July 14, 2011

Fellowship

1 John 1:1-4

We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us.
1 John 1:3

— 

A couple of years ago our congregation prayed around the clock for a week straight. We created a prayer room, covered the walls with prayer requests, and invited members of the congregation to sign up for an hour during that week. All but four of the 168 time slots got filled. My hour came early on Tuesday morning.

I had a powerful “aha” moment during my hour. It came as I read what those who had prayed in the room before me had written. In the blank spaces of the paper on the walls and in the prayer journal on the table people had recorded holy words. There were words of deep gratitude to God; words of peace, hope, and joy; and words of struggle with doubt, pain, and loss. It became clear that even though I was alone in the room, I was in the company of fellow believers. I was with other people who were with the Father and his Son.

This is the fellowship we read about in our text—fellowship that God himself creates as he gathers people to faith through the proclamation of the gospel. It is fellowship we have with one another, whether we are in the same room or not. It is fellowship with others in God, and it makes our joy complete.

As you pray today, remember that you are connected with a community of fellow intercessors that circles the globe.

Dear God, keep us moving into genuine fellowship with one another in you. May it be the kind of fellowship that makes our joy complete by revealing your glory. Amen.

About the author — David Den Haan

Pastor Dave Den Haan has served at Fairway Christian Reformed Church in Jenison, Michigan, since 1999. Previously he served a church in Minnesota. Dave and his wife, Connie, have three children.

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