Together Before God

I met Peter while he was a counsellor working at the same church I did in Michigan. As he struggled with a serious illness, one that took a huge toll on him and his wife, he wrote the following:

"....There is a point where it makes no sense to go on; you want to die and get it over with. First, you want to quit being a problem to everybody. And then there is that overwhelming fatigue. It is as if you are very sleepy and some people are trying to keep you awake. You wish they all would go away and leave you alone to have the deep sleep. But I hung on because of God, my wife and the children. Even when I could not hope or pray or do anything I hung on. And that's where the prayers of others come in.
"We'll pray for you." This is one of the discoveries I made. I should try to write it down, sometime, because it is such a big thing. You cannot move and you cannot find Jesus. He is beyond reach; the house is impossibly crowded. And then you see your friends around you - one, two, three, four. "We'll pray for you," they say, and it is no cliché. It means that they have hope for you and they know where to get help. They carry you, all four of them, and they lower your bed at the feet of Jesus. It really happens: your friends carry you to Christ by their faith."

Calls to pray for each other, and examples of people who did just that are found all over the pages of the Bible:

Moses: In Exodus 32 the people of Israel build an idol, the golden calf. God decides to destroy them. Moses intervenes in prayer to spare their lives, and God relents.

Paul: One of the refrains of his letters is "I pray unceasingly for you" (e.g. Phil 1.3,4; Col 1.9-12) and "pray for me" (e.g. Col 4.2,3; Rom 15.30). As we read from God's will for our lives, Eph 6 - be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Jesus: praying for the disciples (Jn 17) and praying for Peter (Lk 22.31)

And then the story we read: the friends of the paralytic - displaying intercessory prayer in as beautiful a manner as possible, literally picking up the bed of their friend and depositing it and him right at the foot of the Saviour. "Here - help him!"

It is in the face of that kind of a legacy, God calls to believers today through the apostle James:
        "Pray for one another." [James 5:16]

"Pray for one another."
It's not an easy thing to do, especially in our culture where we have been taught and conditioned to become self-reliant. "I'll solve my problems and you solve yours." If I’m to get ahead, that’s for me to do. If I fall behind, it’s my problem. All that in an impersonal society of home theatre, e- and voice-mail, and order-in food. Even in the busyness of the mall, loneliness is epidemic.
        Individual rights.
                Fragmented. And good at it.
                That’s Canada.

        And yet, within the church, we can't allow this element of culture or background to stand in the way of obedience to God. There is a very real sense in which prayer for others is a DUTY for the christian, even when it is hard slugging.
        In fact, to avoid it, when given the mandate, is sin. One of the early leaders of God's people faced a situation where the people had committed a great offence against God. They sought forgiveness. Listen to what he says:

"As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you." (1 Sam 12.23)

James 5:16 "pray for one another" is not an optional extra for the Christian; not a "maybe" like "maybe we’ll camp in Algonquin this summer or maybe we’ll go to the Maritimes."

Standing together before God is a commanded core element of Christian living, one that we have to be very intentional about.
        It won’t just happen on it’s own.
        As Richard Foster says in his book, Celebration of the Disciplines, "We must never wait until we feel like praying before we will pray for others. For then it will NEVER occur.

        Quite frankly, prayer is like any other work; we may not feel like working, but once we have been at it for a bit, we begin to feel like working.
        We may not feel like practising the piano, but once we play for a while we feel like doing it.
        In the same way, our prayer muscles need to be limbered up a bit and once the blood-flow of intercession begins, we will find that we feel like praying." [Foster, Discipline]

Together before God – interceding for:
        - fellow christians
        - those in authority
        - those with whom we live
        - those whom we meet even briefly.
The bible gives examples and commands to pray for all these.

Commanded prayer.......
        ...... with effective results.

        Look through the book of Acts, for example, and you see great things happen when people pray for each other:
        - Acts 8.15: Peter & John go to Samaria, and pray for believers there, who then are given the gift of the Holy Spirit.
        - Acts 12: Peter is in jail, people pray, and he is miraculously released.
        - Acts 13: The Church prays, and God reveals that Paul & Barnabas are to be set apart for a special work. The Church continues to support them in prayer, and great things are accomplished for the Lord.

Pray for one another. It's a very strong biblical principle.
Jesus said, 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. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them. [Mt 18.19,20]
        There is great power in unified, communal prayer.

        Apparently, in some very mysterious but very real way, the Powerful and Sovereign Almighty God has decided that he would do much of his work in the world through the free-thinking, responsible human agents that he created.
        He calls us to become soldiers in the very real spiritual conflict that goes on as Satan and his wicked armies of evil are pushed back towards the day when Christ returns and they will be destroyed forever.
        As such holy agents of God, our prayers have a very real effect.

