This article was written while serving as the Northern California Regional Coordinator and Capitol Coordinator for the National Day of Prayer. I’ve since stepped down from this role, but the article is still relevant today.
Hi, I’m Shari Bonnard, Northern California Regional Coordinator for the National Day of Prayer. I’ also the California State Coordinator for the National Day of Prayer State Capitol event. This role gives me the joy of getting to know our California legislatures and most importunity, to lift them up in prayer.
National Day of Prayer, the first Thursday in May, This years theme is Unity based on Ephesians 4:3, Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
John 17:21 I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one–as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.
Why Unity, why now? Christ, the cross and the resurrection. The gospel. No other truth in history has the power or ability to change the hearts on man like the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:27 exhorts us to set an example as the church. Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, Celebrating the Resurrection of Christ is the greatest joy for me! Not only did Christ give His life that I may life eternally, but He keeps on giving out of love for us daily. Even the rising sun is a reminder of God’s great love for us. We could not live without the sun as the earth would be too cold for us to survive.
Unity in the body of Christ – This year we are emphasizing unity in many ways, cross cultural, generational and most importantly the church. Understanding that cultural differences exist and being mindful that we are all fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of Christ, can make a profound impact to those in our sphere of influence. The bible has many examples of calls to unity, Paul wrote the church of Corinth, who had divisions amongst the body and reminded them that they were Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.
I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. 1 Corinthians 1:10
The book of Acts demonstrates a rich diversity amongst believers in the Syrian church of Antioch. Jews worshiped with Christians in unity. The congregation itself was richly blended with many nationalities:
Barnabas – a wealthy man and a Cypriot Jewish Levite
Simeon, called Niger – a black african convert to Judaism
Lucius of Cyrene – Greco-Roman from North Africa
To name a few. The book of Acts emphasizes diversity because it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians in Acts 11:26.
How- We are called to be salt and light to the world. Standing in unity as the Church, illuminates the darkness and draws others to Christ. No wonder Christ cried out that we would be as one before laying his life down for us. Through the blood that was shed on the Cross, Christ tears down the walls of division that separates us from walking as one in love. The greatest gift we have is love which flows from the power of the Holy Spirit, when we allow Him to work in us.
In preparation for the State Capitol event some of our planning team went in search of a Color Guard to present the colors at the event. I personally went to google to search for local Color Guards in the Sacramento area. Having three small girls to care for, I left my laptop to tend to their needs and when I came back there was a video of a drum-line playing. How google went from Color Guard to a You Tube video was beyond me but it caught my attention. The video captured two separate drum lines from two different colleges, coming together for the first time.Both drum-lines were extremely talented and had won several competitions each. Upon meeting they stood across from each other sizing one another up, Each team played a separate drum roll in a bold statement, that said “I’m better..” Finally they were encouraged to stand together in one line while the director, instructed them to line up side by side. They came together shook hands and stood side by side. Instructing them again, the director had them stand closer together shoulder to shoulder. The director slowly began to instruct them to play a simple drum roll in unison, rat a tat tat, After a few attempts the drum-lines flowed together in unity, drumsticks in hand forming a symmetrical pattern as each drummer played the drum roll in perfect harmony, as they stood shoulder to shoulder.
Seeing the drum line standing shoulder to shoulder reminds me of the childhood game of Red Rover. Classmates would stand on opposites sides and hold hands and call someone from the other team to run and try to break the hold. The team would call the smallest classmate believing that he and she could not possibly break the line. In this way one small compromise can break down the walls of unity in the church scattering us in discord.
1 Peter 5-8 tells us that the enemy is like a roaring lion seeking whom he might devour, . More often than not we can want something so badly that we are deceived or blinded by our own desires, that we can often get carried away in the times or seducing doctrines. Make 4:15 clearly states, that satan takes away the seed that was sown in them.
In this way the church is also an easy target, caught up in the chaos of this world, we’ve forgotten our new covenant mandate, to go and make disciples.
Matthew 28:18 – 19 Christ states, “ that All power is given unto Him in heaven and in earth.” He also instructs us to “go and make disciples of all the nations.” Our Kingdom given mandate is to share and light the world with the love and gospel of Christ. Stumbled on by accident, the drum line is a great depiction of how we are to stand as the church in unity. In this way, we hold one another accountable and we march in love to the beat of the gospel and our Kingdom calling. Paul cries out in Colossians 1:23, “But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed as God’s servant to proclaim it.”
There is nothing that we can do on our own including standing in unity as the church. It really takes the power of the Holy Spirit in us to to enable us to loves others who are different than we are. Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3:16 – 18 is very powerful and his most fervent of all prayers, “that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.
Standing in unity roots and grounds us in love for one another. Being filled with the fullness of God’s Holy Spirit enables us to move outside of our boundaries and perspectives to reach a lost and hurting world. Our Lord and Savior’s greatest desire for us is to work in and through us to reach the lost.
Going back to Philippians 1:27, Paul exhorts us to strive side by side for the sake of the gospel. The drum line is a perfect example of standing shoulder to shoulder as the church. Drums were often used in preparation for battle as men used them to march in step as well as for a communication system. When when stand in unity we send a signal that we are strong in Christ and that He lives in us individually and as a body. We can do nothing on our own but through Christ we can love one another as He so commands us to do. In Philippians 2:1-6, Pauls gives us an example of standing in love and in unity and this is my prayer for you as the church:
Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, 2 make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. 3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; 4do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.
It is with great joy that I invite you to stand and pray with us on May 3rd. You can join us at the State Capitol at 5:30 pm on the north steps. If you are unable to attend you can find an event in your area by going to our National site at nationaldayofprayer.org/events.
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