Praying In CommunityExemplo

Praying Together for the Mission

Whether individual or corporate, our prayer lives can tend toward introspection. We feel pain, disappointment, want, and a host of other things, so in our prayers we make these requests known to God. This is as God has designed. But when these requests become the sum total of our prayer lives, we are missing something vital. 

In Acts 4, Peter and John had spent the night in prison for preaching about Jesus in public places. When they were released the next day, Peter and John joined the other Jesus followers in the city. After relaying the events, their natural impulse was to pray. Together. 

What did they pray for? They asked God to fill them with boldness and continue to empower them for the mission. Just one day earlier, their numbers had risen dramatically as people heard the good news about Jesus and responded. Now they prayed for more boldness. The result? The place where they were praying together was physically shaken, and they went out and continued to proclaim Jesus fearlessly. 

We see a similar dynamic in Romans 15, as Paul asks the Christians in Rome to “strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf.” Paul is describing a real partnership, and the “work” he envisions is prayer. What is the Roman church asked to pray for? The mission. 

As we work together to pursue God’s mission in our churches and neighborhoods, an indispensable element in that effort must be community prayer. The early church couldn’t proceed without it, and neither can we. 

How can you gather the people you live and serve alongside to pray that God’s mission would go forward in your unique setting?