ONE VOICE, UNITED IN PRAYER
Prayer: We pray that God would be glorified and America would be unified in prayer.
Scripture: Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, 6 so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. NAS
I was standing at the foot of a 50 foot cross at a site known as Holy Land USA in Waterbury, CT. watching bees fly in and out of the roses that surrounded the base of the cross. Normally I would have fled because I am allergic to bee stings, but the Spirit said, “Watch and listen.” I watched intently as the bees would fly into one rose to leave deposit pollen and take pollen or nectar from that rose and fly to a completely different plant and repeat the process. The bees would fly from rose to rose and if the rose was open it would fly in and get to work, if the rose had not opened, the bee would fly around it a few times and then leave, it never forced its way into an unopened rose.
The lesson was that this was a picture of unity in the Church. As the body of Christ we are called to be disciples. While there is nothing wrong with the different Christian denominations where we serve and worship, we must remember that Christ called us to be one body. Unity is what Jesus prayed for in the Garden of Gethsemane before His death. The bees are a picture of the Holy Spirit, present in each of the believers who are connected to a church (the plant.) In order for there to be fruit, (or a flower) and a sweet fragrance (prayer,) the Spirit must be allowed to come in and deposit love, joy, peace, patience, wisdom, etc… Without the Spirit, there will never be fruit, without God, all of our deeds are a filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6.) The Spirit will never force His way in, just like the bee would not enter a closed rose.
The Bible says that your prayers are a sweet fragrance in the throne room of heaven. Your unity is pleasing to God and a witness among people. Too many times, there is division and discourse in our nation. Politics, practices, policies, pride, pursuit of prosperity and power, past wrongs, and many other things divide us. Prayer can unify us.
I pray that your God has been glorified and your school unified by your prayers each week. Jesus commanded us to love, bless and pray for our enemies. (Luke 6:27-28) How much more then should we love and be praying for, and with, our brothers and sister in Christ? Pray that we would be joined together as “One Nation Under God.”
Please take a few minutes to pray for our nation today May 4th.
Copyright Kathy Branzell. Email [email protected].