Colossians 3:13-15
“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”
INSIGHT
-Unity in Hebrew is written as Echad and relates to one-ness between individuals or groups. Unity between friends, families, society and nation is key to ensure there is peace and harmony. Jesus said, peace I leave you, My peace I give you (John 14:27). It is not our own peace that unites us as brothers and sisters, but the peace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Even though sometimes we do not take advantage of the peace of Christ and His sacrifice on the cross by harboring unforgiveness in our hearts. Our unwillingness to forgive one another hinders unity from dominating our hearts and societies. Unforgiveness mutates to become bitterness and revenge takes centre stage. Unforgiveness and bitterness therefore become major barriers to unity. To restore unity among us, we need to love one another. We are required to rely on God’s love and the God of love. Love as we are aware is a fruit of the Holy Spirit against which there is no law. It is the love of God that binds us together in perfect unity. It is because of love that Jesus died for our sins and forgives us. He calls us to forgive all those who trespass against us and He will forgive our sins too. We need unconditional love if we are going to remain united through the failings of one another, and differences in opinions, positions, language, cultural background, religion, race, gender and color. We need agape love, which is the love of God that never fails to dwell in peace and perfect unity. We need the perfect unity of Christ to build relationships, families and nation for the glory of God.
PRAYER
Lord we thank You and bless Your holy name. Great is Your faithfulness. We rejoice in Your goodness and mercy upon our lives. We celebrate Your unending love and peace in our hearts, families, societies, nation and all the nations of the world. May Your peace be felt all over the world. Fill our hearts with Your fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility and self control. Fill us Holy Spirit with Your gifts of knowledge, understanding, wisdom, faith, preaching, teaching, speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues, healing, prophecy, discernment of spirits, helps accordingly to Your will Holy Spirit. Train our hearts to love You and one another as ourselves. Teach our hearts to forgive one another as You forgive our trespasses to. Wash us with Your precious blood and help us to always live in peace. May You unite all families and marriage dear Jesus. Unite all the citizens of Kenya as one, even in the coming general elections, merciful Savior we humbly ask You. Oh God of all creation, bless this our land and nation. May justice be our shield and defender. May we dwell in unity, peace and liberty. May plenty be found within our borders. Amen
Further reading: Romans 14:19, Ephesians 4:2-3, Galatians 5:22-23
Genesis 11:5-6
“But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. And the Lord said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them.”
INSIGHT
-The descendants of Noah quickly reverted back to their pagan ways and decided to build a tower in Babel. Babel in Hebrew in written as balal which means confused. God decided to confuse their language and scatter them as their motive was filled with pride and destructive in His eyes. God intends that our unity is progressive rather than destructive. Matthew 3:8 says that, we should produce fruit worthy of repentance. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 reveals that, two are better than one. In work and business, when united we produce better returns for their labor. In marriage two can keep warm together. And if either of them falls down, one can help the other up. Therefore, a cord of three strands is not quickly broken. Therefore, when Christ is at the center of all our relationships, our bonds are established by Him and through Him.
PRAYER
Dear Almighty Father we come before You today with thanksgiving in our hearts. We praise You for who You are and what You have done unto us. We count our blessings and name them one by one. Thank You for making us see this day in Your perfect peace that surpasses all understanding. We humbly ask You to heal all those who are sick and suffering, for by Your stripes we are healed. Bind us together Lord with codes of love that cannot be broken. Unite us together merciful Savior in our homes, marriages, businesses, society, nation and nations of the world, so that whatever we plan to do may not hinders. May all our plans and intentions reflect You dear Jesus. Bless the work of our hands and make us fruitful. Bless our marriages and grant us favor dear Jesus. We commit all our school going children under Your care dear Jesus, may You take control of their lives, understanding, morality, spirituality, their future and all that pertains to them. May You help them to focus on their studies and not be led away by peer influence. Deliver all our children from drug abuse, gaysm and lesbianism, premarital sex, pornography and masturbation, and lead them in Your way of salvation. Teach them to put You first in their lives and all that they do. May Your word be established in their hearts that they may never depart from You. Bless all our children dear Jesus and may Your will be done in their lives. Provide for all their parents school fees and all the required incidentals. May You unite all the parents and children with strong bonds of love that cannot be broken. We pray for all the broken families that You may re-unite them through Your grace. May Your mercy and love reach all the children living in the street that some may go back to school, others may find rehabilitation centers, others may get meaningful employment and families according to each ones need. Let all the children come to You dear Master. May You use us Holy Spirit to positively impact the widows, orphans and needy in the society for the glory and honor of Your name. We pray this believing and trusting in Jesus name. Amen
Further reading: Proverbs 13:20, Genesis 2:18
Psalms 133:1-2
“How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down on the collar of his robe.”
INSIGHT
–Unity has been likened to anointing oil that runs down the beard of Aaron to the collar of his robe. Since oil symbolic to the Holy Spirit, His anointing is bestowed upon those who seek after unity. Luke 4:18-19 discloses that the Spirit of the Lord is upon Jesus Christ, and anointed Him to preach the gospel to the poor, heal the brokenhearted, proclaim liberty to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, set at liberty those who are oppressed and proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. The Holy Spirit anoints us and gives us power, and grace to operate in His gifts and purpose. Jesus says, whoever believes in Me, greater works than these will he do (John 14:12). Where there is unity, God’s anointing is available and His blessing reigns among His people.
