Why You Should Pray with Others

Something happens when you pray. Of course, something happens through you. But something also happens in you. Something changes, and your internal world experiences transformation.

This is one of the reasons I commit to prayer meetings with other Christians. I’m not just motivated by the result of prayer in the world around us. I’m motivated by the process of prayer within me.

When I pray with others, I begin to care about things I didn’t before. The passion of a praying community permeates into my soul, and I individually begin to carry what the corporate body carries. Prayer imparts passion where previously there was complacency. Prayer cultivates engagement where previously there was disinterest. When I pray about something with others, the prayers do not stop when the prayer meeting stops. They rumble on within me even though the prayer meeting is over.

Acts 2:1 describes this process of prayer. It says, “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.” The phrase “one accord” is key to understanding what happens within the praying church. According to Strong’s*, “one accord” is a compound Greek word meaning, “unanimously.” In other words, no one opposed God’s agenda. They were all in agreement regarding His will. To understand how this happened, you need to look more closely at the two words that comprise the compound Greek word.

One of the Greek words simply means “at the same time or place.” This emphasises how important it is to pray together. They were praying at the same time, in the same location. However, the second Greek word is the one that catches my attention the most. It is rather peculiar and surprising. It is θυμός, which means “passion (as if breathing hard) . . . .” It appears eighteen times in the New Testament, and each time it is translated as “wrath,” “indignation,” or “fierceness.” Why would such a word be used to explain their attitude in prayer? Were they united in anger?

When someone demonstrates wrath, the spirit within him or her reaches a boiling point and spills over into words and actions. Wrath is the overflow of internal passion. That’s why the definition includes “breathing hard.” As passion increases, the breath comes out forcefully.

When you consider this word and its use in Acts 2:1, it tells you what happens during prayer. It’s not simply your mouth articulating words. Your spirit increases in fervency. Your internal temperature rises until you are boiling over with passion for God’s agenda. The agreement of the church on the Day of Pentecost was not the result of a vote or a business meeting. Prayer united them in passion. The longer they prayed together, the more intensely they care about the topic of their prayers. Prayer transformed them, and they began to pant for the Spirit, by the Spirit.

If you are struggling to find passion, I encourage you to pray with other people. Though I often teach on individual, personal prayer, I also believe deeply in the power of corporate prayer. There is something supernatural about a praying community that meets in real space, real time. Just as one match ignites others through personal contact, the fire of others’ prayers ignites your heart with passion for God.

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*All Strong’s definitions taken from www.blueletterbible.org.