Learn to Keep the Oneness of the Spirit in the One Accord with Much and Thorough Prayer

We need to learn to keep the oneness of the Spirit in the one accord with much and thorough prayer.

The one accord is the heart of the oneness; the one accord is the Body of Christ, and if we lack the one accord, we have a sickness in the heart within the Body, for the one accord is what brings in the Lord’s blessing and the increase.

The Lord Jesus didn’t teach us concerning oneness, telling us that we need to be one; rather, in John 17 He prayed for oneness, and in Matt. 18 He led us to practice the one accord.

When He prayed for oneness, He mentioned that He has given us the Father’s name, His life, His Word, and His glory that we may be one even as the Triune God is one.

The oneness that we have in the Body and as the Body of Christ is the “in” oneness, that is, God is in us and we are in Him, and we are one with Him and one with one another.

We already have the oneness of the Body – we simply need to keep it, use it, apply it, and practice it; we need to pray in one accord, putting ourselves aside and keep the oneness.

However, how can we practice the oneness by having the one accord if we have differing opinions?

If I have my way of doing things and you have your way, and if another one thinks he’s the best while the fourth person simply says nothing but watches what is happening – how can we be one?

When we have the prayer meeting and someone prays, while others either shake their head or nod their head, where is the one accord?

We need to exercise our spirit, where oneness resides, and allow the Spirit to spread into our soul, subdue the parts of our soul, and bring our whole being in the oneness of the Spirit for the practice of the one accord.

When we get together with the saints and fellowship and pray, we should simply exercise our spirit to say Amen, seeking to be one with the saints for the sake of the oneness.

This doesn’t mean that we agree with everything that they say or that we allow any teaching to come in, and we just say amen; it means that we seek to be in the one accord, for the Lord blesses the one accord.

If two on earth pray in one accord, the Lord will answer their prayer, for they seek the Lord’s mind, will, and heart, and they exercise to be in one accord with one another (Matt. 18:19).

But if we agree only with those who speak what we want to hear, if we want to be only with those of the same background as us, and if we hang out only with those whom we like and prefer, where is the practice of the oneness among us?

Our race, our colour, and our background should be all put aside, and we should simply exercise our spirit to be one with the Lord, one with the saints, and seek the Lord in one accord for Him to pour out His blessing.

If we love the Lord and mean business with the Lord for His purpose to be accomplished, we will realize that we need to apply the oneness of the Body to be in one accord with the saints for the Lord’s move.

Our prayer in one accord opens the way for the Lord to bless us and pour out His blessing on whatever we are doing, for we are one with Him and with one another for His purpose to be accomplished.

Learning to Keep the Oneness of the Spirit in the One Accord according to the Lord’s Desire and with Much and Thorough Prayer

Even before the Lord uttered the marvellous prayer in John 17, He trained His disciples to practice the one accord in Matt. 18:19.

In order for us to be in the one accord, we need to practice the oneness; we already have the oneness of the Body – we simply need to keep it and practice it.

The disciples practised praying in one accord for ten days and, on the day of Pentecost, the Lord descended as the Holy Spirit in power and authority upon them to form the church, the Body of Christ.

What opened the way for the pouring out of the Spirit as power upon the disciples was their praying in one accord.

We need to learn to keep the oneness of the Spirit in the one accord according to the Lord’s desire and with much and thorough prayer (Eph. 4:3; Acts 1:14; 4:24).

We can keep the oneness only with the one accord; when we have the one accord, we can keep the oneness of the Spirit.

The one accord is the heart, the kernel of oneness; we can say that we have the oneness, but unless we have the one accord, we don’t have the heart of the oneness, the kernel and reality of oneness.

And for us to be in one accord we need to be grouped together with the saints into vital groups; we need to be vitalized together, built up together, and practice praying in one accord according to the Lord’s desire.

May we be before the Lord concerning this, realizing that the heart of the oneness is the one accord and, for the Lord to pour out His blessing, we need to be brought into the one accord!

If we don’t have the one accord, God cannot answer our prayer; when we pray in one accord, God is happy to answer whatever we ask Him, for what we ask Him will be what is in His heart.

We need much and thorough prayer in the vital groups, allowing the Lord to blend us and knit us together so that He would pour out His blessing and answer our prayer.

The one accord is the Body of Christ; the reality of the Body is simply the one accord. We need to practice the principle of the Body, and we will have the one accord.

But if we don’t practice the principle of the Body, we will not have the one accord and, even though we may remain together and enjoy a little of the Lord’s blessing, we limit the Lord in blessing us.

We may not fight with one anohther but we may still not have the one accord.

May the Lord have mercy on us and deliver us from the self so that we may live the Body life, practicing the one accord in much and thorough prayer with the saints in the vital groups!

If among those in a vital group there is no one accord, what can the Lord do with them? He can’t do much in and among them, for He needs the one accord in prayer.

It is hard for the Lord to freely move among us if we are not in one accord. It is hard for Him to answer our prayer if we don’t have much and thorough prayer according to His heart’s desire, praying in one accord with the saints.

May we be diligent to keep the oneness of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace (Eph. 4:3), practicing to pray in one accord with the saints.

When the Lord hears our prayer in one accord, He has a way to move among us and through us, and His blessing is with us.