PRAYER
Abba Father our Lord and God we worship You and praise Your holy name. How great are You in all the heavens and the earth. How good and pleasant is it when Your people live together in unity, may You unite us with Your love. May You anoint us afresh Holy Spirit that we may perform great works for the glory of Your name. We are kings and priests to You Lord, anoint us afresh for the glory of Your name. Anoint us with the fire of Your love, that our hearts may always be focused on You Holy Spirit. May You make us vessels of honor that we may go into all the nations to proclaim the gospel. Grant that many may know You and believe in You. Jesus You are the Door to everlasting life, grant that many among our family members, friends and the entire world may receive Your gift of salvation we humbly ask You. May Your blessing and favor always be present with us. May You bless us and increase our capacity according to Your great power and grace. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us now, and forever more. Amen
Further reading: 1 John 2:27, John 10:9
Ephesians 4:11-13
“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;”
INSIGHT
-Jesus became Man and sacrificed His life for the sake of our redemption. He Himself founded the church and commissioned some to be apostles who were called first (Matthew 10:2-4). Christ is the cornerstone and built the church with the apostles and prophets (Ephesians 2:20). He also anoints teachers, pastors and evangelists to equip the saints in the knowledge of Him and His word. Since the harvest is plentiful and the laborers few, Christ commissions us to go into the world to preach the gospel and baptize people in His name (Matthew 28:19). Unity is therefore critical in the work of building up the church so that many may come to the knowledge of Christ and have perfect unity in Him, joint in His body.
PRAYER
This the day that You have made Lord, we rejoice are glad in it. We pray for our president that You may bless him and increase him in wisdom dear Father. We pray for his meeting with the US president that You may take over the deliberations and decision that will take place for the glory of Your name. We pray for all our political leaders that they may seek after peace and godliness. We pray for our nation that we will always dwell peace even as we go into the next general election. May You dear Jesus give us the best president whose heart is after Your own heart. May You bless our nation and enlighten us economically, financially, morally and spiritually, that many may believe in You dear Jesus. We pray for all the church leaders, that they may follow Your divine will. We pray for the church that it may always stand upon You Christ, the cornerstone. May we stand upon You dear Jesus as we hold fast faith in You and submit all our plans and strategies unto You. We surrender all our gifts and ministries unto You dear Jesus that You may guide us to equip saints for Your kingdom purposes. We surrender our lives unto You Holy Spirit, may You breath in us afresh that we may always submit to Your divine will. We surrender our homes, relationships, marriages, children, work, plans, nation unto You dear Jesus, may Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Our Father who art in heaven; hallowed be Your name; Your Kingdom come; Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptations but deliver us from evil; for thine is the Kingdom the power and the glory; forever and ever. Amen
Further reading: 1 Corinthians 12:12-27
Matthew 18:19-20
“Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
INSIGHT
-We can either be gathered physically or virtually. There is power in such unity as believers when we gather in the spirit. As we worship, praise and pray to God, we bring heaven down to earth. We are spirit beings in physical bodies, and we are called to worship in spirit and in truth. In spirit because the Holy Spirit is present in our lives as believers and in truth because we rely on the living word of God. In Acts 2:1 we see that when the disciples fellowshipped in one accord and in one place, the Holy Spirit came upon them. When we are united in worship and prayer, the Holy Spirit comes upon us to minister unto us powerfully, and whatever we agree He becomes our witness and grants us our requests.
SUMMARY
Unity by definition is the state of being one. The fruit of the Holy Spirit which is love, unites us as one body in Christ Jesus. God is love and desires that we love one another as ourselves. As members of the body of Christ, we have been anointed to operate in diverse gifts for the equipping of the saints. Some are apostles, others prophets, teachers, pastors and evangelists that many may come to the knowledge of Christ. This can be achieved by the grace of our God of peace and the peace of God fills our hearts and environments. The grace of God unites us firstly and ensures that we are in the spirit with God and one another. Unity also binds us together in the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ, in our homes, society and nation. Thirdly, unity ensures that we agree on a matter here on earth, and the Holy Spirit fills our hearts to become our witness and perform our requests. Fourthly, where there is unity, the Holy Spirit is present with His brethren. This was demonstrated when the disciples prayed and worshipped God in one accord. The people also brought their substance to help the widows, orphans and needy in the church. Unity also cements people together in one purpose. During the building of the tower of Babel the people were united and conspired to reach God. Their plan could not be stopped as their unity was strong only that selfishness and pride was their core motive. Even though they did not accomplish their mission, their oneness founded a strong bond that directs people from different languages, races and nations in the same vision. Despite the efforts to build up unity among brethren, unforgiveness becomes one of the strongest barriers. Unforgiveness leads to bitterness and in turn revenge takes center stage. Jesus instructed us to forgive one another seventy times seven times. Forgiveness is usually guided by the love of Christ which covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8). If we forgive other people their trespasses, Christ will also forgive our trespasses too. Without love we cannot forgive one another, and without forgiveness we cannot achieve unity. Lastly, Unity also causes the anointed and grace of God upon our lives, and it liked to oil running down the beard of Aaron to his collar.
PRAYER
Dear Almighty Father we come before Your presence today with thanksgiving in our hearts,. We thank You for this far You have brought us. We praise You and exalt You for all You have done for us. You have been a good God we praise You. Take all the praise, glory and honor. Father, may You unite us in Your Name Jesus. Make us ready to serve the purposes You destined for us and please You. May Your Holy Spirit fill us afresh as we are one for Your glory. May You release Your fresh anointing and command the blessing to us as we dwell in unity according to Your Word. We pray for unity in our families, nation and our communities. We come against the spirit of disunity, disagreement, conflict, anger, un-forgiveness and all spirits of the devil that cause discord among us. We pull down and destroy every high thing, proud obstacle and argument that exalts itself above the knowledge of God and take captive every thought to obey God. May you take over in all situations and provide for the needy, heal the sick and give us all peace so that we may be united and serve you easily and faithfully. We pray all this in Jesus Mighty Name, Amen
Further reading: Colossians 3:14