It started with a late night message which I didn’t read until the early morning:

“I don’t expect you to see this till tomorrow due to the late hour, but I am wondering if we can pray together tomorrow? I am feeling a strong need to pray with others and it would be lovely to pray with you. Are you available around noon time? If not of course I completely understand.”

The request came as a surprise, but I responded, yes, of course.

As soon as the response was sent, the doubts began, afterall, why would she want to pray with me?

Pushing aside all my insecurities and self-doubt, I eagerly waited for the call.

Prayer with others, and praying out loud, can be an awkward thing at times. Maybe that awkwardness is the very tactic the enemy uses to keep us from praying with others. He knows how the weights we carry are lifted as we share them, not only with each other, but with Him.

“For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.” (Matthew 18:20, NLT)

And that is the simplicity of prayer … our circumstances may not change in the blink of an eye, but our souls gain the assurance that He is with us, in the middle of our circumstances.

We need one another for support, to put words to our needs and bring them before the throne of God. We need to know there is someone who will hold close and tight the needs we share, and will wake in the night and whisper prayers on our behalf. Our friends have a way of praying for us with a confidence and hope, even when we may have none for ourselves.

This is the mystery of the way God knits His Body, His Church, His followers together.

It’s the reason He wants us to protect the unity, even when we are far apart; when we hold different opinions; and perhaps even when we have never met face to face.

In writing to the Corinthians, Paul remembers a time when God rescued him from many dangers:

“And he [God] did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us. And you are helping us by praying for us.” (2 Corinthians 1:10-11a, NLT)

In remembering how God had rescued him, Paul was encouraged to remember that God would once again rescue him. And he received God’s help and encouragement through those who prayed for him.

“Paul saw God’s hand of deliverance whether he looked back, around, or ahead. The word Paul used means “to help out of distress, to save and protect.” God does not always rescue us immediately, nor does He always rescue us in the same way. Sometimes God rescues us from our trials, and at other times He rescues us in our trials.”

(from The Warren Wiersbe Study Bible, page 1701)

These are hard days we are living in and we need one another more than ever. We need to make prayer a way of life, as easily as we breathe, so that our entire life becomes a prayer. And may these prayers not simply be for ourselves, but for those He places on our hearts each day.

“Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.” (Ephesians 6:18, NLT)

At all times.
On every occasion.
For all believers everywhere.

Photo by David Tommasino
Today I am joining … Recharge Wednesday and Woman to Woman .