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    Power of Conversational Prayer

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    Equipping Courses
    Group prayer has biblical precedence as seen in Acts 1:13-14 where the disciples prayed together after Jesus' ascension. There are advantages to group prayer: [1] It creates a "symphony of worship" as multiple prayers in agreement are pleasing to God. [2] It powerfully expresses Christian unity, which Jesus desired as seen in His prayer in John 17. [3] God's power is unleashed through group prayer as the Holy Spirit can speak through others' prayers, prayers are guided to God's will through agreement, and it draws Christians closer together as the body of Christ.

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    Power of Conversational Prayer

    Uploaded by

    Equipping Courses
    75 views3 pages
    Group prayer has biblical precedence as seen in Acts 1:13-14 where the disciples prayed together after Jesus' ascension. There are advantages to group prayer: [1] It creates a "symphony of worship" as multiple prayers in agreement are pleasing to God. [2] It powerfully expresses Christian unity, which Jesus desired as seen in His prayer in John 17. [3] God's power is unleashed through group prayer as the Holy Spirit can speak through others' prayers, prayers are guided to God's will through agreement, and it draws Christians closer together as the body of Christ.

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    Verses about prayer for further encouragement

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    Group prayer has biblical precedence as seen in Acts 1:13-14 where the disciples prayed together after Jesus' ascension. There are advantages to group prayer: [1] It creates a "symphony of worship" as multiple prayers in agreement are pleasing to God. [2] It powerfully expresses Christian unity, which Jesus desired as seen in His prayer in John 17. [3] God's power is unleashed through group prayer as the Holy Spirit can speak through others' prayers, prayers are guided to God's will through agreement, and it draws Christians closer together as the body of Christ.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    75 views3 pages

    Power of Conversational Prayer

    Uploaded by

    Equipping Courses
    Group prayer has biblical precedence as seen in Acts 1:13-14 where the disciples prayed together after Jesus' ascension. There are advantages to group prayer: [1] It creates a "symphony of worship" as multiple prayers in agreement are pleasing to God. [2] It powerfully expresses Christian unity, which Jesus desired as seen in His prayer in John 17. [3] God's power is unleashed through group prayer as the Holy Spirit can speak through others' prayers, prayers are guided to God's will through agreement, and it draws Christians closer together as the body of Christ.

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    The Power of Conversational Prayer

    Why pray in a group?

    A. Are there Biblical examples of group prayer?

    Look at Acts 1:13,14 for an example. As soon as Christ was taken up to Heaven, the
    disciples returned to Jerusalem and prayed together as they waited for the Holy Spirit.

    Acts 1:13-14 (New International Version)


    13
    When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those
    present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and
    Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14They
    all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of
    Jesus, and with his brothers.

    B. What are the advantages of praying in a group?

    There are at least two reasons that I believe it glorifies God to pray with others
    conversationally.

    1. It is a "symphony' of worship.

    Lets look at Matthew 18:19-20.

    Matthew 18:19-20 (NIV)


    19
    "Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be
    done for you by my Father in heaven.

    The word "agree" is critical in this verse. In the original Greek, the word is "sumphoneo"
    (soom fo neh o) and it means "to be harmonious." It is like two notes sounding a chord.
    It is the same root original word that "symphony" comes from.

    So when this verse speaks of agreement, it doesn't mean that we have gotten together
    before hand and decided that we are going to agree to pray for new cars and since two of
    us are praying, God has to give it to us. No.

    It means rather that when God has placed his specific will upon my heart and I pray it and
    you feel agreement in your heart (those times you are moved to say "amen" or "ummm")
    we have created a harmony that is a pleasing sound in God's ears. Those are the times we
    can be assured that we are praying within God's will and that God will respond.
    I like to think of the Holy Spirit as the conductor of the music of our prayers rising up to
    God. The Holy Spirit takes our miserable groanings and lifts them together as a pleasing
    melody that gives God great delight. This is Romans 8:26 in the Message:
    26
    Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside
    helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our
    praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans.

    And when we pray together, our prayers are a symphony in God's ears.

    2. When we pray together it is the most powerful expression of our unity in Christ.

    In Jesus's high priestly prayer in the garden, He prayed that we would have unity. This is
    His prayer in John 17:20-23:
    20
    “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through
    their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in
    you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have
    given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23 I in them
    and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent
    me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

    It was Christ's great desire that we be united with one another through Him.

    Galatians 2:20 says: "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ
    lives in me." Christ indwells us - our Lord who has all authority in Heaven and on earth.
    Remember what we said in Session 5: We pray to the Father. Jesus is our intercessor.
    We pray to the Father through Him by the power of the Holy Spirit. Our unity in prayer
    is a result of the great truth that Jesus lives in each of us and intercedes with the Father
    for us.

    In Matthew 18:20 it says:


    20
    For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."

    This shows us that the full expression of Jesus is never completely seen in individual
    Christians. It is only when we bow to him together in prayer as the Church, the body of
    Christ, even when it is just 2 or 3 or us, that He can be fully revealed and fully glorified.

    C. God's power is unleashed when we pray together

    First, when others are praying:

    We hear the "voice of their heart." God, through the Holy Spirit, may prompt someone to
    say something that I have been trying to express or that I needed to hear more clearly.
    We "hear" God through the Holy Spirit's prompting in the prayers of others. In this way,
    I learn more about God's will for my life.
    Secondly, when I am praying:

    My prayer helps me to discern God's true will as evidenced by the harmony of our heart's
    desires in prayer. And as we pray by the Spirit in unity with one another, we can be
    assured that He is with us and will move to fulfill our prayers according to His will.

    Finally, when we are together under the direction of the Holy Spirit:

    It draws us closer together as the Body. Praying together lowers barriers and allows us to
    be more open and transparent with one another. We come together in our unity in the
    brotherhood of Christ. We more completely experience our interdependence through
    Christ who dwells in each of us. And He is glorified as our unity as a body is more fully
    revealed in each of us. It has been said that prayer develops intimacy in three
    directions: to whom we pray, for whom we pray, and with whom we pray.

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