O God, we do not desire new contentions and discord.
We pray only that the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ,
who for us died and rose from the grave, will guide us,
that all of us who are in many communions may be
one Church, one Communion, and one in him.
As he himself earnestly prayed for us in the hour of his death, saying,
“I pray also for those who through your Word will believe in me,
that they may be as one as you, Father, are in union with me and I in you,
and that they may be one in us,” so also we pray. Amen.
Philip Melanchthon, 1497 – 1560, German reformer with Martin Luther
The Westminster Collection of Christian Prayers
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Ephesians 2:13-16
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.
prayer & verse 