Ephesians Prayer Guide - Day 10

May our hearts be unified to become ONE VOICE. HE is on the throne!

Pray Ephesians 2:11-22

So don’t forget that you were not born as Jews and were uncircumcised (circumcision itself is just a work of man’s hands); you had none of the Jewish covenants and laws; you were foreigners to Israel’s incredible heritage; you were without the covenants and prophetic promises of the Messiah, the promised hope, and without God.

13 Yet look at you now! Everything is new! Although you were once distant and far away from God, now you have been brought delightfully close to him through the sacred blood of Jesus—you have actually been united to Christ!

14 Our reconciling “Peace” is Jesus! He has made Jew and non-Jew one in Christ. By dying as our sacrifice, he has broken down every wall of prejudice that separated us and has now made us equal through our union with Christ. 15 Ethnic hatred has been dissolved by the crucifixion of his precious body on the cross. The legal code that stood condemning every one of us has now been repealed by his command. His triune essence has made peace between us by starting over—forming one new race of humanity, Jews and non-Jews fused together!

16 Two have now become one, and we live restored to God and reconciled in the body of Christ. Through his crucifixion, hatred died. 17 For the Messiah has come to preach this sweet message of peace to you, the ones who were distant, and to those who are near. 18 And now, because we are united to Christ, we both have equal and direct access in the realm of the Holy Spirit to come before the Father!

19 So, you are not foreigners or guests, but rather you are the children of the city of the holy ones, with all the rights as family members of the household of God. 20 You are rising like the perfectly fitted stones of the temple; and your lives are being built up together upon the ideal foundation laid by the apostles and prophets, and best of all, you are connected to the Head Cornerstone of the building, the Anointed One, Jesus Christ himself!
21 This entire building is under construction and is continually growing under his supervision until it rises up completed as the holy temple of the Lord himself. 22 This means that God is transforming each one of you into the Holy of Holies, his dwelling place, through the power of the Holy Spirit living in you! TPT™ (emphasis is mine)

We are now of ONE body! There is no longer Jew or Gentile, Baptist or Pentecostal, home-church or mega-church, American or Korean, orthodox or evangelical… ONE Body! Remember, if we are to live by the example Jesus left for us in the Gospels, we would submit to the BOLD, God-uttered prayers in John 17.

…I have given to them the glory and honor which You have given Me, that they may be one, just as We are one; 23 I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected and completed into one, so that the world may know [without any doubt] that You sent Me, and [that You] have loved them, just as You have loved Me. John 17:22-23 AMP

As Jesus prayed to the Father, we are to be unified and completed into one, that the whole world would KNOW that Jesus was sent and is now on the throne!

There will always be differences in the body of Christ. I am not speaking from a theological standpoiont, but rather from a revival heart… How can we come together? How can we unite? How can we lift up the name of King Jesus? I am not offering a solution per say; but I do suggest an answer.

PRAYER! Pray that God would draw our hearts together as one. Pray that HE alone would show us what that needs to look like.

Find opportunities to pray together with others in your community; find opportunities to join in prayer meetings across your community, and in different churches.

Find opportunities to join efforts across church boundaries and to serve together.

Last night, I took four teens prayer/church hopping. It was only two churches and they are only 3 minutes apart – but we joined two different church expressions to come before the throne. One in a silent, contemplative form; the other in a vibrant, corporate worship form – BOTH offering up prayers to the Lord in cries for revival – revival in individual hearts and revival in our community.

Take a few minutes to look back at the Ephesians passage and pray through God’s heart for unity.

John said to Him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we tried to prevent him because he was not following us.” 39 But Jesus said, “Do not hinder him, for there is no one who will perform a miracle in My name, and be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me. 40 For he who is not against us is for us. Mark 9:38-40 NASB

It is so easy to focus on see the weaknesses and flaws in others and let that be a place that divides us. I am not suggesting we ignore issues we believe are blasphemous or smokescreens for the enemy’s work. But I do believe there are many issues we disagree over that don’t negate another’s resolute faith in the Lord Jesus Christ – his life, death, burial and resurrection.

Is another church (or another believer) serving the Lord, speaking the Truth, leading others to salvation in Jesus? Even if our experiences or practices are different, it doesn’t mean we aren’t serving the same Lord. Consider this and ask the Lord what He might want to say to you as you re-read the above passage.

Salt is excellent for seasoning. But if salt becomes tasteless, how can its flavor ever be restored? Your lives, like salt, are to season and preserve. So don’t lose your flavor, and preserve the peace in your union with one another.” Mark 9:50 TPT™

Let’s refocus some of our “differences” conversation to lukewarmness, apathy, Sunday only followers, religion… Pray for the Church – for passion, fire, and movement, for the church to be spirit-led and not “religion-focused”, and for intimacy in relationships (with one another and with the Lord).

“Your lives are like salt among the people. But if you, like salt, become bland, how can your ‘saltiness’ be restored? Flavorless salt is good for nothing and will be thrown out and trampled on by others.” Matthew 5:13 TPT™

I am grateful for a season of stepping into 2020 and praying specifically for the ripples of unity in the Church – for the Bride to find, again, that central place to unite. His name is Jesus – the all-sufficient sacrifice for all of mankind!