Pray the word with David Platt is a resource from Radical.net.

It's a concise summary of civil war among God's people.

In this point in the book of Judges, God's people are turning against each other and are

fighting against each other in ways that are obviously destructive for them and ultimately

dishonoring, displeasing to God. And we see this picture in Judges and then we read the rest

of the Bible and we see this tendency over and over and over again. And it's all over the

New Testament Church. Even as I've been preaching through 1 Corinthians, I've just been reminded

of divisions among God's people and tendencies among God's people to turn against one another.

I think about Jesus' prayer for us as God's people before he went to the cross. This is the

one thing he was praying for us as he transitions in John 17 to praying for those who would believe

in him through the witness of his original disciples. And he prays that we would be one

just as he and the Father are one. And so it's pretty clear what God desires for us as his people.

And it's also pretty clear all over scripture that there is a tendency to go against this

desire. So we pray, God help us, God help us in any day and especially this day we pray.

God emits all the tumult that we have walked through in the world over the last year

in light of a global pandemic and in light of so many other tensions. God we pray that you would

help your church to be one. As you are one, as the Father and the Son together,

God we pray for a trinitarian type oneness for a unity of heart and mind around your truth

and your love around your word. God help us. Help us all to hold fast to your word. And God

help us to hold fast in grace and mercy and love toward one another when we have differences

over things that are not clear in your word. God, please give us wisdom to discern these things

in ways that we don't turn against one another. God, we pray that you would help us to love one

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