A Powerful Key to Prayer - September 30, 2013

Matthew 18:19-20
19 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.
20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

Many of us miss out of so much because we only pray by ourselves. Yet, when Jesus gave us an outline for prayer, he spoke about praying together. There is power in group prayer.

If you're not praying with other believers, then you're not getting the support you need. You're missing out on one of the major benefits of being a Christian. Jesus says, "Whenever two of you on earth agree about anything you pray for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, I am there with them." (Matthew 18:19-20 TEV) That's the power of praying with other people.

Ask yourself, "Who do I pray with on a regular basis?" Maybe you've never prayed with anybody before and it scares you to death. It is okay to start slow: When you get together with five or six other friends, you don't have to pray if you don't want to -- you can sit there and be quiet.

Then, after several weeks, as you become more comfortable, you can begin to participate more in the group's prayers. And, you'll find a new level of stability in your life.

I feel that group prayer is something that we all don't get enough of. Independent prayer is very important to, but that does not mean we should avoid any opportunities we have to pray with fellow believers. I know from experience that group prayers are definitely different from independent prayers. In fact, it can actually be more beneficial to an individual when in hard times. Group praying has a lot of benefits that you may or may not have while praying alone. One thing I realized is that when I do group prayers, it feels as though God listens to each and everyone of us involved in the prayer because we all are just whole-heartedly speaking to Him and letting everything else just disappear for the time being and focusing on Him. I get this secure feeling of brothers and sisters speaking to God as one voice, and it really helps me to just be relaxed and more open to God at times. As well, it is good to know where other Christians are in their walks with God, and if they are going through any struggles to try and encourage them and help them through rough times while in prayer with them. There is power in group prayer! Use it to your advantage! 

Adults and jipsanims always told me that prayers were powerful- especially when people gathered together to pray together.

Personally, I'm more used to praying alone because I find praying with others gives me, to put it simply, a weird feeling. However, I noticed that there is more power and hope when praying with one or several others because, as this devotion says, God is always there. So prayer in groups is much more powerful than praying alone. That doesn't necessarily mean God doesn't listen when we pray alone. He does.

Remember this story?
Acts 2:1-4
2 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them

The point of the passage was that they finally received the Holy Spirit and could speak in tongues through Christ, but I wanted to point out that they were all together in one place when it happened!

So all in all, group prayers are something we can never have enough of!

Praying in a group is way different than praying by yourself. When you're by yourself, you're trying to converse with God. Same thing when you're in a group but you can really feel the difference when you're praying in a group. I don't mean the group prayers where the pastor comes up and we all bow our heads. I mean the ones where were altogether and were are praying simultaneously. This usually happens in retreats, when we gather in small groups and we just all pray altogether. Group prayer is something we lack because it is so hard to start it up. Its pretty weird going to your friend lets say, and asking yo man lets pray together! I just don't see myself dong that as a frequent activity. We always have group prayers during retreats and rarely on Sundays. Just keep in mind that group prayer is so much more different and more powerful than a single person prayer

I tend to drift off a little bit with group prayers. To me, it always seemed a less personal way to pray. I'm very easily distracted so when I have a bunch of extra voices in the room I sort of zone out and let my mind wander. This devo opened my eyes to the fact that group prayer is extremely important, and God's presence is with you when you pray together. That's pretty amazing. I would make this devo longer but I really need to go to the bathroom so adios for now.

I think praying with other people can be a refreshing experience. Most of the times, like Sundays, at home, etc, I pray by myself (not that I have anyone else to pray with), but it's a completely different experience when I share my prayers with other people in a group setting. Of course there are always things that we keep between ourselves and God, but other things can be great for group prayer. Some group prayer is like our praise team prayers when we come together and pray towards a common goal like that God would work through us and whatnot, but others can be more specific to people. One example of that is the group prayers we do at retreats, when we come together in fellowship and community and pray for each other and our struggles and whatnot. It reaaalllyyyy feels great for me whenever I pray with others in that kinda setting; emotional stretches is what I like to call it. But yea, Jesus, put a ton of emphasis on fellowship and community within the church and group prayer is a fantastic way to bond and come together under God's name.

There are power in numbers, physically, emotionally, and even spiritually. As we come together in the name of God, we're all here to serve the same purpose. Our mentalities are alike and our goals should be parallel with one another. As we pray together, we life each other up with Christ in the center. But as the devotion says itself, you don't have to pray if you don't want to. The last thing that God would want is a prayer that isn't from our hearts. That being said, we all have to be on the same page, that way we can keep each other accountable while setting goals as a team. Even holding hands while praying brings us together, as we're physically one body of Christ.

We should pray more often before service, so that we could really ready our hearts for worship and asking God to show His presence onto not just us, but to the whole ministry.

It's good to have alone time with God, but there are times when we need the church.
That is why there is a church in the first place. Why else is this family formed? There will be brothers and sisters who can help, understand, or need help from others. That good relationship we build with others is what also keeps us maturing in faith.
There is a huge difference praying with a group though. But in a good way. Like I think the end of this summer, I really reflected back to what state I am in with my faith. I think from that point, I realized that what I need to strengthen the most right now is my relationship with others. So I think the group/partner prayers on the last night of the retreat was some sort of a comfort for me and eventhough I still had not gotten my questions to God answered, I felt his presence.

And I think that's what makes it so special.

We hold eachother up and strengthen eachother and together, we move wih God. Individually, it can be a struggle.

~Audrey~

Personally, I find that when I pray with others, I am more connected with God and I feel like my prayer has more meaning to it. I'll admit that sometimes when I pray by myself I can get lost in thoughts and branch off into completely different topics than what my prayer was originally intended to say. Also, it is rare that I pray for others when I am by myself unless I have a clear incentive to do so, but during a group prayer almost my entire prayer is for others.
However, group prayer happens far less often because of many reasons, but whatever the reasons may be, I think that we should make an effort to do so more often. While praying by yourself is important to do, it is repeated throughout the bible that a time of fellowship and coming together with brothers and sisters in the name of Christ to support each other is also essential

This was really eye-opening for me. I never thought of group prayers as meaningful as this devotional stresses. I always reasoned that prayers alone was more personal, intimate, and exclusive, therefore more powerful, but as this devotional demonstrated, there is great power in group prayers.
I think group prayers allows a group to be more connected to each other, because we're all reminded and are joined together by one cause, and a group can focus together on one particular topic. I think maybe this is why these group prayers are so potent.
Group prayers also allow for more connection between the people who are within the group praying. We become one through the prayer, our hearts become focused together on God, and we support one another through this equivalent idea. I think after a group prayer, we all become strengthened together by God's presence and power.

11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
1 Thessalonians 5:11

Mmm I feel like the devo sort of speaks on its own.

We should never neglect our being as a kingdom while we're so busy trying to work on our one on one relationship.

This is a really late reply (sorry!) but this devo reminded me of the power of prayer especially in certain points in my life in retreats.  We all know the feeling after a powerful and touching sermon when background music sets the tone for prayer.  We pour out our hearts to God and at least for me I feel very close and moved by God.  Part of what makes this experience so reviving is that we are surrounded by other Christians and we are praying with our brothers and sisters in Christ.  This is something however that should not only happen in retreats because God intended for us to pray together with fellow believers.  The benefit of prayer with others is far greater than by ourselves because we feel a more powerful sense of connection and support.