The Fellowship of Human Hearts
“Our Father” [the Lord’s Prayer] lifts each of us at once out of ourselves, and, if nowhere else on earth, at least at the throne of grace, makes us members one of another. Of course, it is assumed that the first link in the fellowship is Christ, our Elder Brother, and so there is no single heart, however isolated, but that may come with this prayer with perfect truthfulness, and hand in hand with Christ say, “Christ’s and mine.” But, undoubtedly, it chiefly refers to the fellowship of human hearts. The highest promises made to prayer are those who agree, or, as the Greek more beautifully expresses it, “sympathize” on earth. There is no place where we can love our friends so beautifully or so purely as at the throne of grace. There is no exercise in which the differences of Christians melt away as when their hearts meet together in the unity of prayer, and there is no remedy for the divisions of Christianity but to come closer to the Father, and then, perforce, we shall be in touch with each other.
—A. B. Simpson, from The Life of Prayer
Prayer Bands Go Viral
Prayer bands, formed by students and faculty members of the Missionary Training Institute (now Nyack College, Nyack, N.Y.), became a cornerstone of early Alliance work. By the early 20th century, Alliance prayer bands had multiplied to include fellowships across the nation and overseas, ensuring that every Alliance work, worldwide, was girded in prayer.
Pray
Join the Alliance family in praying for our workers at home and around the world. Use the Alliance Prayer Requests to assist you.
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This second installment of the C&MA|DNA series examines how the Alliance Core Values and particularly Prayer: Our Primary Work shape the way that we live and serve. This eight-week, key biblical beliefs study, is ideal for new-member classes, Sunday school, and small-group study.
Read David Goodin’s testimony to a life of prayer in “Pray!” found in the May/June 2015 issue of Alliance Life magazine.