Why the church gathers to pray
Sometimes people ask why do we as a Church have a time every second Wednesday for us to pray together? We're not unique in that.
Jesus clearly envisaged right from the start that his disciples would pray together. Hence when he was teaching his disciples to pray he gave them a prayer that began 'Our Father' as opposed to 'My Father.'
Not only that but when the first church is formed in Acts we find that prayer is one of the things that the new believers do when they meet together (see Acts 2.42). Later in the face of opposition, again we find the church meeting to pray to God for help in their response to it (Acts 4.24ff)
There are lots of important reasons for making time as a church to speak together to our Father in heaven. In that regard consider these words of Marshall Segal from a recent article on the Desiring God website. If you would like to read the whole article you can find it here Go to God together
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Why do Christians, from the early church to today, in every time and place, pray together? In part, because heartfelt prayer requires fresh glimpses of God, and we know how little we see by ourselves. We want to take in and experience more of Jesus than we would ever see on our own. We want to kindle our adoration before God through the eyes of others. Tim Keller writes, quoting C.S. Lewis,
By praying with friends, you will be able to hear and see facets of Jesus that you have not yet perceived. . . . Knowing the Lord is communal and cumulative, we must pray and praise together. That way “the more we share the Heavenly Bread between us, the more we shall all have.” (Prayer, 119)
“Let your prayers strengthen someone else’s hope, and let their prayers strengthen yours.”
Praying with others gives us new windows into the worth of Christ. Of course we pray in secret (Matthew 6:6), and yet if we only prayed alone, we would tear out one of our eyes, as it were, missing facets of Christ we see only through others. The soul of any Christian rises or falls with secret prayer, but it is not good for man to only pray alone. We need to hear each other go hard after God, and we need to carry one another’s burdens before him.
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