Us Pray for the Church, the Body of Christ

Revelation 2: 4-5:

“Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.”

Revelation 3:15

“…These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm-neither hot nor cold-I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”

It grieves my heart to see friends and even some who are dear to me have drifted and are no longer fully devoted followers of Christ. They have been lulled into thinking they can navigate the world and today’s culture by living for themselves, choosing from a menu of what satisfies their emotional, physical, political, or spiritual tastes. Many have grown apathetic and are no longer hungry for the things of God, having lost their “first love” as written in today’s verse from Revelation. Others, who claim to be members of the Body of Christ, see themselves as rich and self-sufficient, but the Lord sees them as wretched, pitiful, poor, and blind. Jesus calls them lukewarm Christians—or pretend Christians—who are so distasteful that He said He would spit them out of His mouth! All who suffer with hardened, tepid hearts must repent and come back to Christ with wholehearted love, devotion, faith, and trust in Jesus Christ, our Savior.

May we who remain faithful, who follow Him with hungry hearts, live out our faith with great anticipation as we wait for His glorious return.

Dear God in heaven, the Body of Christ needs You. We pray for those who have drifted, that they may return to their First Love, Jesus, with hearts of repentance and recommitment to the only One who can give them true peace and purpose. May we, the Body of Christ, seek You as we did from the first—with wholehearted love, devotion, faith, and trust in Jesus Christ, our Savior. There are those within the church who are experiencing persecution, intimidation, ridicule, and attacks for their beliefs. Their voices may sometimes be silenced, but Your love and light live on in their hearts. Please be with those who so desperately need our prayers for courage, power, and strength to combat the forces of wickedness in our nation. We also pray for unity of the body: to be unified in prayer, unified in belief in the Triune God, unified in belief in the inerrancy of God’s Word, His laws, and statutes. May we set aside any differences we have for the greater good and the cause of Christ. We ask You, dear Father, to impress upon each member of the Body of Christ that we must consider the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace as sacred, to the glory of God. We honor You, our Father, and pray in the name of Your Son, Jesus. Amen.

As a devoted Christ-follower, Marsha has walked this twisting, winding, bumpy road called life, giving her many opportunities to serve Him. Besides owning and managing a Tea business for twenty-two years, her focus has been to minister to women as a leader, teacher, mentor and public speaker.

At this point in her life, she has a great sense of urgency to share the love of Christ with men and women from all walks of life through the written word.  She has been married for 56 years and is the mother of two married daughters and grandmother of four.

You can contact her through her Devotions For All Reasons Facebook page, the website of the same name, as well as: Tea For All Reasons, Food For All Reasons (both shared with her daughter, Jen) and England For All Reasons, shared with her husband, Jake

Image by DEEPAI