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Is There Really Strength in Numbers?

ELM Jesus said, “…. If two of you on earth agree about something and pray for it, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven” (Matthew 18:19 NCV). Does this mean that when we come to God with a request, someone else must second the motion? Stay tuned.

Theme Welcome to the Voice of Prophecy. This is Lonnie Melashenko. Join us today as we search for ways to make this a better world and prepare for the world to come.

CVJ Today is the last program in our series which has been entitled, “Lord, Teach Us to Pray.” If you haven’t already requested a copy of the book, “The Incredible Power of Prayer,” by Roger Morneau, we hope you will do it right way. This book will not only encourage you to pray more, but it will help you to understand the deeper meaning of prayer.

We have a free copy of this great little book for each of you if you will just call in and ask. 1-800-872-0055. Again 1-800-872-0055. I’ll also have mail and internet details real soon. But now let’s join Lonnie for today’s message entitled, “Is There Really Strength in Numbers?”

Sermon

Jesus spent a lot of His time alone praying to His Father in heaven. Daniel prayed alone in his room three times a day. Moses went up on the mountain to pray alone with God for 40 days. Jacob prayed alone in the wilderness. Hagar prayed alone in the desert. God bends down to hear the prayer of even the smallest and weakest of His children wherever they are. Your personal prayers are like a private conversation between two people. They’re like talking to God as if He were your best friend.

But what about public prayer? When Jesus said, …”If two of you agree on something and pray for it will be done;”(Matt. 18:19 NCV), Does that mean that when more than one prays there is strength in numbers?

Praying with other people can be a powerful experience. It might be a small prayer group of two or three people, or it could be in a larger church setting. But something happens when people pray together. There’s a bonding, a feeling of fellowship. It’s hard to explain. It needs to be experienced.

And that’s what public prayer is supposed to do--to take a group of individuals, each one different, with unique interests and concerns, and join them together so that they reach out to God as one. How does this happen? Well, that’s the work of the Holy Spirit. But I can make some suggestions about how to get the most benefit from praying in public and when I say benefit, I don’t mean that your prayers will be answered any sooner if more people are praying. The benefit I’m talking about is what it does to you, inside your own heart, when you pray with others.

Jesus had a group of friends called disciples who were about as different from each other as you could find. In that group were fishermen, businessmen, a tax collector, and a young person—a motley group if there ever was one. To make matters worse, they seemed to argue and bicker among themselves a lot. But Jesus had a dream for them. He wanted to see them work together as a united group to represent His kingdom of love to the world. But how could this happen with such a diverse group? Jesus prayed to His Father about it. He said, “Father, I pray that they can be one” (John 17:20 NCV).

Did that mean Jesus wanted them all to like spinach and wear the same color tunic? Did it mean that they would comb their hair the same and finish each other’s sentences? Is that the kind of unity Jesus wanted for His friends? Is that the kind of unity Jesus wants for you and your friends?

Not at all. Jesus wasn’t thinking about being alike on the outside but being alike on the inside. Jesus wants you and your friends to want to be like Him—to be kind and loving, to do good and to turn away from the bad. This is the oneness that Jesus wished for His friends.

When I pray to God by myself, I talk with Him one-on-one, like to a friend. We talk about personal things, about what’s going on in my life. I use the personal pronouns, I and me.

When I’m in a group of my closest friends, I share some of my burdens and ask them to pray for me. But usually when praying in a group, shouldn't I be willing to set aside my personal requests for a time and pray for the needs we all share?

Here’s a little suggestion about public praying. The feeling of unity can be enhanced by the words we use. One Sabbath morning a group of young adults was leading a congregation in singing praise songs. When the singing was finished, the minister stepped to the platform and invited the congregation to sing again the song they had just sung, but this time changing the words a little. The minister suggested that every time the word “I” appeared in the song, they sing “we,” and for the word “me,” they sing “us.” For example, the chorus of the good, old hymn, “In the Garden,” would sound like this:

And He walks with us, and He talks with us;

And He tells us we are His Own.

