The Extraordinary Importance of Corporate Prayer
By Dennis Fuqua
Location: Jerusalem
Date: c. AD 32
People: Jerusalem believers with Peter and John
Scripture: Acts 4:23–31
Setting: Peter and John report being threatened by the religious leaders to no longer speak or minister in Jesus’ name.
Activity: Fervent, united, corporate prayer
Result: Place where they prayed was shaken, they were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they were bold in their witness.
Location: Antioch
Date: c. AD 46
People: Leaders of the church at Antioch
Scripture: Acts 13:1–3
Setting: Leaders set aside time to spend with the Lord with no known agenda.
Activity: Passionate, corporate worship and prayer
Result: The Holy Spirit spoke. They obeyed. The missionary advance of the Church to “the ends of the earth” began. It has never stopped.
Location: Herrnhut, Germany
Date: August 13, 1727
People: The Moravians, a struggling Christian community of believers led by Count Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf
Setting: A rift within the movement threatened its very existence
Activity: A call to passionate, corporate prayer
Result: Fresh empowerment from the Holy Spirit and deep reconciliation within the community in turn birthed a prayer meeting that lasted more than 100 years and produced some of the most effective missionary activity since the Book of Acts.
Location: Many cities across the U.S. and other nations
Date: Present day
People: Pastors and other spiritual leaders
Setting: Varies from city to city, church to church
Activity: A fresh level of corporate prayer that is dynamic and attractive
Result: God encounters. United hearts. Vision ignited. Passion, perspective, relationship, and mission renewed. More cooperation, less competition. Jesus is both pleased and proclaimed.
Location: Your church, your city
Date: 2012 and beyond
People: You and your friends
Setting: Will vary from city to city, church to church
Activity: Fresh, corporate, united prayer flowing from fresh vision Result: God hears and shows up! You can tell us more about what happened later.
Those who believe in the power of prayer would never question the importance of individual prayer. We know we need to grow in our personal prayer lives. But some dimensions of prayer can only take place when we step beyond individual prayer practices and into the realm of corporate prayer.
The term corporate prayer does not simply refer to praying with other people. In fact, it is possible to pray individual prayers in a group setting. Rather, I am referring to prayers that are influenced by the prayers of others—and, in turn, influence the prayers of others. I am referring to prayers that flow more from listening than from lists.
These are prayers of agreement or harmonious prayers. We could call them symphonic prayers. In fact, the word Jesus used in Matthew 18:19 most often translated agree is the word from which we get our English word symphony: “Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.”
When you think of corporate prayer, think of a group of people playing (or praying) a symphony from the same score, under the same Conductor, but playing their own unique instrument. They contribute just the right notes at just the right time. It is not simply that I am praying what is on my heart. It is that, together, we are praying what is on God’s heart. The result is not only that Jesus hears more prayer, but that He hears one prayer from many voices.
Prayer that Attracts Christ
There are at least three important factors in dynamic corporate prayer: First, the pray-ers are all sensitive to the Holy Spirit and do not bring their own prayer agendas with them. Second, worship is more than a tag at the beginning or the end of the time of prayer. It is a key part of the entire prayer experience. Third, Scripture sets and guides the themes of prayer. There may be a major topic of prayer, but our prayers are shaped more by God’s thoughts in Scripture than by our own thoughts.
This is the kind of prayer that, according to Matthew 18:20, attracts the presence of Jesus in a unique way (“there am I with them”). Jesus is always with us, but He says He will be there in a special way when we pray corporate prayers. This is the kind of prayer that seemed to be taking place in Acts 4 and 13, as described in the sidebar at left. This is the kind of prayer that is happening more and more in the church today. This is the kind of prayer that, as it increases, will produce deeper fulfillment in the pray-er and greater impact in our world. It unites and it ignites.
Corporate Prayer Unites Us
Prayer has a unique capacity to unite the pray-ers. When my wife and I were engaged, after a short but good time of prayer, I remember thinking, Wow, I know her much better after this time of prayer than if we would have spent much more time just talking to one another. This has proven true over and over again in our relationship.
When we speak to God in a safe environment and allow others to listen in on the conversation, we speak in a deeper way than when we simply speak to one another. Corporate prayer allows us to hear each other’s hearts.
I have seen this work in groups of pastors who either did not know or did not like each other. As pastors have gathered from different denominational or racial backgrounds and spent time hearing one another pour their hearts out in worship and intercession, they have concluded that they really do have much more that unites them than divides them. After a time of corporate prayer they have seen one another as true brothers and have even become great friends. But the uniting does not stop on the horizontal plane. There is a deeper connection with God that can only happen in corporate prayer.
