Would you rather attend a sporting event, or a concert or whatever interests you, in person or listen to it on the radio alone?

What about vacation? Would you rather go alone or with someone/other people?

Think about the holiday season we just finished. Would it have been as enjoyable if you were alone?

In general, people make events more enjoyable and exciting. Think of the football games you see on TV. Could you imagine no one being in the stadium and people watching alone at their house on a device. How boring.

So what does this have to do with prayer? I’m so glad you asked :)…

Three Reasons it’s Important to Pray Together

We are made to live and be in community with one another. This is true in virtually every aspect of life, even when it comes to prayer. In the early church, they consistently gathered and earnestly prayed together. Two examples of this are found in Acts:

Acts 1:14- “They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.“

Acts 4:23-31-” ²³ On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them.²⁴ When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God…³¹ After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.”

Intentionally praying together is vital and here’s why…

1. There’s strength in numbers

Matthew 18:20 says, “Again,  truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

This verse doesn’t mean that God isn’t there if you’re alone, it just shows the power that is created when we approach His throne together. We were meant to live in community with one another and when it comes to prayer, it’s no different.

This weekend, I live streamed a church conference and on the opening night, the speaker had the audience get into groups of three and pray for each other.

It was awesome to witness complete strangers circled together and praying, being unified by the bond of Christ. That’s what happens when we pray together, it strengths our bond with God and our fellow believers.

2. Reminds you that there are REAL people in your corner

It kills me when people choose to suffer alone. They don’t want help. They want to do it on their own, to figure their own way out. That’s not what God calls us to do. We’re supposed to share what burdens us and help other burdened people.

Galatians 6:2 says, “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” We’re supposed to be there for each other and this includes in prayer. When people come to pray with you and/or for you, it reminds you that there are real people in your corner cheering you on and that are there to help you. You do not have to suffer alone.

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I honestly cannot count the number of times my family dropped EVERYTHING we were doing and prayed for someone. My parents would get a phone call, my mom or dad would call us into the living room, and we would pray for whoever called. The “prayer chain” was alive and well at our house. One time we even prayed together in the middle of a London Underground station. NO JOKE!

There was a time recently I was with a family and one of the girls talked about her friend who was in a bad accident and would possibly be paralyzed. I fully expected the family to drop what they were doing and pray. They didn’t. They just talked about how sad it was and continued eating. Sadly, I feel that this is more the norm than the exception. I tell you this because prayer is powerful and we NEED to pray for and with each other.

3. People can petition God for you when you don’t have the strength or words

I’ll be honest, there have been times in my life when I have been so down and so defeated, I literally did not have the words to say to pray. My mind was blank and I was numb. Enter my amazing family and church family.

At times like this in my life, people have surrounded me and covered me with prayer and I have felt the relief that only comes from God. However, you actually have to TELL SOMEONE what you are feeling. Again, don’t suffer alone.

I attended the Passion Conference in 2015 and at one point they had people in the audience raised their hand if they were dealing with certain struggles. Then, people around them gathered to pray for them. Tears would pour and at the end you could see a difference in the people, but you know what, they had to raise their hand!

If you are in one of these valleys, you are not alone! TELL SOMEONE and get onto the road to recovery!

In Closing

Prayer is a vital and necessary part of the Christian life. It is  important to intentionally do it with other people so we can bear one another’s burdens and grow in spiritual strength. I know at your age it may be awkward to think about praying in a group, but once you do and you do it with purpose and intent, you can feel a difference.

Thank you for reading. Love to all,

-Sarah

More about our Ministry

At Transformed4More, our goal is to help those who want to grow in their relationship with God, and we do this in two main ways:

• The first is by providing resources. We have our own and ones we recommend. Click here or the graphic below to see them.

• Another way is through social media. We are most active on Instagram, but we update and connect on Twitter,  Facebook,  Pinterest, and YouTube as well!

• We also have a newsletter we send out every few months with updates as well! You can join it by clicking here.