated into other languages, causing ordinary Christians to be ignorant of the Word of God. Many false teachings could be forced on people, imprisoning them in ignorance and superstition. Language became a weapon to keep people in submission and ignorance. It is an insult to the Holy Spirit to use your mother language as a weapon against people of other languages. He can cause a language to become extinct, and He can cause a language to become a blessing. Our behaviour and attitude will determine if our language is a blessing or curse. 

God called faithful men and women to translate the Bible at the peril of losing their lives. The gift of the Holy Spirit began to triumph once more. There are 7300 known spoken languages in the world. 1255 languages have no part of the Bible translated. (Wycliffe Bible Translation). There are 17213 people groups in the world. 7280 people groups (42%) have not heard the Gospel in their own language. 

Scriptures to meditate on before praying: 

Acts 2:4-11; Acts 4:31; Acts 6:1-3; Acts 10:44-46; Acts 19:1-6.

PRAYER POINTS

ME: Am I using my mother language as a weapon against other people? Am I willing to befriend someone that speaks another language? Pray that the Holy Spirit will transform your mindset concerning people of other races. 

US: Is our church open for people of other languages to join in our services? Are we willing to switch to a common language for the sake of such people? Ask the Holy Spirit for a fresh baptism and for His gift of speaking in another language so that your church can reach out to the community around you. 

THEM: For too long the church has withheld the Gospel from people because of the language barrier. Let us pray that our desire for oneness will spill over into the secular world of our nations. 

Remember your scripture memory of John 17. 

“The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.” – Ludwig Wittgenstein

HATE SPEECH

“The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue, we praise our Lord and Father, and with it, we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.” James 3:6-10 NIV

Hate comes from the idea that certain people can or should have power and control over others. Hate starts from negative assumptions, images and beliefs about a certain group. These negative assumptions are called stereotypes. When there is a crisis, some people feel defensive and blame other people and groups. When someone sees a group as a threat, it might lead them to act or speak hatefully to members of that group. Hatred is often associated with intense feelings of anger, contempt, and disgust. Anger and hatred have a way of clouding our minds and distorting our judgements. Hate is not just an emotion. It is a state of being that involves choices, behaviours, and thoughts. Hate speech is derogatory language to threaten, humiliate, belittle, and dehumanise a person, thereby removing his dignity and equality. Jesus compared hate speech with murder (Mat.5:21-22; 1Joh.3:15). Hate speech, cursing and slandering, not only do not produce the righteousness of God, but it grieves the Holy Spirit (Eph.4:29-32; Jam.1:19) . The cure of hate speech is to not repay hatred with hatred, or insult with insult, but to bless such a person (1Pet.3:9). Remove all filthy language from your vocabulary (Col.3:8; Pro.4:24). 

Blaspheming Christ has become the norm. Saying “Christ!” or “Jesus!” as an exclamation or a curse word, is blasphemy, using the name of God in vain. Movie makers don’t think twice about using it. Don’t watch such a movie as you will be participating in the blaspheming. Even Christians use other blaspheming words like OMG and OMW. Other curse and swear words that are vulgar and crude reveal the condition of your heart. God’s holiness demands a pure heart. We all need to decide whether we would like to honour or dishonour God. 

Scriptures to meditate on before praying: 

Jam.3:6-10; Mat.5:21-22; 1Joh.3:15; Eph.4:29-32; Jam.1:19; 1Pet.3:9; Prov.10:12.

PRAYER POINTS

ME: How often do you use hate speech, curse or swear? Do you truly honour God with your language? Bow before the Lord to repent and ask Him to forgive you and to cleanse your heart and lips. 1Pet.3:15. 

US: Pray that the Holy Spirit will convict Christians for participating in hate speech, cursing and swearing. Ask the Lord to forgive us for our critical spirit and for the many ways that we curse other people in our thoughts and attitudes. Ask Him to help us to stop all negative talk and criticism and for the will to work together towards a solution for a multi-cultural, multi-racial society. 

THEM: How will they know love unless they see it manifesting in the church? May the purity of the church be a testimony in a hateful, hurting world.

IDEOLOGIES AND WORLDVIEWS

“So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed. That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus.”Ephesians 4:17-21 NIV

A worldview is the set of beliefs about fundamental aspects of reality that ground and influence all one’s perceiving, thinking, knowing, and doing. One’s worldview is also referred to as one’s philosophy, philosophy of life, mindset, outlook on life, formula for life, ideology, faith, or even religion. An ideology is a set of opinions or beliefs of a group or an individual. Very often ideology refers to a set of political beliefs or a set of ideas that characterize a particular culture. Capitalism, communism, socialism, and Marxism are ideologies. The dominant ideology in a society is passed along through the society’s major social institutions, such as the media, the family, education, and religion. As societies changed throughout history, so did the ideologies that justified systems of inequality. Ideology allows a nation to have a clear sense of shared purpose and identity. Many nations, such as the United States, do not have a shared religion, ethnicity, language, or place of origin; ideology is intended to fill this void and bring a sense of cohesion to a nation. 

