Prayer station #3: Fellowship

Questions to ponder about before reading on:

1) What does fellowship mean to you personally?

2) What is the difference between fellowship with people in church and friendship in school, workplace etc?

Jesus prayed this prayer for his disciples in John 17:20, 21: “I do not ask in behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent me.”

This portion of prayer gives us a glimpse of Jesus’ heart for all his disciples, which includes all of us who believe in him. What a comforting thing it really is to know that Jesus actually prays for his disciples! And here, he prays, not just for his disciples at that time, but also for all who believes in him—Us!

What he prayed for must have been a real desire in his heart and it is that we may all be one.

What does it mean for us to all be one?

Romans 12:5 – ‘so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.’

From Romans 12:5, we see how oneness relates to the body of Christ.

Imagine yourself wanting to go to the kitchen to get a glass of water. But something strange happens: your legs say that they want to walk to the balcony, your hands say that they want to grab something from your bedroom and your eyes want to be in the living room to watch a television program. Do you think you would be able to get the glass of water in the kitchen?

This is just an example of disobedient, disunited body parts. But what about the body of Christ? Are we one body or are we simply disunited body parts?

The body has to be one before it could even start accomplishing anything. The different parts need to belong to each other before anything can begin. Hence, it needs a common mind and a common goal.

Now let us imagine a little further. What difference would it make if you want to get a glass of water in the kitchen, but all your body parts decide in unity to boycott your decision and stay in the bedroom? Though your body is united, would you be able to accomplish the task you seek to do?

That is the reason why Jesus prayed for something else apart from all of us being one in John 17:21. He prayed that ‘they may all be one even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us’.

The body doesn’t just have to be one with each other. It has also got to be one with the owner of the body, which is in this case, our Lord Jesus Christ.

The oneness that we share with each other and with our Lord Jesus Christ is fellowship.

In Acts 2: 44-45, we see a glimpse of how fellowship was like in the early church. “And all those who had believed were together, and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions, and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.”

Very often we can’t tell the difference between fellowship and close friendship. But there is a very distinct difference, as we can see from the example of the early church. They didn’t just have many things in common like close friends did, but they had all things in common, even to the extent of sharing their property and possessions. It was possible because they shared the life of Jesus Christ.

That was true deep fellowship: the sharing of lives with one and another, with Jesus Christ being the common ground.

Now spend some time think of as many in this church that have crossed your life in one way or another. These people are your fellow members in the body of Christ.

Spend some time to ponder over your relationship with them. How close are these people to you? Do you share very close brother-sister relationships with? Are you uncomfortable to share with them your life during DG sessions? Spend some time to pray for increasing openness to share.

Finally, spend time pray that fellowship in church would be deepened and broadened, and above all, that it would Christ-centered (Christ being the common ground for fellowship)