Togetherness!

Monday, 16 November 2020

“Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving” – Colossians 4:2

Togetherness is a key thing in the Kingdom of God, the LORD tells us in His Word that it is when we have loved that we have fulfilled GOD’s requirement (Galatians 5:14). This love is not self-centered, it is dispersed abroad to others, it is love for others, and it is the bond of perfection that binds us together (Colossians 3:14). In like manner, we are instructed to pray together (2 Chronicles 7:14), our Lord Jesus exemplified this Kingdom culture of unity in His association with the disciples. I imagine that His earthly crusade could have easily been a one-man mission, but He poured of Himself into the disciples and sent them out into the world to make disciples of the nations teaching them to observe the very thing He was teaching them, one of which being unity in the spirit and praying together.

The instruction is to pray, to pray together, and also to cultivate personal prayer. Now we need to ensure that we do not neglect the essence and the importance of ‘corporate prayer’ because it carries power and significance which cannot be accessed in private prayer. “These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.” (Acts 4:14). What we have observed with the saints in the book of Acts is, first of all, the birth of the Church, this birth came through prayer, an instruction to remain together in one accord and in prayer. It was when they were gathered together like this with one accord that they experienced the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. This was as per instruction, and Paul says in the book of Colossians ‘continue like this’. In Hebrews 10:25 we are admonished not to forsake the gathering of ourselves together, especially as we see the day of the Lord approaching.

Fellowship, loving each other passionately, praying for one another, praying together, meeting together often just to look into each other’s eyes, greeting each other with a holy kiss, bandaging each other’s wounds, giving each other water to drink, encouraging each other, singing songs to each other, sharing all things in common, spending and being spent on one another, comforting each other, being each other’s’ joy. Every time I glance into my Bible this is what the Church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven looks like, we need to copy and paste in real time, really fast as we see the day of the Lord approaching!

The instruction is to pray, to pray together, and also to cultivate personal prayer.