Pray.

In the last post on prayer, I pointed out how we can pray for ourselves just like Jesus prayed for himself. That we can be honest, be in relationship with God, and ultimately pray that our actions will match up with what God would want in all situations. But there is more to the way we live than just ourselves, and there is more to prayer than just ourselves.

Here, I want to tackle how we pray for our community. The people that surround us in daily situations. This could be family, church, classmates, and lots of others, but for us it also includes our tennis team. How do we live and how do we pray for those that we share a tennis court with 2 hours every evening? What is the purpose of going before God for those with whom we sit next to on a sweaty mini-bus ride?

Or, since we are trying to take a step to become like Christ, how would Jesus pray for his community?

From John 17: "I pray... that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you."

Jesus' prayer for those who were to believe in him was that they would all be one, just as he and the Father were one. That those who believe in Christ, their very essence would be tied up in one another. And that the essence of God would shine through that unity. That people could look at Christ's followers and identify the character of God within their unity.

So, how is the unity on the tennis team? Are we tied up into one another's lives? How about one another's matches? Are you as concerned with where Matt Ebersole will play as where you will? As concerned about Austin's match as you are about your own? Okay, this may be hard to do, but we want to be as one. That means we all commit to our goals, our aims, and to each other.

We need to invest ourselves into the success of others on the team. Don't forget that one of the blessings that we studied from Psalm 128 was that we would get to see the success of others in our community. That should be a source of joy for us, seeing others succeed, because they are us and we are them. We are one.

Selflessness does not come easily. Unity does not come without effort. That is where prayer comes in. It's a first action to take, a request and communication, but also a reminder of how we hope to act. When I pray for unity, for oneness, I am asking God to work in mysterious ways that I may never know to draw our team together. But in saying the very words, I should be reminded of my responsibility to promote that very unity.

Coming together is important. A united team will leave lasting memories and change our lives, our confidence, our worth, and our play more than anything. Be in prayer for this simple yet complex request. Be acting upon it too.