Wonderful heavenly Father,

In such works as the coming Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, (18-25 January), Lord, we pray together in the chosen theme for this year, "Be opened" according to your word, Lord: He even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak (Mk 7:37).

Lord, let the ears of all your church, the Bride of Christ, be opened, having ears to hear as one body in the earth today, praying for Christian unity in love and holiness together in Jesus.

In order to prepare the bride, so that she may be presented to Jesus whole and perfect, ready and waiting with her lamp full of the oil of the Spirit, we have already begun to unite by your Spirit and in your word, Father, because we look forward with eager anticipation to the time when these words shall be said concerning you and us, "...Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away" (Revelations 21:3-4). Only then, Father, and only in Jesus and with you, will our joy be made completely full, when we have no more tears.

We pray now, Lord, for the joy of your ever-increasing presence in us, in the body of Christ, because the Bible says, "Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore" (Psalms 16:11). We now pray together in the name of Jesus, that you soon make our unity in Jesus complete and make our joy with you full, Lord; and we know you will, for Jesus said, "Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full" (John 16:24). We watch for the soon coming of our sweet Jesus and our spirits pray together as with one voice, without ceasing day and night, so that at any hour He may come and find faith in us in our prayer.

These are the prayers our spirits pray together to you, Father, who have given us of your Spirit, now come to live within us. Let these, our prayers, be the house you have built, together with us in our hearts, where we offer you spiritual sacrifices, and where we invite your Spirit to dwell in praise, with our spirits forever. Let this house of prayer be your house, Lord, a house not built with hands, nor by man's power or might, but by your Spirit, built of truth and the word, on the cornerstone of Jesus Christ and on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets.

We pray with one voice, Lord, that you would find the prayers we pray in our hearts as one heart, to be an acceptable home for all time, for all our souls are yours, not our own, including every repentant, mutually loving and forgiving believer we receive together as one in you, in every Christian denomination and faith group, for your word says this:

"And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any [of them] that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common." (Ac 4:32 AV)

"I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them." (Joh 17:9-10 AV)

"And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found." (Lu 15:31-32 AV)


Bring us all, dear Lord, to your house of prayer with our sisters and brothers in Christ, and here let us receive you as one, receiving in your house of prayer every one who believes in your name for the grace of God in the opportunity of repentance and remission of sins through faith in Christ, in your One Spirit of love and holiness, for your word says this:

"these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples." (Isa 56:7 NRSV)

"And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me." (Mt 18:5 AV)

"Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me." (Mr 9:37 AV)

"And said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me: for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great." (Lu 9:48 AV)

"I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive." (Joh 5:43 AV)

"Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full." (Joh 16:24 AV)


Together in your one spiritual house of prayer, Lord, here we receive and meet you in our hearts as in one heart, praying for Christian unity of every repentant believer in love and holiness, in obedience to the one, new commandment, statute, and ordinance of Jesus, everywhere in the body of Christ today.

"I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them; I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, so that they may follow my statutes and keep my ordinances and obey them. Then they shall be my people, and I will be their God." (Eze 11:19-20 NRSV)

"This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you." (Joh 15:12 AV)


As we pray together in you, Lord, let the first cornerstone laid in the foundation of your one house of prayer in our hearts for unity in you, Lord, be none other than Jesus on the cross; and let our love for one another as one in Him, as He loved us all through the cross, begin nowhere else, that "all men" in the world, "may believe" God sent Him to that purpose in which we follow as His disciples, in mutually recognized holiness, and mutual, self-sacrificial love, as your word says:

"This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (Joh 15:12-13 AV)

"A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all [men] know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." (Joh 13:34-35 AV)

"That they all may be one; as thou, Father, [art] in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me." (Joh 17:21 AV)


Give us all to hear together as one the promise of your word for all who bear eternal fruit of the Spirit as one together in your spiritual land of promise, Lord. Let all hear, with ears opened to hear, your plan set forth as your righteous kingdom of love and holiness to be eternally gathered up as one in Christ, including repentant, mutually loving and forgiving believers in every Christian denomination and faith group in Jesus' name, amen.

"Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for [their] good. For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull [them] down; and I will plant them, and not pluck [them] up. And I will give them an heart to know me, that I [am] the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart." (Jer 24:4-7 AV)

"to be holy and blameless before him in love... according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth." (Eph 1:4b, 10 NRSV)



Love and holiness in Jesus to all,
Tim

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Tim Warlick,