We are all different: Praise the Lord
How boring it would be if we were duplicates, cookie-cutter versions of each other—always thinking the same thoughts, liking the same things, never disagreeing.
Thank God we are all different. We enrich each other by our differences: our unique gifts and talents, our opinions and beliefs, and our wonderfully diverse personalities. God must have had a lot of fun making us.
In the midst of our diversity, God has given us the ability to come together in the unity of agreement. In that unity there is power.
“If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you.” (Matthew 18:19 NLT)
If we are diverse in our beliefs and opinions, how can we agree together? The word agree in the Greek means 1) harmonious, accordant, agreeing; 2) thing agreed upon, compact. This tells us that agreement is an act of the will. We agree to agree.
Caution! Danger! Don’t get your pantyhose in a knot!
It is important when we join with others in prayer that we come in love and come agreeing that the most important focus of our praying must be “Thy Kingdom come, and thy Will be done.” If we cannot agree with the words of someone’s prayer, we can easily voice this prayer of agreement at the end: “Not our will but Your Will be done.” By praying this way, we keep the peace and walk in light.
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)
Six Steps To Maintaining Unity In a Prayer Group
The six steps below are a good starting place to keeping peace and harmony in your prayer group.
1. A Prayer Group Is Not a Gossip Feast
Our purpose is to pray for, not about. For example, we have been asked to pray that Hank be set free from addiction to alcohol. Do not start gossiping about how bad Hank is. God already knows. Gossip focuses our attention on the evil and makes it almost impossible to focus on the good, and the deliverance, and the joy Hank will have when he IS delivered.
2. A Prayer Group Is Not a Place To Start Lecturing
The prayer group is for prayer, not for imparting information or teaching. If you have knowledge to share, or new techniques of prayer, or believe someone needs to be corrected, do it at a different time, not during the time of prayer.
3. A Prayer Group Is For EVERYONE To Pray Equally As The Spirit Guides
Some people are disturbed by silence and feel compelled to speak. But silence is good. We rest in silence listening to the Holy Spirit to guide us.
4. A Prayer Group Is Not a Place To Get Your Feelings Hurt or Take Offense at Someone Else Praying In a Way You Disagree With
Our differences and beliefs make us richer, even when we may find them offensive. There is a loving way to respond that does not break the unity of the group. It is to add at the end this prayer. “Father, while I cannot agree with my brother’s words, I can agree with my brother’s heart that Your will will be done to the glory of Your Name.”
5. A Prayer Group Is Not a Place For Proud Faith
We are not all at the same level of faith. One might be able to believe for a miraculous healing while another may only be able to believe for the doctors to be guided. The father of the child whose son was possessed by a demon said to Jesus, “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief” (Mark 9:24 KJV). As did that father we need to keep our focus on Jesus and not on ourselves and our own faith or what we perceive as lack of faith.
6. A Prayer Group Is Not a Place for Bragging
“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.” (Ephesians 1:17 NIV)
True humility before God requires that we be ready to confess that our strongly held beliefs may not be God’s, and that our heart’s desire is to seek His will and purpose. The focus and emphasis in any prayer and any prayer group must be God’s will.
Develop Unity In Your Own Prayer Groups
These are just a few ways you can keep unity in your prayer group, see it flourish, and see wonderful results in prayer. For more help growing in prayer, check out these messages from classic CFO speakers.
