PRAYING FOR UNITY

Bob Williams and I have been trying as time will permit to pray for unity among brethren. If nothing else, it is having a therapeutic effect on us. We deem ourselves much closer to our brothers than before we began the effort. — George E. Cooper, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas

One question I am asked more and more these days is what one may do for the cause of unity among believers. The question usually comes from a person of the rank and file, one hardly in a position to wield influence upon policy or attitudes in our institutional structures. What can a housewife do about all these divisions that afflict us? Or a schoolteacher? Or a farmer or a business man?

I am telling the story over the country of what I saw in Westminster Abbey when I visited that shrine of English divines several years ago. Hanging in the foyer was a small sign reading “Prayers for Christian Unity in this Chapel Every Tuesday at 2 p.m.” That impressed me more than all the works of art or even the tombs of England’s greats that I saw there. Weekly gatherings in which concerned people pray for the unity of the church! I had not heard of any such thing before, and of course I had never seen any such sign or heard any such announcement among our own folk all my born days. I realize that those folk were only Episcopalians, and that God doesn’t listen to Episcopalians even if they do pray for unity, but I was impressed nevertheless.

Now comes the above note from a professor at a Texas university, a brother with whom I went fishing while in mini-meetings in East Texas, telling me about praying with a brother for the unity of God’s people and what it is meaning to them both. Surely this is part of the answer, and maybe a large part, of what we can all do about the mess we are in. Suppose thousands of us, even tens of thousands of us, prayed fervently for unity, as did our Lord, on a regular basis, the effect could well exceed our fondest dreams.

It is more than a matter of mere passing interest that our Lord prayed to God for the oneness of those who believed on him. This he did more in prospect, long before the wounds of factionalism afflicted the body of Christ, for his disciples, despite some problems among themselves, were a cohesive group. How much more urgent would the prayers of the Christ be amidst all the divisions that afflict us in 1972?

A line in our Lord’s prayer for unity that we might overlook is the one that reads: I give them my glory that they might be one. Our divisions may be because we are Ichabod, without glory. Glory and unity go together. No love, no brotherhood. No glory, no unity. I take it that in giving us his glory that we may be one, Jesus is giving us his own presence through the Holy Spirit. He is both with us and in us through the indwelling Guest of heaven. This is our glory and this is the resource of unity. It is, after all, the Spirit’s unity that we are to preserve. We may be overlooking the most important means of all in preserving it: praying together.

We must believe that it would make all the difference in the world in our divided brotherhood if hundreds or thousands of our congregations began to have regular prayer meetings in behalf of the oneness of God’s people. Let there be a set time and let it be regular, and let the invitation go out to all those who are interested in healing the wounds of partyism. It need not be a unity meeting as such, but simply prayers for Christian unity. If the Episcopalians care all that much and do something about it, then surely we can too.

Let it be a quiet gathering. No speeches. No pleas for unity. No debating and no discussion. Only prayers. Voluntary prayers, punctuated by moments of quiet meditation. Let the session run for half an hour or longer, or until all who desire to do so have addressed the Father about the problem. When it is over let each one quietly leave the place of meeting and go home, with no discussion of any kind. Let this be one meeting together in which we quietly yield ourselves and the burden of our hearts to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

The two brothers in Nacogdoches show what can be done when only a very few are involved. If they let it be known they might well be joined by others. But this need not be. Let us all, whether alone in our own prayers to God or in small gatherings, pray for the unity that Jesus prayed for. This is something we can all do. And if our leadership will take the initiative and set apart a time for congregational prayers for the unity of God’s people, the response could well be electrifying. But it should not be just once or twice, but regular. Nor should we think in terms of numbers. If only a few respond to the “Prayers for Unity” session, we must believe that the Spirit will use those few to the glory of God and for the oneness of his people.

The brother in Nacogdoches says that his prayers for unity has brought him closer to his brothers. This is exciting, for in Eph, 4 the apostle makes it clear that the Spirit’s unity is preserved only by “forbearing one another in love.” To forbear is to endure folk who are difficult. This shows that unity is not that conformity that “thinks alike on every point,” for then forbearance would be unnecessary. The need to forbear shows that unity is in diversity, that our love for each other transcends those differences that would otherwise separate us from each other. The professor’s experience suggests that all this is made easier when one is praying for the oneness of God’s people.

Perhaps it is like a marriage that is having trouble. If those involved really pour their hearts out to God that the marital bond will not . be broken, they may well discover resources of power that they never dreamed of.

It is to say that prayer to God helps make it so. In any event, Jesus prayed that we might be one. He must have believed it. We should do no less. — the Editor