Partnering in Prayer
Week 3 – Pray in Community
Learning to Pray Together
Prayer Practice: Partnering in Prayer
Day 16, Monday, January 19
“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
—Galatians 6:2
Who is my “one another?” That’s the power and the importance of the local church. When we’re not committed to a local church body, a large portion of the New Testament remains ambiguous to us. However through formal commitment to a local church (like membership!) we’re identifying our “one anothers” and the scripture’s commands for how we’ve to love and engage with our community begin to come into focus.
Here’s another beauty of Christian community - it’s not limited to the people around us that we like or that we choose to be with. In Christian Community we surrender the control we have over “our people” and instead of choosing who we love, we simply love those around us. In doing so we also learn to pray for those we don’t know or don’t relate to or might not normally pray for.
Today’s practice invites you to step into the shared prayer life of the church.
How to Practice
First, Sign up for the church prayer chain.
Second, pray along with the Pray First guide prepared each week by the church.
As you pray:
Pray attentively
Pray with names and situations in mind
Pray trusting that others are praying alongside you
Gentle Reminder
You won’t know every situation or person you’re praying for but the Holy Spirit does and He prays alongside you, empowering your prayers, and interceding with you. Consider Romans 8:27: “And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.”