Religious ideology refers to the beliefs, values, and practices associated with a particular religion. It shapes people’s worldview, moral values, and behaviors, and influences their attitudes towards various aspects of life, including politics. The emphasis of religion is on faith and worship. For the Christian, its appeal is to Christlikeness and its aim is the redemption or purification of the human spirit. For evangelicals Jesus Christ saves one from sin and nurtures one in love; for liberals, Jesus Christ exemplifies the way of compassion, hospitality, and justice. Religion becomes an ideology when a group uses its faith to defend itself against a political power that threatens that group. It politicizes faith into either suppressing or persecuting others. Religious theologies (Jewish, Christian, Islamic) can legitimise socio-political ideology and racist-national identity. White Christian Nationalist theology undergirded Apartheid in South Africa. It was unbiblical, heretical, evil. Theologies can kill. Revolutionary movements use religion to legitimise the use of weapons in a political war, and also result in unbiblical, evil behaviour. As we look at various contemporary ideologies, we will find that some arise outside of the church and invade and impact the mind of the church from without; others arise within the church, and influence and corrupt the understanding of the church from within. History shows ideological powers rise and fall. Sooner or later, God judges and disciplines them. The Bible does not hesitate to label human ideologies as ‘false’. The rejection of the Word and the authority of God is expressed in a rejection of God. This rejection of God results in an increasing ignorance about Him and a substitution of human ideas about ‘god’ in the place of accurate knowledge about Him. The knowledge of God is distorted, diluted, and altered so seriously that the true God can no longer be recognized. This escalation of ignorance and erroneous belief is summed up in Romans 1:18-32. 

It is a fact that an ideology is settled in the mind of a person in the institution he is raised in – school, college, university, social group, etc. Youths become activists because of peer groups. There are many testimonies of young people who were completely oblivious to political issues until they came under the influence of politically active groups that targeted young people. It set them on a course for the rest of their lives. 

Scriptures to meditate on before praying: 

Eph.4:17-21; Rom.1:18-32; Rom.12:1-2.

PRAYER POINTS

ME: Father God, your word says that you know my thoughts even before I think them. I confess that my thoughts towards other people are not always honourable and beneficial. Please forgive me. Forgive me that even my thoughts can be evil and can influence my actions negatively. I pray that You will also renew my mind. Let your Word be like a sword that will discern my thoughts and help me to be transformed to have the mind of Christ. Destroy every stronghold that was built in my mind through ideologies. Help me to take every thought captive and make it obedient to You and to think about and meditate on the things that are true, honourable, just, pure, and praiseworthy. To the glory of your Name! Amen!

US: Pray for the transformation of how Christians think and process events. that we will have a positive and Biblical mindset with a willingness to help find solutions for our problems and not to criticize and demean other people, or worse kill them through our unbiblical ideologies. 

THEM: Pray for the media that plays such a vital role in the formation of our thought patterns. Pray that role models, leaders, and celebrities in your nation will be raised up to have a positive, nation-building influence on our youth. Pray that the young generation will find constructive ways to help build their nations to be free from destructive mindsets and old paradigms.

“For Jesus, there are no countries to be conquered, no ideologies to be imposed, no people to be dominated. There are only children, women and men to be loved.” – Henri Nouwen.

Scripture: John 17:20-21

A LIFE WORTH LIVING

Ludwig, Duke of Zinzendorf (1700-1760), was an ambitious young man. He was a good student, popular with his friends, well-connected, and a member of the German aristocracy. Then one day he found himself in a museum, gazing at a painting of Jesus on the cross. He could not tear himself away from it: the wounds, the face, the crown of thorns. And then the inscription carved on the frame caught his eye: “This He has done for you. What are you doing for Him?” Suddenly he had found meaning in his life. He dedicated everything he possessed, his youthful enthusiasm, his connections, and his wealth to the Lord. He welcomed a group of religious refugees to his estate at Hernnhut, and together with them he founded a missionary society that through the years sent numerous missionaries to many parts of the world. The very first missionary to arrive in South Africa in 1737 was Georg Schmidt, one of Von Zinzendorf’s colleagues, who came to proclaim the Good News to the Khoi people. 

After having baptised his first converts in about 1742, Schmidt faced criticism from some clergymen in Stellenbosch who were of the opinion that only Reformed ministers could baptise. They also regarded him as not having been properly ordained. He suspended his duties and left the country on 5 March 1744, intending to return after pleading his cause in Amsterdam. However, he did not get the permission he had hoped for and never returned to the Cape. All was not lost, however. One of the Khoi, Vehettge Magdalena, picked up the baton. Fifty years later missionaries from Hernnhut returned to find that she had planted a church. God is absolutely faithful to work out His plans. In 2022 a brave group of Christians from the Dutch Reformed and Moravian Church went to Genadendal for a day that is recorded in heaven. Ds. Nelis van Rensburg offered an apology with a lengthy confession of the sins of the DRC and Apartheid. Rev. Abrahams, President of the Moravian church said these unforgettable words: “We determined to forgive unconditionally!” 

