Two weeks ago, my wife and I sent out an urgent appeal for prayer to our family and friends.
My wife was in a Milan, Italy hospital in excruciating pain after falling head first into a stationary taxi while running. She had suffered what we later learned was a spinal cord contusion, sending shooting pains into her arms and hands - causing her to cry out. At that moment, her hands were useless.
This was not the first time - nor will it be the last - that we found out the value of praying together.
In the next few days, we got little sleep as we navigated our way through the hospital system and arranged our flight home to family. There were numerous problems - partly linguistic, partly bureaucratic.
We believe it was God, working through praying family and friends, who got us through.
We Western Christians tend to take our hardy individualism into our prayer lives. I believe that is a mistake.
In his book And The Place Was Shaken, author John Franklin says that the majority of Jesus' references to prayer in the New Testament are to praying together.
It is true that Jesus often prayed alone. We all need to cultivate strong personal prayer lives. I am aware of my own shortcomings in this area.
But Jesus' model prayer - popularly known as the Lord's Prayer - uses the plural "our" and "us". It was obviously intended as a guide to group prayer.
And Jesus himself asked several of his closest friends to join him in support as he prayed to his Father in the Garden of Gethsemane - the night he was betrayed.
In Acts 4, the church in Jerusalem prays as a group, seeking courage to preach the gospel in the midst of persecution.
The apostle Paul constantly asked his friends and acquaintances for prayer in his letter to young churches.
Jesus said there was something special about praying together. In Matthew 18:19-20, he says:
"If two of you here on earth agree on anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them."
Praying in agreement with each other - and with Jesus who is with us - works wonders.
My wife and I know this to be true.
My wife was in a Milan, Italy hospital in excruciating pain after falling head first into a stationary taxi while running. She had suffered what we later learned was a spinal cord contusion, sending shooting pains into her arms and hands - causing her to cry out. At that moment, her hands were useless.
This was not the first time - nor will it be the last - that we found out the value of praying together.
In the next few days, we got little sleep as we navigated our way through the hospital system and arranged our flight home to family. There were numerous problems - partly linguistic, partly bureaucratic.
We believe it was God, working through praying family and friends, who got us through.
We Western Christians tend to take our hardy individualism into our prayer lives. I believe that is a mistake.
In his book And The Place Was Shaken, author John Franklin says that the majority of Jesus' references to prayer in the New Testament are to praying together.
It is true that Jesus often prayed alone. We all need to cultivate strong personal prayer lives. I am aware of my own shortcomings in this area.
But Jesus' model prayer - popularly known as the Lord's Prayer - uses the plural "our" and "us". It was obviously intended as a guide to group prayer.
And Jesus himself asked several of his closest friends to join him in support as he prayed to his Father in the Garden of Gethsemane - the night he was betrayed.
In Acts 4, the church in Jerusalem prays as a group, seeking courage to preach the gospel in the midst of persecution.
The apostle Paul constantly asked his friends and acquaintances for prayer in his letter to young churches.
Jesus said there was something special about praying together. In Matthew 18:19-20, he says:
"If two of you here on earth agree on anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them."
Praying in agreement with each other - and with Jesus who is with us - works wonders.
My wife and I know this to be true.
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