“I am not praying for these alone but also for the future believers who will come to me because of the testimony of these. My prayer for all of them is that they will be of one heart and one mind, just as you and I are, Father – that just as you are in me and I am in you, so they will be in us, and the world will believe that you sent me.”

One of the tasks that we face as Christians is a task of inclusion. We have to pray for our brothers and sisters. We have to pray for those who follow us just as the ones who came before us did. A story I learned recently comes from Walt Whitman’s autobiography: Whitman is walking down a country road and comes upon a turtle sitting on a fence post. Knowing that a turtle could not climb a fence post, Whitman asked the turtle how he came to be there and the turtle replied, “I did not get here by myself.” We must pray for the future believers and remember those who came before us.

HEAVENLY FATHER, THANK YOU FOR AWAKENING MY HEART TO THE LOVE OF CHRIST. I PRAY THAT YOU GIVE ME THE STRENGTH AND THE COURAGE TO CARRY YOUR WORD AND SHARE IT. I GIVE THANKS TO YOU FOR THOSE MANY GENERATIONS OF THE FAITHFUL THAT BROUGHT THE WORD TO ME. I PRAY THAT OUR FUTURE GENERATIONS CAN HEAR YOUR WORD AND CARRY IT FORWARD AND SHARE IT WITH THEIR FUTURE. AMEN.

-Shared by Joel Pollock