For us to be under the Lord’s blessing means that we reap much more than we sow, and very little of our labor for Him produces a greater harvest than normal.

May we be those who are under the Lord’s blessing by keeping the oneness of the Spirit in the one accord according to the Lord’s desire with much and thorough prayer.

Lord Jesus, we want to keep the oneness of the Spirit in the one accord according to Your heart’s desire and with much and thorough prayer. Thank You for giving us the oneness of the Body; we want to keep this oneness, practice it, apply it, and spend it in our being grouped together by praying in one accord. Save us, Lord, from merely going through the motions in the church life yet without being in the one accord. Group us together with the saints into vital groups who pray in one accord and keep the oneness of the Spirit! Amen, Lord, make us those who are diligent to keep the oneness of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace. Keep us in the one accord in prayer with the saints for You to pour out Your blessing and do what You want to do among us and through us.

The One Accord is the Heart of the Oneness – May we be Saved from maintaining Oneness with a Sick Heart!

What the Lord is doing and what He wants to do among His people is great, wonderful, inward, and full of His blessing.

But He cannot bless His people unless they are in one accord unless they pray in one accord according to His heart’s desire.

In Matt. 18 it seems that the Lord gave us “the blank check” which we can “cash in” whenever we want – whatever we ask the Father in His name by being in one accord, the Lord will do it.

If we don’t pray in one accord, however, what can the Lord do among us and through us? If we are not in one accord, how can God answer our prayer?

If we’re not in one accord, how can God get people saved, converted, regenerated, and transformed in His dynamic salvation?

May the Lord show us that the one accord is the heart, the kernel, the nucleus, of the oneness (Eph. 4:3; Acts 4:24; Rom. 15:6).

May we realize that oneness is like the physical body, and one accord is like the heart within the body. If the heart is working properly, the body is doing well; if the heart is sick, the whole body is sick.

Without the heart, we are dead; the heart animates the body for it pumps blood in the body. The heart gives vitality and life to the body; if you take the heart away, there’s not much use for the body.

Our spiritual sickness is like a sickness of the heart within the body, for we serve God and maintain oneness with a sick “heart”, that is, without one accord. Oh, Lord Jesus!

We may come together to enjoy the Lord with the saints, we may praise the Lord, and we may exercise our spirit to prophesy, but we may not be conscious of the fact that we do not have the adequate one accord.

We may be one to a certain extent, but we don’t have the one accord according to the Lord’s heart among us.

May we be saved from maintaining the oneness with a sick heart; may we be saved from practicing the church life without the proper one accord.

May we realize that the reason we are barren and do not bear fruit adequately is that we lack one accord.

The main reason the Lord doesn’t answer our prayer related to fruit-bearing is our lack of one accord.

May we humble ourselves before Him and allow Him to shine on us and in us; under His light, we will se the sickness of the heart that we have, and we will confess our lack of one accord.

Our being grouped together in the vital groups is to recover us, that is, to heal us and cure us.

We have become sick, our sickness is of the heart, for we lack the one accord; what we need is to be grouped together in the adequate one accord.

May the Lord have a way to touch the sickness that is among us, and may we open to Him and to one another in the vital groups and allow Him to heal us, cure us, and bring us into a proper practice of the one accord in the church life.

We may try to maintain the semblance of oneness, the facade of oneness; we may shake hands with others and put our arms around them when we meet, but when we leave the meeting, we all go to our own things. Oh, Lord!

When we are together with the saints we may act as if we’re on camera, being happy, caring, loving, and interested in others; but when we leave the meeting, we may even criticize others.

We may have some stories to tell, we may have some problems with others, and we may be offended or offend others, for we have different opinions and feelings.

When we’re together, we may put on a performance, but we do not keep the genuine oneness. Oh, Lord Jesus!

This is not for us to feel introspective and see what’s going on here and there; this is for us to come to the Lord, allow Him to shine on us, and pray,

Lord Jesus, heal us of our sickness; cure us from our lack of one accord. Save us from merely performing when we’re with the saints and then taking off our masks when we leave the meeting. Group us together with the saints and keep us in the one accord in the vital groups. Save us from trying to maintain the semblance of oneness, putting on a facade of oneness, and acting when we are with the saints. Have mercy on us, Lord, and group us together, heal us, cure us, and bring us into an adequate one accord so that we may be able to maintain the genuine oneness. Heal us of our sickness, the lack of one accord. May we be healed and cured of any sickness of the heart by being grouped together and praying in one accord. Amen, Lord, we want Your blessing upon us so that You may do what You intend to do in us and among us in the church life!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by Minoru Chen for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1991-1992, vol. 3, “Fellowship concerning the Urgent Need of the Vital Groups,” chs. 7, 9-10, 12, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Vital Factors for the Lord’s Recovery of the Church Life (2021 ITERO), week 5, The Factor of the Genuine One Accord.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – “With one accord” within the house of God / A hallelujah song is daily raised, / As with the voice of one, from vocal hearts / Christ Jesus’ name is glorified and praised. (Hymns #258)
  – Prayer is the golden pipes the Spirit fills, / Which feed the lamps of God with oil divine, / And, as with one accord we wait and pray, / The Spirit fills, the lamps with brightness shine. (Hymns #762)
  – How pleasant and how good it is / When brethren in the Lord / In one another’s joy delight / And dwell in sweet accord. (Hymns #856)