Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. James 5:16
Do you ever pray with other people?
You can respond to a request for prayer by praying with someone you’re conversing with right then and there. Immediate prayer invites another into sacred conversation and, hopefully, brings immediate encouragement.
Shared prayers form a bond between people, because when we pray with a friend (or even someone we just met) we invite one another into a conversation with God about our thoughts and feelings. There’s a degree of vulnerability. Consistent conversation with God brings us closer to Him, and consistent prayer for, and with our friends, brings awareness of what’s important in their lives.
In Luke 11:5-10, Jesus likens consistent prayer to pounding on your friend’s door in the middle of the night until they finally get up to see what you need. We keep at it until we get help. We can even be part of the help that God might choose to send to our friends, because we are more aware of the help they need.
The next time a friend texts or calls you, saying, “I’m feeling sad and overwhelmed,” you can share a prayer right then with something as simple as: “Jesus, please comfort my friend as she grieves change and loss. I love her, but You love her more.”
By praying together, we acknowledge God’s presence in our midst, and remind one another of His truth, hope, and comfort found through Jesus. As we draw closer to God in prayer with one another, we also grow closer to each other in the deepest way possible.
Are you willing to stop and pray with someone in need today?
Resource reading: James 5:13-18, Luke 11:1-13
