Prayer Power
Heather, a friend with a leader-like personality, told me she belonged to a support prayer group. She went on, saying how she and the group have become supportive of one another, as they share their concerns each week. She said they were not all close friends, but that their prayerful connection is very important.
She even told me that if she misses one get-together, she feels bereft. I had to admit it to myself, but I was a little shocked, as she is fiercely independent and self-confident.
Intrigued, I began to inquire into other such groups I’d heard about. I recalled the prayer groups I’d belonged to over the years. My recollections went back to university days when I’d met in a prayer band. Then I thought about my parents and grandparents and how for them it was the prayer meeting.
I decided I wanted to be part of a supportive prayer group for the following simple reasons.
1 Support groups of all kinds, including prayer groups, have been around for a long time. Humans have a basic need to get together for mutual support. They may not have been called “support groups” a few years ago, but they’ve always existed. With the escalation of broken homes and the destruction of the nuclear family, support groups are more and more necessary to maintain a healthy society.
2 Sometimes my faith isn’t as vibrant as it could be, but in a supportive prayer group I see and experience more answers to prayer. Shared with others, we become part of a significant, powerful team. I observed this phenomenon when recently, with five other women, I was involved in Roadshow—a women’s ministry. Roadshow travelled, preached and prayed seriously for a week: the prayers were fervent and the answers were just amazing. We felt and saw God at work.
3 Sharing important needs in prayer with others forms a special bond that cannot easily be broken. The neighbours who prayed with me over two difficult years with adolescent teenagers are still my friends. Even though we’re now separated, we continue to share each other’s concerns through prayer. One from the group recently sent me a note telling of how she’d seen me in a dream. She was praying for me and my family, she said. I am so glad for her loyalty.
4 Praying together for a specific project in a group can be a powerful tool for communication with others. One group I meet with each year goes to and prays for a hospital. We go in pairs to each level to offer prayer for nursing staff and patients. Then together in the group we share what we saw and experienced. This has brought about a strong sense of purpose in the team.
I believe that prayer groups can make a difference in a community. While living in a drought-ridden country of Africa, the nation came together to pray for rain. The very next day, the rain poured down in torrents. The drought was broken.
My inquiries into the few prayer groups I knew existed revealed some interesting facts.
One group of up to 30 people, in Sydney, meets every Sunday at 5.00 am! They’ve done this for six years and the group is growing. They have hourly emergency prayers for major church or personal needs. Another group has met for 10 years and many smaller groups have grown out of the original. They’ve had prayer projects, prayed for every church member in their church, prayed for children, conducted hands-on prayer groups for people with serious problems and incorporated Bible verses into written prayers. They told me that “this prayer group is part of the fabric of our lives.”
People often tell me about their answers to group prayers and some are amazing. More than that, some are miraculous.
In a village in Papua New Guinea, a young mother decided to abandon her newborn baby. The father was distraught and pleaded with the women of the local church to pray for direction.
The women met and prayed all day. One mother, whose youngest was then 18 years old, felt impressed that she was the one who should care for the new baby. At the end of the day, she had breasts filled with milk, enough to feed that precious child.
Stories of answered prayers and personal wellbeing as a result of prayer should encourage you to get involved. I believe in the power of the prayer group, so I’ve decided to keep on with what the Bible says, “Pray[ing] continually” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). I’d like to think that others would join me.
If you have a special request or need, Joy is happy to include you in her prayer ministry. The editors of Signs magazine also have a weekly prayer group and are happy to pray with you or on your behalf. Email your request to either Joy Butler <eyeo@adventist.org.au> or Editors Prayer Circle <signsmag@signspublishing.com.au>.
"Why should the sons and daughters of God be reluctant to pray, when prayer is the key in the hand of faith to unlock heaven’s storehouse, where are treasured the boundless resources of Omnipotence?"—Ellen White
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This is an extract from April 2003
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