Experience Power When You Pray Together

Written by T. W. Hunt

The most authoritative prayer available to the body of Christ is unified prayer. Many miracles in the Bible occurred when God's people prayed together. Look at the miracle of deliverance in Daniel (Daniel 2:17-19). God revealed both the dream and its meaning to Daniel after he and his friends prayed.

Also consider a story in Acts: Herod imprisoned Peter, intending to execute him, but the church fervently prayed together (Acts 12:5), and an angel delivered Peter from prison. The miracle was an answer to united prayer.

The Authority of United Prayer
I grew up in a very devout home where we prayed together daily, so I saw many answers to united prayer. About a year before I got married, my fiancée, Laverne, and I agreed to meet daily for prayer and Bible reading.

 Over the years we have seen many answers to our joint prayers. But, the Lord had plans to deepen our prayers.

In 1983, a lump was detected in Laverne's right breast. By the time a biopsy revealed its presence in November, the cancer had spread into her lymphatic system.

After hearing that devastating revelation, I prayed continuously for weeks before the Lord directed Laverne and me to study 2 Corinthians, which addresses suffering. We carefully worked our way through that profound book.

As we did, God began to knit our spirits together on a scale we had never known before. God even granted several miracles, but the greatest miracle of all was what God did between us. We realized that the closer the bond when you pray together, then the greater the authority God invests in your prayer, and the more powerful the prayer.

The Power of United Prayer
We find this pattern throughout the book of Acts. Shortly after Pentecost when Peter and John had faced the Sanhedrin, the church prayed, and "the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness (Acts 4:31)."

The most convincing proof of the power of unity in prayer is found in Acts 1:14: "These all [the eleven apostles] with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers." The result of that unified prayer was the greatest miracle in the Book of Acts, Pentecost. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit on New Testament believers came when a small group of believers united in prayer in an upper room. God grant that somehow we may recapture that unity and that our times may see another Pentecost!

Joining God in Prayer
Throughout Bible times God established the precedent of making His work also the work of His people. We have seen examples of His use of intercessory prayer to bring about His purposes through Moses, Esther, Nehemiah and Paul. The calling to be an intercessor is, biblically, one of the greatest callings God gives. We don't earn the title; it comes from God's purposes as revealed in His Word.

In most instances, biblical evidence indicates that God's basic way of running this universe is through the intercession of His saints. Intercession is working with God (see 2 Corinthians 6:1). Therefore, we need to be very serious about doing His work His way. His way is a high, holy and difficult way. Satan fights intercession more than anything else we do.

Having practiced intercession for many years, I realize that asking you to do it is asking for hard work on your part. But intercession is the noblest work God entrusts to us humans. In prayer we fully realize our relationship with God, and with that we assume the nobility He intended humans to have from the time we were created.

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This is an excerpt from A House of Prayer: Prayer Ministries in Your Church which also includes helps on the basics of prayer, starting a prayer ministry, creative ideas for prayer and more. For more information on these topics, purchase this resource through LifeWay’s Online Catalog.

About T.W. Hunt

T.W. Hunt is a sought after speaker on prayer and spirituality. His best-selling discipleship resources include Disciple's Prayer Life: Walking in Fellowship with God, The Mind of Christ, From Heaven's View and several others. He also contributed to A House of Prayer: Prayer Ministries in Your Church.

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