Tuesday, June 23, 2020
The Power of Unified Prayer
“So He said to them, ‘When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven’” (Luke 11:2 nkjv).
If we were to write what is known as the Lord’s Prayer, it probably would sound like this: “Our Father in Heaven, give us this day our daily bread. Let’s just get down to business. Here’s my list.”
There is a place for petition. There’s nothing wrong with asking the Father in Heaven for what you need.
However, let’s notice that the template for prayer Jesus gave us begins this way: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Luke 11:2 nkjv).
In other words, first take time to contemplate the greatness of God. There are exceptions, of course. If you fall off a ladder and you’re on your way down, a simple “God, help!” will do.
But when we begin our prayers by thinking about the awesomeness of God, it will cause us to see our problems, crises, and burdens in a different light. It will change our perspective as we recognize that God is bigger than our problems.
Let’s also notice that Jesus taught us to pray, “Our Father in Heaven,” “Give us day by day our daily bread,” “And forgive us our sins” (emphasis added).
We need to pray with other believers.
There’s nothing wrong with asking God to forgive our sins and to provide our daily bread, but the emphasis is that it’s something we should do together. Christians need to pray with other Christians.
Have you ever been overwhelmed with something, and then you prayed about it with a Christian friend? You felt so much better after you prayed, didn’t you? That’s because there’s power in unified prayer.
Praying together makes all the difference in the world. The Bible tells us to bear one another’s burdens. Don’t do it alone. Don’t do life alone. Don’t try to be a solo Christian.
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