This article was originally written by Lowell Snow. Snow serves on the ABSC Task Force on Prayer, Revival, and Spiritual Awakening.
We began this series with an introduction entitled The Great Commission of Prayer. We continued with No Purer Motive and then No Greater Ambition. This time we will look at No Stronger Fellowship. The series will conclude next month with No Higher Power.
You need a prayer partner. This is so important that Jesus makes the point twice in two verses.
“Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” Matt 18:19-20 NKJV
These are some of the greatest prayer promises in the Bible, but they do not apply when you’re praying by yourself. You must be part of a fellowship of prayer with God and at least one other person. And every person in that fellowship must be praying in agreement.
The Greek word translated agreement is the word from which we get symphony. In a symphony, a composer brings together many elements to form a harmonious whole. This is what God can do with us when we enter the strong fellowship of prayer.
The triangle is perhaps the strongest shape in the universe. From the trusses that hold up the roof of a house to the molecular structure of a diamond; the triangle is an icon of strength. It also provides a picture of the strong fellowship of prayer as God intended it. The bottom corners of the triangle represent you and your prayer partner.
Prayer partnerships can take many forms. It can be your spouse, another relative, or a close friend. They can live close to you or be on the other side of the world. It can even be a small group of trusted friends or family. You might have different prayer partners for different issues.
The point is not who or how, but if. In some form or fashion, you need a prayer partner – someone who loves the Lord Jesus, cares about you, can be trusted with private conversation, and will actually pray with you about your struggle.
Let me be clear. A prayer partner prays with you. They don’t just say “I’ll be praying for you.” This is someone you talk to with some regularity, either in person or by phone, and pray together. Here are four things prayer partners need to do:
First, Read the Bible so God can direct your thoughts and actions. When you read God’s Word, your spiritual ears just naturally turn toward Him and when you’re going through serious struggles, you really need to hear from Him. If you don’t, you’ll often be praying about the wrong things and taking the wrong actions.
Secondly, Pray topically so your prayers can become one. This is often called conversational prayer. Pray short prayers, back and forth, about one topic at a time. This is the way we carry on conversation and it’s by far the best way to pray together.
Thirdly, Share your struggles humbly and honestly so God can use your prayer partner to adjust your perspective. It’s amazing how sharing a struggle with a caring friend can help us see that struggle differently.
Fourthly, Listen for Jesus’ Prayer because that’s the prayer you know the Father is in agreement with.
In this passage, Jesus tells us that when we pray together in agreement, He is ‘in the midst’ or ‘in between’ us as we pray. Next month in No Higher Power, we will see that Jesus fills the third corner of our prayer fellowship triangle.
To back and read part three, click here.
To go back and read from the beginning, click here.