Sunday August 6th – Friday August 11th

Thank you for agreeing to join the Church Across the nation as together we pray for and engage in tangible expressions of reconciliation in our communities and nation.

We believe, and I think you would agree, that there is a battle for the soul of America and of our generation. We also believe that the heart of any city, community, or nation should be the Church. If the heart is weak or sick, how can we bring healing to the soul of our community or nation? We believe it’s crucial that the Church return to our first love if we are to bring healing and hope, and to be ministers of reconciliation as we are called to be in 2 Corinthians 5:18.

Here are the reasons we are calling the Church to prayers of reconciliation and tangible expressions of that reconciliation:

  • We are living in a nation divided. If we are going to have any chance to see an awakening come to our nation, the Church—crossing our racial, denominational, generational, and gender lines, and reconciled to God—must first be reconciled to one another. The answer to a nation divided is first a Church united!
  • When we are reconciled to one another, we become the family God intended and the answer to Jesus’ prayer in John 17 for us to be one, as He and the Father are one! When we are one in heart and posture, not just activity, the world will see Jesus, the Son.
  • As we become reconciled to one another, we become a plumb-line of righteousness and justice. We then demonstrate God’s heart through acts of compassion and love resulting in the lost encountering Jesus, the Hope of Glory.

What do we do? The call to corporate unified prayer! We believe it begins with a united Church. This will only happen when we recognize our division and disunity, repent, return to God’s heart, and commit together that we will be and are the answer to Jesus’ prayer in John 17.  From that follow tangible expressions of the United Church.

Every day, beginning Sunday August 6 through Friday August 11, we will post: a call to prayer, a Scripture, a written prayer, and suggestions on ways you can be a tangible expression of the Reconciled Church. These are only tools and guides for you, as needed.  We humbly ask that you be intentional each day to pray, declare, and act upon the foundational principle of reconciliation present.

 

 

PRAYER FOR SUNDAY, AUGUST 6

Scripture
“Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.” (Matthew 12:25, NKJV)

Jesus prayed to the Father, “that we all 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.” (John 17:21)

Focus
Unity does not mean uniformity! It is found in the midst of our diversity if our focus is on the Lord. The Church’s influence in America is waning in part because it is divided in heart and purpose. Many of the problems plaguing the Church stem from Christians putting our personal agendas and preferences above God’s plans. Rather than building on the foundations of His Kingdom, we have placed our faith and hope in the institutions of men. Not surprisingly, the results are disastrous and far-reaching. Jesus prayed a prayer in John 17 that all who would believe in Him would become one just as He and the Father are one. The fulfillment of this prayer is on-going, across centuries and generations. Reconciliation Week is about us—the Church of Jesus Christ, His family—submitting to the Holy Spirit so He can make us one in answer to Jesus’ Prayer in this generation. Let us first be reconciled to God; then we can cross racial, denominational, and generational lines and be reconciled to one another so that the world, the lost, will not only see Jesus in us, but come to know Him.

Prayer
Father God, we thank You for Your unconditional love for us. Thank You for making a way for us to be reconciled to you through the sacrifice and gift of Your Son, Jesus. Lord, we thank You that You have called us to be one family, united in heart and purpose by the blood of Jesus.  Forgive us for the ways we have isolated ourselves and put our personal agendas and preferences above Your purposes and plans. Forgive us for holding fast to comfortable sin that separates us from You and from one another. Forgive us for dividing ourselves by our denominations, races, generations, and personal theologies. We take responsibility for the condition of the family of God, our communities, and our nation.

Today we declare with both our words and our heart that we will submit ourselves to Your Holy Spirit so You can conform us into a united Body in answer to Jesus’ prayer. Give us ONE heart and ONE purpose. We are and will be the Church united for our divided nation. We commit to crossing our denominational, racial, and generational lines to meet at the cross of Christ so that the world might see, through our unity, Jesus, the hope of glory. We declare today that because we are reconciled to You, we will become reconciled to one another so that we might be ministers of reconciliation to our hurting world. Let it begin today with me and with us! In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen!

Tangible Expression of Our Prayers
As a reconciled people, let us demonstrate our love for one another by intentionally seeking to love our brothers and sisters in Christ today. Consider ways you can love those in the Body of Christ who do not look like you, worship like you, or act like you. Find a way to cross our racial and denominational lines to embrace and publicly acknowledge fellow believers as true brothers and sisters in Christ. Develop lasting and authentic relationships.