Prayer with others
Hello. I am in my 50's. I was raised Catholic, 'officially' left the church at age 18, belonged to no church or nondenominational churches, then went back to the Catholic church a few years ago. I stopped attending after feeling a failure at doing all that was required to be a Catholic, emphasis on 'doing.' I have recently been wanting to attend a church again but, after the recently revealed comments about homosexuality and the acceptance of that lifestyle by Pope Francis, I have rid myself of any lingering doubts that the Catholic church expresses God's will for our salvation most accurately. My question is this: where does WELS draw the line when praying with Christians of other denominations? For example, when Christians in a city hold a vigil against abortion, or peace throughout the world? When my family (parents, siblings, etc.) are together for a meal, we pray out loud, "Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts, which we are about to receive, through thy bounty, through Christ our Lord. Amen." Is it really wrong to join in universal pray with other Christians with prayers that we all agree on? I ask because I have been looking at both the LCMS & WELS churches to become my lasting earthly, spiritual, home. Thank you for your time.
“Whether we worship together, commune together, pray together or do church work together, a unity on the basis of God’s word is necessary.”
That quotation is from a brief paper that would be valuable for you to read, as it provides a more in-depth response to your questions than can be done through this question and answer service. The paper is from the Essay File of Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary and is available here.
When it comes to common prayers, you will want to keep in mind that it is not the content of a prayer or the form of a prayer that determines whether or not we pray with others. The usage of a common prayer does not suspend scriptural fellowship principles (Romans 16:17-18; Ephesians 4:3-6; 2 John 10-11).
Beyond reading the paper mentioned above, the best way to receive answers to your questions is by speaking to one of our pastors. I encourage you to do that. He could also explain the route to church membership. God’s blessings to you.