Ecumenical Prayer

I just finished praying over my baby girl. She's nearly 2 and a half but she's still a baby. I pray a prayer of thanksgiving for God's love, for His sending of Christ and for our baptisms. My daughter has yet to make any type of "confession of faith." I don't plan on asking her to do such a thing. Nevertheless, I pray for her as a sister in Christ. She has been baptized into His church and she needs grace and reform just as much as the next fella. 

Where is this going?

Last Tuesday a valuable, public discussion took place concerning the future of Protestantism. Many digital 1s & 0s have been spent documenting thoughts, questions and answers stemming from that discussion. But one point, in particular, has stuck with me and I'm going to confess it here.

Tonight I will be praying for my Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Baptist, Seventh-Day Adventists, Church of Christ, Pentecostal and Non-Denominational brothers and sisters in Christ. 

I will thank God for His outpouring of love upon all of us. I will thank Him for sending Jesus Christ to die for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures. I will thank Him for our baptisms. And I will pray for reform. We all need reform. I don't expect to hear about new "confessions of faith" or conversions. Just reform. The washing of the whole bride through the Word. 

Ecumenical endeavors are generally scoffed at and rightly so. But tonight I'll successfully pray an ecumenical prayer. And it will be a successful ecumenical endeavor.

Even if only within me.