07/18/2018
One of the great benefits of church is being together before God with those of the same belief, but another powerful attribute is the strength that comes from joint prayer. I am not talking about the recitation of a common prayer, although that is powerful as well, but I am speaking of two of more believers praying in their own thoughts and words for the same thing. If you have ever recited the Lord’s prayer then you have participated in common prayer, but what about joint prayer with another? Have you ever prayed separately, together, for the same cause?
“Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them."”
Matthew 18:19-20 ESV
It is any Monday night in Nashville, Tennessee, and I come together with two other elders in a quiet room at my church. After a time of coming together, and catching up with one another, we begin to pray. We start by praying in what I can only call a circle of prayer in which we lay hands on each other, and take turns praying aloud for the Holy Spirit to join us, any issues of our church, and for the other two in the circle. Having prayed in this manner we begin a time of joint prayer where we separate ourselves by a few feet and pray individually in unison. I must say that when you are praying in this manner you come into and out of the consciousness of your own prayer to hear those around you, and it is thrilling to the point of allowing the Holy Spirit to sweep you back into that closeness with God in which the other’s prayers are just a distant hum. This is how we begin our evening of intercessory prayer for others. This is how joint prayer unites us as one.
Forming a prayer bond with others in the presence of God is a powerful thing; it unites us as believers just as every individual prayer should unite us personally with God. Such prayer strips away the divisive things on which we don’t, or can’t, come together in agreement, and reveals the core of our faith on which we can stand unified together. In our secret prayer closets God wants to hear our private thoughts, and settle our separate concerns and needs, but together he wants to hear those things on which we agree, and to strengthen our bond as a family of believers, a church, by answering those common, and joint prayers we lift as one.
Monday nights are special to the three of us who meet each week in that little room at my church, but this shouldn’t be limited to such times as this. Think of other occasions of common and joint prayer in your life... reciting a common prayer at mealtime with your family and others, or the joint prayers of parents for a sick child. Sweep these times together through your faith as if you were sifting them through the baleen of a whale... straining out every tiny blessing that could nourish your spirit, your soul, your relationship with God and others, and that lifts you to a place you could not reach alone. Being alone with God in prayer is magnificent, but the blessings we receive by being together in thought and prayer before Him is divine.
“Then the Lord God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him."”
Genesis 2:18 ESV
From creation itself, it has never been good for us to be alone; not in life, and not in prayer. To this end God gave us one another, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Certainly there are times when being alone with God is incredibly important, and Jesus did so daily, and many times for extended periods, but in our opening scripture (Matthew 18:19-20) He instructs us on the power of joint prayer. If we can’t come together in prayerful agreement, then how is He to answer our needs? Think about this over the coming days. Are you at odds with someone regarding an issue, or a want? Pray privately for unity as you let the Holy Spirit lead you in the Word, and then pray together for provision. Half of the church might want one thing, while the other half wants something different... how can you come together? Prayer!
Are you there already, or do you need to take the idea of unity and joint prayer into your private closet... into your secret prayers?
Prayer:
Father, thank you for the private times I have with you, and the Holy Spirit that joins us there, but thank you from the bottom of my heart for those times of prayer with my brothers and sisters in Christ. Thank you Holy Father for showing me that I am not alone in this world, just as I am not alone in spirit before you. Thank you for the strength I gather from being together with others in joint prayer, and thank you for the sweet hum of their prayers as I pray individually with them in the Spirit. How magnificent and precious are our times alone together Gracious Father, but how divine are those when I join hands with others in unison, and common cause before you. Hear my prayer, and the prayers of those at my side, as we lift up our common needs, heartbreaks, and issues, before your throne. Hear our prayers as we pray in Jesus’ name and in one voice, one mind, to you. When we find ourselves divided, remove the wedge from between us, and bring us together Merciful Father. Don’t let us become intransigent in our thoughts, and unable to reach accord with others... because if this is so, then how will we pray together? How will we grasp the promise of your provision? Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God who hears my prayer, and joins it with the prayers of others in Jesus’ name.
“May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Romans 15:5-6 ESV
Rich Forbes