Donna Partow

One of the most spiritual places I’ve ever been was a centuries-old Spanish monastery in Lima, Peru.  It was truly holy ground.  God’s presence permeated the place, and whenever two or three people were gathered for prayer, God spoke clearly and unmistakably.  I can’t wait to get to heaven so I can meet the monk who prayed the prayers and cried the tears to hallow that ground.  It was absolutely awe-inspiring.

One day I went into the chapel and sat there all alone, eager to hear from God, and nothing happened. God said nothing.  Nada.  Thirty minutes passed.  Still nothing.  Then a stranger walked in and sat quietly in the back of the small chapel.  The minute she walked in, God’s presence became palpable once again, but I still wasn’t hearing from God.  I desperately needed to experience his power in that moment.  So I mounted the courage to ask the woman, “Would you be willing to pray with me?”  She didn’t look at me like I was crazy, so that was a good sign!  She took my hands, we bowed our heads together, and although she didn’t utter a word, God immediately began speaking to my heart.

The difference was so dramatic, I knew God was trying to show me something.  Then God whispered, Two or three.  Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. While we can certainly unleash God’s power when we pray privately, Scripture tells us that there is definitely a time for public prayer. Have you ever noticed that, when the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, he instructed them to say “Our Father….forgive us our debts…..’   Read it for yourself:

This, then, is how you should pray:
  ‘Our Father in heaven,
   hallowed be your name,
 your kingdom come,
   your will be done
      on earth as it is in heaven.’
Give us today our daily bread.
 Forgive us our debts,
      as we also have forgiven our debtors.
 And lead us not into temptation,
   but deliver us from the evil one. Matthew 6:9-13

Did you notice all the plural pronouns: Us.  We.  Our.  I didn’t either!  Not until I heard Pastor Daniel Henderson, author of Fresh Encounters, speaking on the subject of prayer.      If Jesus was telling us to pray privately, why did he use plural pronouns?  Did he have bad grammar?  Or did he think all these men were suffering from multiple personality disorder (you’ve got to wonder about Peter, but….). 

Think about it: do you refer to yourself in first-person plural?  Let’s hope not.  The clear implication is this: Jesus was saying, if you want to know the most effective way to pray, the answer is corporately.   When Jesus said, “This then is how you should pray” he used the plural form of ‘you.’   He didn’t say “This is how you, individually, should pray.” He said, “This is how you as a group of believers should pray.”  Perhaps we can get some help from our Southern brethren here:  Jesus said, ‘When ya’ll pray.’  That’s how to pray with power. 

But wait, you protest, didn’t Jesus withdrawal to quiet places to pray alone.  He sure did.  But in the Garden of Gethsemane, he was looking for prayer partners and was profoundly disappointed when no one was up to the task.  There’s a time for private prayer; and a time for public prayer.  A time for solitary prayer and a time for corporate prayer.  A time to pray silently and a time to pray aloud. 

Everyone knows the importance of hiding alone in their private prayer closets to pray.  Now, knowing it and doing it are two different things.  Neverthless, the vast majority of Western Christians are convinced the secret to power in prayer is to pray in secret.  But is that really what the Bible teaches?  I thought so, but again, Henderson caused me to reconsider.  He explained that the Greek word rendered closet is tamieon, which referred to an inner chamber or important meeting room in a castle.  It was a place where the king met with his most trusted advisors to discuss issues of significance.

Henderson also explained that the Western approach to prayer has much more to do with our obsession with rugged individualism than the example of scripture. You may also be very surprised to learn that Christians in other parts of the world do not place the same emphasis on private prayer. Many believers in Africa and Asia believe in a very different approach.  While not ignoring private prayer, they value corporate prayer.  They not only pray together, they prayer together aloud—simultaneously!!!  I’ve experienced this form of unified prayer.  The sound is both deafening and life-changing.

Unfortunately, corporate prayer has gotten a bad rap in the West.  It brings to mind visions of a handful of diehard elderly saints with nothing better to do on a Wednesday night.  Even in megachurches, where thousands of people attend Sunday morning services, it’s not unusual for less than 20 people to show up for weekly prayer meetings.  In fact, many churches in America have removed the weekly prayer meeting from their calendars.  I heard one pastor explain, from the pulpit, that the board had decided to permanently eliminate it because it conflicted with too many sporting events and extra-curricular activities.  Weekly prayer meetings no longer fit in with the American lifestyle and the church has to keep up with the times. 

He was serious.

Of course, having attending some of the meetings, I had to admit: the cancellation was no great loss. Although I could never put my finger on why, I’ll admit I had found church prayer meetings extremely frustrating.  They always went something like this: the pastor or small group leader would say, “Does anyone have any prayer requests?”  For the next 10, 20, 30 or 60 minutes, we’d talk about ourselves and our problems.  The truly magnanimous, selfless saints would raise their hands and, rather than asking for personal prayer, would request prayer for their next-door neighbor’s cousins’ mother’s brother-in-law’s Uncle Bob from Kansas who at the tender age of 97 had been tragically stricken with heart failure.  When no more hands were raised, the group leader would announce it was time to pray.

