When I look at this old church, with the doors all boarded up and the obvious signs of neglect and abandonment, I can’t help but wonder…what happened? This was once a place on a small hill so sacred to the Lord, where folks came together as a faith family. But what happened? Why did it disband? Why is this place so deserted and left on its own to simply exist?
What happened to the unity that built this little house intended for worship and prayer and fellowship?
I want to share something with you that hasn’t only been on my heart lately, but I’ve been asked to share with other churches recently and it’s this one profound key to experiencing the blessings of God.
We can pray and believe to Whom and what we pray. And we can worship and believe in Whom we worship. We can serve and believe in Whom we serve. But if this one key is missing, if this one critical and necessary key is simply not there, the door to experiencing God’s supernatural blessings will not open. Oh, we may experience supernatural activity, but it won’t be from God. We can experience supernatural activity that is disguised as an angel of light and as a servant of righteousness and be fooled to believe it was from the Lord. But when this one key is applied in our life, there will be the supernatural and holy presence of Almighty God, His active love and awe-inspiring power in our life bringing fresh revival to our souls!
An interesting passage in Genesis 11 describes the construction of the tower of Babel. Ungodly people decided to build a city with an enormous tower for their own glory and prestige. So God intervened. He divided them by confusing their language. What is so striking about this is that God Himself noticed that when people are unified, they are able to exert tremendous power and momentum. Even ungodly people! So, imagine how powerful unity can be if God’s people seek Him and act in unity, nothing can stop them.
This is why the enemy does everything possible to keep God’s people divided. Because once we come together in unity, we gain momentum and take ground for the kingdom!
Want to know THE most powerful prayer? United prayer! But prayer from a divided people…not so much. This is why removing bitterness toward others, removing pride, removing deceitfulness, removing hostility and anger, and choosing to forgive and choosing to love is so crucial. In fact, ANY pride or self-centeredness should be seen as an enemy of unity. The person is not the enemy, but the sin they are harboring and displaying is the enemy.
Psalm 133:1 echoes Jesus’ prayer in John 17 – “How good and how pleasant it is for brothers (the faith family of God) to dwell together in unity.”
God loves and blesses unity, therefore, He will not bless a divisive attitude. He can’t. He won’t.
When people see unity they see something so attractive. The early church in the book of Acts had this momentum. Scripture says they operated with one mind, devoted to prayer and to each other’s needs. But what do we communicate when we stay divided?
When believers fuss, debate, push each other’s hot buttons, gossip, betray, deceive, shun, ignore, keep at a distance, leaving room for no one’s way but their own, then how is the world supposed to see faith in Christ as the answer? Is Jesus divided? Or is it man’s pride, selfishness, or ignorance that brings division?
Powerful movements of God arise as a result of prayer and unity – believing prayer and believing unity! God’s blessings fall when believers dwell together in unity. God’s blessings will not fall when they do not. Period. It’s just that simple.
God moves mightily when we rid our hearts of sin, forgive those who hurt us, and live clean before Him. He warns us in 1 John 4:20-21 that we cannot hate (or as we say today, “can’t stand”) a fellow believer in the Lord and yet claim to love God at the same time. When we do not forgive, then neither will He forgive us.
In order for any home to flourish, unity must dwell there, with no bitterness between husband and wife. In order for a church to flourish, unity must dwell there, with no selfish motives, impure thoughts, or pride.
Can you imagine churches actually working together within a city to win the lost?
Can you picture ministers unselfishly praying with other ministers, sharing resources among themselves without worrying about who gets the credit?
Can you see your city becoming a place where outsiders flock toward because of the powerful movement of God among a unified people?
THEN PRAY FOR IT! AND BELIEVE IT! Because in the heart of God …. it IS!
Pray asking God to do whatever He needs to do so that there is true unity! Whatever He needs to do! Fight for it. Ask the Lord to link you with people who desire to experience unity as well. And He will.
Keeping your distance from fellow believers is hypocritical, and it’s hindering to the work of God.
He sees into the heart and knows where there is need for healing. When we choose to love one another, and seek the Lord in both humility and unity, we gain momentum so that together the work of His kingdom is carried out … unto the GLORY OF HIS NAME.
Like with this little abandoned church that once had so much life and was built with so much hope and dreams,…if you harbor bitterness or a divisive spirit toward anyone in your heart, you break unity with the Spirit of God. Like this little chapel, you will exist, but will not experience Spirit-Life! You may be saved, but the lack of living unified keeps you from being sanctified by the Spirit-Life! God’s Spirit works with what is clean and purified through a lifestyle of repentance and confession of sin, giving Life to those who obey Him … increasing abundant Life!
Check your life – is there division between you and your spouse, your parent, your child, your neighbor, your co-worker, your faith family member, … if you can continue in the sin of shunning any fellow believer or harboring bitterness, then the open hand of favor from God will not only be hindered, but it will be halted in your life…in your ministry….in your home…in your effectiveness…in your influence. You may still press on in productivity, maybe even great productivity, with results that could be seen as quite impressive. But what is produced will be the results of your own abilities, skills and experience, yet lacking in His intervening POWER…in the supernatural intervention of our holy God.
God takes unity that seriously.
God loves when His people obey His son’s prayer in John 17, living unified as one body, that the world would know He was sent by God to bring salvation to the world (v. 21). Unity – that alone draws attention to our beautiful Savior.
Unity versus division…which will you choose?
**Inspired by the Battle Plan for Prayer
