First, an invitation: everyone is invited to join together in prayer at the church every Wednesday from 1:15-2:15. It’s during this prayer meeting that I am frequently moved to see how many of our members are requesting prayer for their parents, children, relatives, coworkers, friends, and neighbors. Often I find myself praying not only for those who are ill or who have other needs but also for those members who make the requests. Corporate prayer is one of those practices of the church that reminds us how much we are connected as a family.
Even though “family” could be a negative thing for some people, considering the dysfunction of so many of our own families, the family of God is set before us as an ideal, a model for our own families. This is one of the greatest blessings of our relationship with God. In Ephesians 2:17-19, Paul writes: “He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household.” Paul writes that Jesus’ death has not only brought peace between us and God but among all his people. It’s through the death of Christ that not only are we made members of God’s household but we are able to bring our prayers for each other to God directly.
As we start thinking about Thanksgiving and Christmas, seasons which have strong family ties, let’s consider how we can grow closer together as a family. For some this may mean a dramatic change of mindset. While not everyone is in a stage of life where there is a mother, father, and children, we all have one Father, and we are all brothers and sisters. If we can start thinking of our church as our family, we can pray more effectively and work together more effectively. Then we can bring more people to know the peace that we have as a family in Christ.