The Value of Praying Together

This is a 'what do you value' question.  Do you value opportunities to pray with fellow Christians?

We talk about prayer, and we say how important prayer is, or should be, in our lives.  But, and yes there is a BUT, how often do we engage in prayer with others? 

Chatting with a friend a couple of weeks ago, a comment was said, 'We should pray'.  How I valued my friend's wise discernment that, yes, after our wonderful time catching up, we were able to pray together as fellow Christians.

Prayer is not easy for many people. Most of us keep prayer as requests to the Lord, superficial, and often we have a list of petitions.  But real, honest prayer means being honest, vulnerable, and genuine. 

The value of praying together (some Scripture.  I encourage you to search for more scripture passages):

• Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. 1 Thessalonians 5:11
• How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! Psalm 133:1
•  They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. Acts 1:14
• They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Acts 2:42
• So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. Acts 12:5 (read whole passage)
• I urge you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me. Romans 15:30.

The value of praying together brings us closer to one another, we can encourage when life is good and when life crashes over us, like storm waves.  We can fellowship together.

“Fellowship is a relationship of inner unity among believers that expresses itself in outer co-participation with Christ and one another in accomplishing God’s will on earth.” Read more about The importance of Fellowship here.

We can study God's word together, and bring before the Lord, those who are undergoing difficult circumstances because of their faith or have health or other issues. We can intercede for our community and the society in which we live.

But most importantly, we can pray together to acknowledge and praise the Lord for his never-ending kindness and love towards us.  We can bring him honor, we can confess those areas in our lives which we struggle with, confess our sins, and seek forgiveness from God.

We build up each other (it's called edification) and strengthen our connection together as a family in the Lord.

Yes, we may be feeling vulnerable, but we can also learn from one another and lean on each other.

The value of prayer should never be underestimated.  The love that our Saviour, Jesus Christ, has for us, should never be diminished.  We need to value one another and value the privilege of the opportunity to pray together.

Rest

Recently I read a devotional about the importance of sleep. You can read it here.

Reflecting on this devotional, about the importance of rest, brought a realization that whilst we need to ensure we work and meet our obligations and commitments unless we are well rested and refreshed, our ability to do all we've committed to will be comprised.

After so many years of running on almost empty, health and the ability to rest well becomes compromised. Once this occurs, it is difficult to maintain keeping up with commitments, resentment can occur, and work performance and health are impaired.

Psalm 3:5 says, "I lie down and sleep; I wake again because the Lord sustains me."

What are some ways we can ensure we are having adequate rest?

• Say No.  There are times when we need to say no. Without refreshment, we cannot fulfill the commitments made. So, review your commitments to helping others, and do a few well, instead of having resentment trying to do many. Be polite in declining requests and be prayerful about what you are to do and what you are not to do.
• Mark your diary by planning time out.  Block sections of your diary out, even on the occasional Saturday! Take this time to rest, to do something different with the family.  For example, you might like to visit a new attraction, or take a family drive, or have a picnic.
• Spend time reading the Bible and praying.  Exodus 33:14 tells us, The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Taking time out to be in the Lord's presence and resting in him helps us to (a) draw closer to the Lord and know him better, (b) not worry so much because we are assured in him, (c) we can be rested and refreshed in his presence.

Now if you are so tired that you have trouble staying awake, you're not going to be able to pray well or make good decisions. If you are running on empty trying to work, care for your family, ensure your home is tidy and meals are on the table, and try to meet commitments within the community, then some tough decisions might have to be made.  

I am not saying that we don't contribute, or that we expect others to do everything for us.  To be able to make balanced, wise decisions, engage with others, work well, and pray we need to ensure we are having refreshing rest so that we can accomplish all that needs to be achieved.

Expectations

Recently, I was reading some notes taken from a Sunday Church service.

One of the notes I took caught my attention:

“There is an ever-increasing demand on us to meet people’s needs and demands. We also place expectations on ourselves. We put ourselves under pressure thinking others have expectations of us. We feel that we're underproductive if we aren't busy.   We forget to stop and breathe.”

Wow! Then I read further down my notes to find, “We have to be careful with our busyness.   There's a tension in our busyness.   We have families, work, and life”.

Again, ‘wake-up call’ to me!

The challenge?

What is sacrificed when we become too busy?

Relationships?

Church on Sunday?

Bible study?

Prayer?

Rest?

How do we manage expectations? Our expectations and the expectations of others?

Philippians 1:1-11 especially verses 9 and 10, which reads, “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ.” (NKJV)

Being discerning in what we agree to take on, plan out our day/week to intentionally include relationships, Bible study, and prayer.  Choose to commit to Sunday worship and praying with fellow Christians.

Reflect on where you are situated in your ‘to-do’ lists.  Do you need to give up something, and be more intentional in other areas of your life?