Monday 4 September 2017

Many voices, one heart

Group prayer can be uplifting and dynamic if everyone prays as one - many voices, one heart.

A good example is Acts 12 where Peter escapes miraculously from jail after being arrested by King Herod's men for preaching the gospel.

While Peter lies in chains between two soldiers in jail, his friends are busy praying for him in a long vigil.

The result?  An angel appears in his cell, breaks the chains as the guards sleep and escorts Peter out of the jail.

His friends are so surprised when he knocks on the door of the prayer gathering that they can't believe it is him.

Dennis Fuqua uses this and a number of other examples from scripture and history to show how united group prayer can change things.  His book, United and Ignited: Encountering God through Dynamic Corporate Prayer, is a treasure trove of ideas for group prayer.

In his eyes, praying with others should focus more on seeking what God wants rather than what we want.  We should "behold him rather than just behold our circumstances".

"I am suggesting that dynamic corporate prayer has more to do with a group of people catching what is on God's heart than telling him what is on their heart," Fuqua says.

In this approach, people listen to others before praying - catching a theme and developing it with their own prayers.  They are influenced by the prayers of others and, in turn, influence the prayers of others.  The focus is on agreement and harmony.

These prayer gatherings begin with worshiping God.  They then move on to other things - perhaps personal needs or broader issues in the church or the community or the world.

Fuqua says the value of praying together in this way is that we get to know God more as we hear people pray who have a different background, personality or theological perspective.  We also understand someone else better as we hear him or her pray to the Father in a deep and personal way.

One way to bind a group closer together and deepen their spiritual understanding is to select one person to pray for himself or herself about "the one thing you would most like the Lord to do in or for you personally", writes Fuqua.

Rather than sharing the concern with others, this person and others in the group are to pray to God about aloud about it.  While one person is praying, others are listening and then join in with their own prayers about that individual's prayer concern.

"It allows a group to worship together, listen together, make common requests, and rejoice together in his answers," Fuqua says.

I have found this kind of free-flowing prayer - centred on God - can lift my spirits and build faith and hope.

And, as Jesus said in Matthew 18:19-20, he will act upon our prayers if we pray in harmony with each other and with God.

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