Praying for your church and its unity
No church is perfect. You find different sensitivities there, disagreements over the music, weariness, grudges, sometimes real wounds. Yet this is where God chose to gather his children. This quest asks you to carry your church before him, and more particularly its unity.
What it looks like in your day
Praying for your church is not making a vague speech. You can be specific. To structure your prayer, try these four angles:
- For the people. Choose three or four faces you know. Thank God for each one, ask a blessing for them.
- For the relationships. Think of a tension you know about, or of people who no longer speak to each other. Ask God to heal what is damaged.
- For unity. That differences of age, culture, opinion would not be walls, but riches.
- For priorities. That the church would stay centered on Jesus, and that it would serve its neighborhood.
One possible prayer: “Lord, thank you for my church. You know its strengths and its weaknesses. Keep us united. Give us a humble heart to listen to one another. Help us love those who are not like us.”
If you are short on time, take one sentence: “Lord, keep my church united.” If you have a disagreement with someone, don't avoid it: pray for that person, then ask God how to respond. If you are shy in church, this is a discreet way of taking your place there: you carry others before God, even if you don't yet dare to speak to them.
What the Bible says
Jesus himself prayed for the unity of his disciples, shortly before his death:
“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.”
The purpose of this unity is not only the comfort of believers: it is “that the world may believe”. The unity of the church is a witness.
Paul urges the Ephesians to make a concrete effort:
“Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
Notice the verb: “Endeavouring”. Unity doesn't fall from the sky, it takes work, humility, forgiveness. And Psalm 133 gives a warm portrait of it:
“A Song of degrees of David. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!”
Paul also writes to the Philippians (Philippians 2:2) that he expects them to have “the same love”, without denying that they are different. Unity doesn't mean uniformity: it means being bound together by the same Lord.
Pitfalls to avoid
Idealizing the church. If you expect a church without flaws, you will be disappointed. The churches of the Bible knew quarrels too (see Paul's letters to the Corinthians). Praying for your church means loving it as it is.
Criticizing while pretending to pray. “Lord, change the pastor, change the worship team…” is not a prayer for unity, it is settling scores. If you have real criticisms, speak about them respectfully to those who can act.
Confusing unity with silence. Unity doesn't require keeping problems quiet. It asks that we approach them with honesty and gentleness.
Settling for prayer alone. Praying for unity often leads to a gesture: checking in on someone, inviting them to a meal, apologizing, greeting the newcomer. Let prayer push you to act.
Skipping your own part. Unity also starts with you: your attitude, your words, your forgiveness.
Today, think of your church. Name two people, a tension, a need, and pray for each.