Our sentence-or-two prayers typically went something like this: Dear God, I just pray for Uncle Bob.  Please just do whatever you’re going to do because we just know that you are in control and you just always do whatever you just want to do no matter what we do.  Amen.  Hey, that’s the kind of prayer I prayed, too, so I’m not casting stones here! Five minutes later, the group’s leader would declare a decisive Amen.  And I’d think, There’s got to be more to corporate prayer than this.  But of course, I had no idea what.

So I began searching out corporate prayer in scripture.  One of the most striking examples occurs during the reign of King Jehoshaphat.  When he received word that enemies were advancing against Judah, he issued a call to prayer.  “The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him” (2 Chron. 20:4).  The people cried out and worshipped God corporately.  In response, God set ambushes against Judah’s enemies who defeated each other, leaving all the plunder for the people of God.

When the early church gathered corporately to pray for Peter, who had been imprisoned for proclaiming the truth about Jesus’ resurrection, God sent an angel to set him free (Acts 12:5-10)  Where two or more are gathered…there is power-packed faith.

Several years ago, I was sitting in the lobby of the Ritz Carlton in Atlanta, Georgia, surrounded by authors, editors and agents attending the annual Christian Booksellers Convention.  Suddenly, one of the authors announced that her wallet was missing.  Not only did that mean her money was gone, but it also meant her only photo ID was missing and she wouldn’t be unable to board her flight home. 

Clearly distraught, she and two others went off to retrace her steps.  Immediately, God prompted me to pray.  I stood up and said, “Let’s join hands.”  Even though we were all in full-time Christian ministry, a crowded lobby in an elegant hotel didn’t strike all of us as the right place for an impromptu prayer meeting.  I don’t think my colleagues could have been more shocked if I suggested we light a campfire and sing Kumbuya.  In fact, one author later admitted that, even while I was praying, she and another gentleman rolled their eyes at each other.  I, of course, have since forgiven her! 

Anyway, we joined hands and I prayed a simple prayer: “Lord, you know where that wallet is.  Our dear sister needs it back. We ask you to return it to her right now, in Jesus name.  Amen.”  No sooner had I said amen than her agent’s phone rang.  It was my agent calling to say, “Some total stranger just walked up to me and handed me your author’s wallet.”  This, I promise you, is a true story!

Where two or more are gathered…there is power-packed faith.

Some people say they are uncomfortable praying aloud.  If you are one of them, let me encourage you to ask yourself why.  If you can talk in public, then you can pray in public.   If you can have a conversation with a human being, you can have a conversation with one or more human beings plus God. Prayer is just talking to God. It’s the highest privilege we enjoy; why would we ever pass up an opportunity to experience Christ in the midst of us? Are you worried about embarrassing yourself or impressing someone else?  Forget about trying to sound ‘spiritual’ – just be yourself. 

My Tuesday night prayer time with a handful of friends is often more spiritually empowering than a Sunday morning service jam-packed with thousands of people.  Yes, the megachurch I attend is exciting: music, drama, great messages.  But there’s just something about extended time in corporate prayer that lifts my spirit like nothing else.

I love to pray with people!  Almost every time I join hands with another follower of Jesus Christ and bow my head, I sense the presence of our loving Heavenly Father.  I feel the warmth of his love and the depth of his concern.  While that may not be tangible, it is powerful nonetheless.  If you’ve not experienced the beauty of his presence “in the midst of these” you are really missing out on one of the greatest joys of the Christian life.

Start praying with others!  I didn’t say exchange prayer requests.  Prayer requests are actually very high on my list of pet peeves.  What is the point of sitting around talking about what we need prayer for, when we could be using that valuable time to pray?  Why tell people your prayer requests when you can tell God himself, then have others join in by agreeing with you in prayer?  I just don’t get it.  When it’s time to pray, pray.  Don’t talk about praying.  Don’t build up to praying.  Pray expecting God to show forth his power. 

Why not make this your prayer today:
Dear heavenly Father , I thank you for the gift of corporate prayer. What a privilege to join hearts and hands with your children and bring our concerns directly into your throne room.  Holy Spirit, help me to understand and overcome those things that have held me back from fully-participating in corporate prayer.  Give me freedom from self-consciousness and the ability to simply converse with God as I would with a loving parent.  Thank you for the promise that where two or three are gathered in your name, you’ll be right there.  I want to make the most of that promise!  Amen.

Blessings

The above is an excerpt from Becoming a Vessel of God’s Power, available in my online bookstore.