The Prayers of Many

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been told things like, “I just went through one of the most trying times of my life and I truly appreciate the church praying for me.” Sometimes people tell me that they felt the prayers of the saints helping them deal with what they were going through. I can testify to that myself. How about you? With this in mind, we, as church leaders, must encourage our churches and ministries to continue to pray together corporately as well as individually.

The Apostle Paul was no stranger to persecution, trials, and trouble. He was also very aware of the power of the believers joining together in prayer on his behalf. In 2 Corinthians 1:10-11 Paul told the church in Corinth: He (Christ Jesus)has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, 11 as you help us by your prayers. In other words, Paul was saying, “I know I will be delivered every time as long as you keep praying! Church, when you pray for us, we can continue to do what God has called us to do!”

Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us…

Why was such favor granted to Paul and the Apostles, and why will favor and deliverance continued to be granted? …in answer to the prayers of many.

There is nothing more special and powerful than the church agreeing together in believing prayer.

Another Good Result of The Prayers of Many

In Acts chapter 12 is it recorded that King Herod persecuted the church, had James, the brother of John, put to death, and arrested Peter. Herod put Peter in prison intending to bring him to a public trail after Passover.

Acts 12:5-7 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. _Don’t you love the sound of that… “the church was earnestly praying”. _6 The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance.

I believe Peter peacefully slept because Peter’s life of prayer brought peace rather than panic and he knew the church would be praying for him earnestly!

Acts 12:7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.

Why Deliverance from Prison? Many People Had Gathered to Pray

Acts 12:11-12 Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.” 12 When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where MANY PEOPLE had gathered and were praying.

Power in Agreement

We know there is power in prayer. We have all seen and experienced it. But there is even more power when we come together in agreement with our prayer requests.

Matthew 18:19-20 “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”(Jesus is saying, “I’m going to show up in a powerful way.”)

The Greek word for “agree” is “Sumphonos” (Strong’s Number: 4859). In some versions, agreement, which means harmonious as in a beautiful Symphony. It implies agreeing upon something and making a compact with others.

Find ways to get people to agree together in prayer. Experiment, try different ideas, discover what works for your ministry. If you have tried corporate prayer before and it never really took off, you are not alone. We have all been there at one time or another. Don’t let that discourage you from trying again. Praying together in agreement is too powerful and effective to just let it fall to the wayside.

How We Accomplish Agreement in Prayer at Believers Church.

Wednesday Night Corporate Prayer. 6:00 – 6:30 p.m. prior to Wednesday events.

• All Children’s/Student Ministries open early at 6:00 p.m. for check in to accommodate this time of prayer.

• At 6:30 p.m. – Life Application Groups / EDGE / BC KIDs / BC TOTS / Next Step Classes begin.

Tuesday Staff Prayer. The staff are committed to praying for our church! The church is also invited to come and join us from 12- 1 pm.

Prayer Requests. We encourage our church to let us know how we can pray for them.

There is a place to write prayer requests on our communication cards each Sunday. Prayer requests are also received on Pastor’s Prayer Cards (see related article), Comments on Facebook, and Believers Chat App. Our Prayer Team will agree with those requesting prayer through these various avenues.

Altar Ministry During Worship Services. Periodically, on Sunday mornings, in both services, we open the Altar for prayer. This can be individual prayer at the altar, but what we are striving for here is coming up to the altar and agreeing together with another person in prayer. We have a trained Altar Ministry Team that will hear the requests and agree in prayer. This generally occurs during a congregational worship song.

Special Events Prayer Tents. This is where our Prayer Team sets up a tent at our Outreach and Evangelism events to be available to people who desire prayer. (For example, we are available to pray for people at Family Fun Day, Free Market, Free Car Wash, Free Christmas, Free Gift Wrapping, and other servant evangelism outreaches.)

Remember Jesus said, “My house will be called a house of prayer…” (Matthew 21:13)

It’s not always easy, and it can be frustrating at times, but we must continue to encourage our people to pray together. The results will be worth the effort and life-changing for us all.