Von Zinzendorf, Schmidt, Ds van Rensburg, and Rev Abrahams, are some of a great many Christians who have, through the ages, heeded Paul’s words: “I beseech you therefore, brethren. By the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service” (Romans 12:1). If we follow Christ in our own country and at our own time, serving the cause of reconciliation, we will be joining the faithful who have followed him for countless generations. It is not an easy road to follow. Laying yourself on the altar means that you will be sacrificing everything for the Lord: your time, your enthusiasm, your comfort, your possessions, your safety, perhaps even your life. It is true that bridge-builders may be trampled on. But take heart. A bridge is meant to be walked over, isn’t it? Remember: the cross is not only our badge or our logo. It is our manual, our guide to life. 

PRAYER POINTERS

ME: Are you willing to lay down your life for the purpose of God in your generation? Present yourself before the throne of God, to become one of the world-changers today. 

US: Ask the Lord to forgive us as Christians for our selfish ways and actions in the past and present. Pray for the Church of Jesus Christ in your nation to understand Jesus’ attitude of humility and self-sacrifice, and for us to commit to and dedicate ourselves to follow His example. Pray for pastors, priests, reverends, elders, and deacons, and for every ordinary Christian to give themselves freely to the strengthening and building of the Body of Christ in our nation. 

THEM: Pray that people in your nation will respond to the call to reconciliation and join with one heart to transform their nation. 

Remember your scripture memory of John 17. 

“May the Lamb that was slain receive the reward of His suffering!” – Moravian missionaries.

EAGER TO MAINTAIN UNITY

“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 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 ESV

WHY ARE THERE SO MANY CHURCH DENOMINATIONS TODAY?

There are more than 45,000 denominations globally. According to the Centre for the Study of Global Christianity, followers of Jesus span the globe. However, the global body of more than 2 billion Christians is separated into thousands of denominations. Pentecostal, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Baptist, Apostolic, Methodist — the list goes on. So why does Christianity have so many branches? A cursory look shows that differences in belief, power grabs, and corruption all have a part to play. 

We express our faith in a variety of ways based on our ethnic background. Denominations have been birthed from our ethnicities; the historical struggles of a nation or race of people contribute to our faith in God. Ensuing generations of that family will pass down stories and lessons about faith and prayer moving mountains and sustaining them through tough times. Seeds of faith will be planted and replanted through generations. How can so many church congregations produce so many different followers—all with differing ideas of faith—that all cloak themselves with the cape of “Christian”? Surely, Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church must have a solution. In a multi-ethnic society, a multi-ethnic church that recognises our cultural differences, celebrates them, creates safe spaces to learn from one another, and accepts one another the same way Christ loves and accepts each of us can bring great healing. Jesus wants us to be one in our belief in him and in God the Father who sent him. So, in Him, through his gospel, in our love of our Father God, the church must strive to overcome our centuries of division. Jesus prayed that his followers “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 17:22-23). 

Scriptures to meditate on before praying: 

Eph.4:1-6; Joh.17:22-23; 2 Cor.3:11; Rom.12:16-18; 1Cor.1:10; Phil.1:27; 2:1-3.

PRAYER POINTERS

ME: We need to practise loving our neighbours. Examine whether you are “doing life” only with people who look like you. Don’t just strive to live a life that is reflective of whom Christ calls you to be, but actually live it out. Step into loving people who don’t look like you, don’t live in your neighbourhood, don’t vote like you, or have the same background and alma mater as you. When you do this, then inviting a person to your church community will be a natural act and less of an unnatural recruitment. Those around you will begin to see the reflection of Christ in you, and because of you, they will seek to draw nearer to Him. 

US: Pray that the Lord will help us in the Church to re-discover the truth of brotherly love and that we as Christians can find a way to overcome racism and to heal the division in the Church. 

THEM: Pray that Christians will stop seeing unbelievers as a threat, but rather look at them as potential brothers and sisters in Christ. Pray for those around you who do not know Jesus Christ as the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Pray for leaders to have the wisdom and courage to lead us out of this stronghold of racism in our nations. 

Congratulations you have completed 7 days of journeying with God on Reconciliation and Oneness, starting in your own heart and praying for your church community and your society at large. We trust that God has started a wonderful work in and through your prayers. Why not consider joining us for another 7 days? Week 5 of our One Heart Series is called Peacemakers. 

“The aggressive power of the gospel is in proportion to the genuine faith and piety and example of the believers. The church is to be the Lord’s light bearer to shine amid the moral darkness of a corrupt and sinful generation. There can be nothing in the world that is so dear to God as His church. Nothing is guarded by Him with such jealous care. Nothing offends God more than for the church to be in a disunited state, because it bears to the world a very bad testimony and example.” – Ellen G. White.