Prayer is the channel through which great prospects for development, growth, and renewal open before me. It is an entire science that one may explore intuitively and eventually come to understand its power, or one may find people of prayer who will reveal its secret and teach one how to use it properly.
At times I get the impression that the subjects of studying the Bible together and praying together are not very popular among God’s people. People do not like to talk about these things, much less practice them, and only through the personal initiative of certain individuals does anything move forward. I am not claiming that this is universally the case, but from my observations I draw conclusions about what I see around me.
When we hold prayer groups after the worship service, I always invite everyone who is still in the church to join us. Surprisingly, however, many take my invitation as a request to leave the room, and they quickly depart or step outside. These people are willing simply to sit and do nothing, but not to be with us in prayer. Meanwhile, we turn to our Heavenly Father and ask for His blessing and His involvement in the life of our entire congregation. We also ask Him to answer other needs, and then we part until our next meeting.
In my own life, I have noticed the following. It is difficult to pray together with those who have no interest in you as a friend, who do not desire a close relationship with you, and who avoid you. This is why one does not feel drawn to any fellowship: the prayers offered together become formal and empty, even though we are addressing God, and He hears us.
Yet we need to pray together. There is a special power in it. But when Jesus and I are left alone together, my heart pours out all its needs and concerns, and joy comes.
I remember my first prayer to God. When I was a boy of about seven, I was walking into a room where my parents were waiting to beat me with a belt for my misdeeds. I was very afraid, and I prayed, “God, if You exist, protect me from being beaten.” I prayed that prayer only once, and I do not even remember how it ended.
Now I ask the Lord to help me in everything, and I bother Him with every little matter at any time. I believe that He hears me and takes part in my life.
The beauty of prayer depends on the relationships among the people who are praying, on my relationship with God, and on how deeply we believe in the power of prayer. We can receive God’s finest and most beautiful blessings only in answer to the prayer of faith. The Lord has many precious treasures that we will not receive casually, without thirsting and asking for them, because He respects our freedom and will not impose anything upon us against our will. He therefore waits with joy for those who understand that He is abundantly rich toward everyone who asks Him to give what is needed.
If I had a great deal of extra money, went out into the street, and began approaching every passerby with the offer, “May I give you a million?” people would consider me a fraud and avoid me. Giving away millions is not customary among us.
Once my friends were in an accident, and their car was reduced to a heap of scrap metal. They began asking God for another car, and the Lord answered in an interesting way. They were given something resembling a car, and then they complained to me that the thing could barely move. In the end, we established that it really was a car, that it had been given to them in answer to their prayer for an automobile, and that because their prayer had not specified what the gift should be like, the Lord had presented them with something that was called a car and could even move. We concluded that in requests like this, we need to specify every detail to God, even the desired color.
I know people who believe that one should ask God only about major problems, but from personal experience I understand that our Lord is the God of little things and details. When He created us, He carefully designed every cell so that it would fit perfectly into the overall composition of the body. And when I examine any flower or living creature—even a fly—I marvel at the harmony, perfection, and every carefully conceived detail that the Lord placed within His creation.
Can it really be that the One Who cared so wisely for every detail of my body and gave it a mind and soul has no concern for the little things in my life? I will not believe it.
The prayers of people who are estranged in spirit and relationship differ radically from the prayers of those who love one another and do everything possible to bring joy to their neighbors. There is a special beauty in the union of souls, which brings like-minded people together into teams. Through them, God very successfully carries out His plans while allowing these people to choose for themselves how they will serve.
There is a special power and a secret in united prayer that, for some reason, not everyone knows.
In Matthew 18:20 we read: “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.” In the past, when I read these words, I understood them to mean that God is among us when there are two or more of us, and I believed it. This is indeed true, but the preceding verse reveals another meaning of this promise. Matthew 18:19 says: “Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of My Father Which is in Heaven.” Christ’s lesson is that if we decide to ask Him for a new car, then all of us who are praying should discuss the matter in detail and afterward pray only for the new car, without mentioning our friends, relatives, every possible need, and global problems. God desires to teach us to concentrate on what we need and, when we are together, to ask Him specifically for it. Then we should also mention these shared needs in our personal prayers. And it will be granted to us.
Sometimes I conduct an experiment and ask my friends to pray for me, because I too greatly need support from others. Then I watch and listen attentively to what they will pray about, and somewhere deep within my soul I modestly hope to hear my own name. Usually, however, they offer the familiar requests for everything we need each day, and then I pray for myself, remaining alone with Jesus. Yet specific prayer offered together works miracles, and we receive what we ask for.
If we decide to ask for something together, then everyone praying should understand and remember exactly what we are praying for and ask only for that, though approaching it from different aspects of our understanding. During such a prayer, we must also remember Jesus’ promise to answer prayers of this kind.
It is a simple lesson, but for some reason we do not know this secret of success in our prayer life.
If I have a splinter in my finger that is causing me constant discomfort and I want to remove it, what is happening in the world and the current exchange rate of the dollar are not very important to me. If I direct all my strength toward solving my problem and enlist specialists to help, I believe the outcome will be exactly what was intended.
In prayer itself, I receive satisfaction, peace, and comfort from communicating with God. Often peace comes to my heart as soon as I begin speaking with the Lord. But the beauty of prayer is found in the answer. I understand that my Heavenly Father is alive and takes part in my life. And I love.
Bible verses for this chapter:
Matthew 18:19–20; Psalm 139:2–10; Isaiah 65:23–24; 66:1–2; James 1:5–8; Acts 4:24–31; 7:59; 8:14–17; 9:40; 12:5–8, 12; Nehemiah 4:8–9; John 17:1–26; Mark 1:35; Luke 5:16; 9:28–29; 24:44