Sovereign, Almighty God has willed it that human prayers become the agent which unleashes effective heavenly power onto earthly situations.
        That is His creation plan.
        We are to obey it. Not flaunt it, ignore it, or question it.
        When a Christian is struggling with an addiction or an evil compulsion or a sinful temptation of one sort or another, that bondage is far more likely to be broken if she brings herself to having another believers or a group of believers pray for her.

        In seeking the guidance of the Lord, or the power of the Holy Spirit within one's heart, again - it is far better to share that need and desire with others and have them join you in prayer than to try and go it alone.
        This is why through ACTS we see the Holy Spirit coming down on group after group of believers in a powerful way, only after recognized leaders of the church, the apostles and others, prayed for them and laid hands on them.
        I have seen it and experienced it that lethargic believers, content with spiritual adolescence, have suddenly come on fire for Jesus Christ after receiving ardent prayer from others with the laying on of hands.

        I had an individual come to me some time ago. She was discouraged and uncertain about the career path she had undertaken. She wanted desperately to serve her Saviour but was unsure that she had taken the right career road. This concern was shared with a prayer partner, and together they asked God for a sign - specifically that someone who had no knowledge of the situation would confirm this person in her life's path. Together, agreed on the matter, they prayed in Jesus' name.
        A day or two later, this woman was talking with someone, who interrupted the conversation and said, "You know, it just seems to me that you would be really good at being....." and mentioned exactly that sort of job which this person had undertaken. The Lord answered their prayer.
        "Where two or three are gathered, there I am.... is the principle at work. That is why, in seeking healing, James calls the elders to pray for sick people [Jas 5], rather than calling the sick to pray for themselves.

In dealing with difficult circumstances, challenges, and uncertainties, to have a prayer partner or prayer associates can make these hurdles scalable - or else prayer can bring them crashing down.
        Which is why we have prayer partners available after every morning service in our prayer room. To be with you. Together before God.
And that’s why a small group gathers on Saturday mornings –
        – to pray for Calvin....... together before God.

Pray for one another.
        Intercessory prayer unleashed the power of God!
        What an awesome privilege.... and responsibility - carrying people in need to the feet of Jesus as the paralytic was carried by his four friends.

In addition to unleashing God's power to work in this world, intercessory prayer keeps us properly in mind of our place in the church: HE is the head and primary worker in the church; HE is the source of power and direction and life, we are the ones into whom that flows. HE directs, we follow.
        Prayer reminds us of that.

And, thirdly, intercession also builds a bond between us and the person for whom we pray. It is the most direct link possible between two people.
        As such it can be a powerful means of overcoming our dislike for another person. I can no longer condemn or hate a brother for whom I pray, no matter how much trouble he causes me.
        On that note, if there is a person for whom we cannot pray, then it is a sign that there is something in our life that must be arrested and changed lest we be permanently maimed.
        I think of two Christians, believers in the same congregation somewhere in south-western Ontario. I came into contact with them through my position as church visitor for our regional assembly. The one fellow was completely at odds with the other. He even spited the look of the man's face - literally.
        In counselling the fellow, it became clear that the problem was a whole series of little incidents that had built up over the years and never been resolved. I asked the angry grudge bearer how often he prayed about this matter. He was silent. I asked how often he prayed for this fellow who had become his enemy. He replied, "never." I asked if we could pray for him right there. He said, "no."
        To my knowledge the situation was NEVER resolved.

Deitrich Bonhoeffor said about praying for the one we don't like:
"There is no dislike, no personal tension, no estrangement that cannot be overcome by intercession as far as our side is concerned. Intercessory prayer is a purifying bath into which the individual and the fellowship must enter every day... Through prayer I come to see the face of the other person as that of a sinner for whom Christ died." [D. Bonhoeffer, Life Together alt.]

Does this all sound overwhelming, and perhaps leaves you a little disheartened? How can I ever reach this point, you say?
        Well, just remember: occasional joggers don't become Olympic marathoners overnight. It takes a long time, lot's of patience, and consistent training, slowly building up strength and endurance.

        Prayer life is the same way. We keep our eyes on the goal and slowly begin to build our spiritual prayer stamina, one step at a time - first 2 minutes, then 3, then 4.
        First praying for one person when we remember, then regularly. Then adding another to our prayer list. Slowly growing. And one day we will look back in surprise and gasp at the tremendous progress we have made.

There's only one condition. We must keep at it.
        But when we do, in obedience to God, the blessings are overwhelming. The rewards are great.

Just ask Peter’s wife, who testifies of the strength and peace her husband had during his battle with sickness, a strength and peace he gained from the prayers of others.
Just ask those whose lives were set free from bondage due to prayers,
        Or who received a rich blessing of the Holy Spirit
        Or who found circumstances in life moved around or confirmed
Just ask any of the people in this congregation who have gone through a difficult time, and for whom people have prayed. I can’t tell you how often I hear, "Pastor, tell them thank you. I can truly feel that they are praying for me."

And always remember the promise of the Lord:
        Where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.