And the joy we share as we tarry there,

None other has ever known.

The result was electrifying. Suddenly, the singing was a dynamic group experience.

I invite you and your friends to try it sometime. You see, when we come together to worship, we come in the door as a singular I. But once inside, I am no longer “I” but a plural “we” and “us”. When you think about it, why should 500 people sing praise to God at the same time in the same place using the singular pronoun “I”?

This concept is even more important when praying than it is when singing. When I pray in a group, I should use the pronoun “we” rather than “I.” When Jesus taught us to pray, He said we should say, “Our Father.” Why not “My Father”? This is because using the word “our” rules out any thought of selfishness or exclusiveness, as though I alone have God’s ear and others are merely onlookers. When I use the plural pronouns of “we” and “us”, I include everyone in the prayer. We’re one family, and we have one Father. When I pray alone, He is “my Father,” but when we pray together, He is “our Father.”

Sometimes when I finish a sermon, I will ask if there are any special requests for prayer. I’ve noticed that too often the prayer requests have little to do with what I just preached about. Hearts would be touched if public prayers reflected the needs of the entire group. It’s possible to be gathered together in a physical sense and yet not be together in spirit and in purpose.

Here’s something else to consider when you’re praying in a group. Maybe you’ve noticed that, when others are praying, you’re attention sometimes wanders from what’s being said because you’re planning what you’re going to say when it's your turn to pray. Maybe you’re wondering how you can use more colorful words or make your prayer sound more spiritual.

Sometimes prayers sound like they’re directed more toward each other than they are to God. It’s not necessary to use flowery expressions and contrived words. Prayer is no time to be self conscious.

There are several ways to determine the focus of our public prayers. If my public prayers are longer than my private prayers, I’m probably praying to the public. If I’m more aware of myself and my surroundings than the presence of God, I need to refocus my prayer. If I’m more concerned about the form of words I use or of the opinions of others rather than of God, I’m missing the target of my prayer.

Friend, prayer is not to be a speech, but a conversation. We should listen to each other so that what we say later will add to the unity of the group. You may choose to continue with the same thought, or you may pray about something completely different. But your focus will still be on things that you as a group, as children of God’s family, want to say to Him as “our Father.”

What a wonderful thing it is that, when there is so much disunity around us, we can be united through the means of prayer. The times you spend together in group prayer can be unforgettable experiences and occasions that will cement your relationship with God and with each other.

Yes, there is strength in numbers, and there is power in group prayer. The wonderful power on the day of Pentecost came when the disciples were “all with one accord in one place” (Acts 2:1 NKJV).

It’s not enough to come together physically in one place to pray; we must also be of one accord. A pilot explained that a passenger airliner is comprised of some 2 million pieces flying together in close formation!

I like that analogy. It reminds me that in the church, and even in our families, we’re comprised of many different pieces. But as we fly along toward our heavenly destination, we must be joined together in close formation. Praying together in unity of heart and mind will make this possible.

Sad to say that, often when we have problems in our lives, instead of praying, we’ll go to great lengths to avoid praying, especially praying with others. It’s as though we’re blaming God for bad things that happen to us, and so we punish Him by not talking to Him. We humans are funny that way. Think of it—we stop talking with the only One who can help us. That makes about as much sense as avoiding the doctor when we’re sick.

Whether you pray one-on-one or in a group, God is your strength and He is your majority. He will hear you when you’re alone in an isolated place or when you’re with a group. In spite of our differences, we become united in prayer. Remember, praying together is more than being in the same place at the same time. When we’re together, why not begin to think in terms of us and not just of me?

May I make a practical suggestion? The next time you're in a prayer group, before you pray, why not take a minute to discuss together the things that concern the group as a whole and then pray for those things? You’ll find, like so many others have, that praying together about the same things brings a sense of unity as nothing else can.