Prayer fellowship
Is it ever okay to pray with a non-WELS Christian? I have heard some say that it is not because the WELS is the only true church. I have heard others say that in personal situations, it is up to your own discretion. I would like to know if a Christian friend in college and I can say a prayer of thanksgiving before we eat. Thanks.
The reason for refraining from praying with people who are outside of our fellowship is not because we do not consider them Christians. We do not pretend to be the only church whose teachings are entirely biblical; the kingdom of God is not limited to WELS. We believe we are holding to the truths of God’s word. If others accuse us of error in doctrine or practice, we are certainly willing and interested to listen, and see what Scripture says about their claims and our confession.
The reason for not praying with people who are outside of our fellowship is because Scripture teaches us to work for and preserve the unity of faith (Ephesians 4:3), and not to pretend there is unity when there is not (Romans 16:17; 2 John 10;11).
The Bible does not speak of prayer fellowship any differently than other forms of fellowship like worship and joint gospel work. Not praying with your friend can be a good testimony to the truths of God’s word and, perhaps, lead to a meaningful discussion of what the Bible teaches about fellowship principles.