We get to know God more as we hear others who pray from a different personality, background, or theological perspective. In Ephesians, Paul says that one reason he is praying for the Ephesian saints is, “so that they would know Him better” (1:17). This is a key reason to pray.
In Colossians 2:2–3, Paul, in a series of thoughts, demonstrates how this can happen: “My purpose [goal] is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ” (emphasis added).
Paul’s thinking begins with believers being encouraged in heart and united in love. Prayer produces that kind of unity. This unity will lead them to the full riches of understanding. This, in turn, will allow them to know the mystery of God, which is Jesus Christ Himself! On many occasions I have had my understanding of Jesus Christ enlarged and even corrected as I have heard the prayers of people who know Christ differently (and in many cases better) than I have known Him. If we never pray with people from other portions of the Body of Christ, our view of Jesus can be limited to what we already know.
Corporate Prayer Ignites Us
But deeper relationship is not the only value of corporate prayer. God uses corporate prayer to stir us and bring us more in line with His purposes. He uses corporate prayer to bring about personal renewal, fresh vision, greater passion, increased faith, and clear direction in His saints.
At a prayer retreat for the leadership of one congregation, the pastor sensed God had something He wanted to say to them as a group. So he invited the 40 to 50 people to take an hour or so by themselves and simply ask God if there was anything He wanted to say to this team. When they returned, there were about a dozen people who shared their thoughts. All but one brought up the topic of unity. God now had their attention.
Because this group asked together, they heard together. It was a great confirmation to all of them that God had given them some very specific direction. They were ready to listen. As the Lord leads us in times of Spirit-directed corporate prayer and worship, He will often direct us to a theme. Then, as we read and pray from Scriptures and sing songs on that theme, He is able to bring conviction to one person, hope to another, and direction to another.
Once I was leading a prayer retreat with more than 150 men from one congregation who were together from Thursday evening through Sunday. We did not have workshops or special speakers. We simply prayed. At the last session I asked people to share in a word or short phrase what they had experienced in those days together. Words like rest, refreshment, direction, unity, and heart surgery were mentioned. Then one man said, “The best marriage seminar I have ever been to!”
I remember thinking, Marriage seminar? I know we didn’t talk about marriage and I am not sure we even prayed very much about it.
But we had worshipped enough to establish an environment for God (the best marriage counselor ever!) to tap this brother on the shoulder and speak to him about how He wanted him to treat his wife.
Recently, as I wrapped up a one-day time of prayer with pastors, I asked a similar question. One man said, “I came here wanting some clear direction from the Lord and He gave it to me as you—” he pointed to another man in the group “prayed.” Even though the pray-er was not even praying for the man who was speaking, God used him to communicate exactly what was needed.
On Behalf of a City
There have been many cities in our country that have been hit hard with unusual weather-related catastrophes in recent years. I know that pastors have had ongoing, meaningful, corporate prayer times in several of these cities. Without exception, when the catastrophe hit, they teamed together to serve their cities in very effective ways.
One factor in their effectiveness is the trusting, noncompetitive relationships they have developed over the years through prayer.
A second factor is the love and vision they have developed for their cities. As they were together interceding for their communities, God put fresh vision and desire in them to love the people around them through service. When the need was there, they rose up as one church to meet it head on.
For example, in February of 2010, after several prayer summits for Rhode Island pastors, many of them wanted to take concrete steps to have a greater impact in their state. About 70 pastors were presented with the idea of forming the Love RI partnership. Pastors were given six weeks to decide, and by the end of March, 30 congregations decided they wanted to be involved.
Initially, the plan was to start with a pulpit exchange in June with a city outreach in the fall. However, before the initial April meeting could happen, the heavens were opened and much of the state was hit with a “100-year” flood!
At the first Love RI meeting, instead of talking about it, they began to do it. An official partnership with Samaritan’s Purse was formed on the spot. Within one week’s time 385 volunteers from 15 congregations were at work at various sites. Often the volunteers didn’t even know each other, but quickly got acquainted through partnering in the work.
There was often an opening to pray for people in their homes. Since then, other less spontaneous (and less drastic) activities have continued to mark the result of corporate prayer in Rhode Island. In biblical times, throughout history, and even today, as people have prayed together—in congregations and cities—the consistent results have been a greater depth of relationship and a greater sense of mission among those who practice corporate prayer. Inevitably, they have offered greater impact in the name of Christ when they have been united in prayer and ignited by the Spirit.
DENNIS FUQUA has been the director of International Renewal Ministries (prayersummits.net) since 2000. He is the author of Living Prayer: The Lord’s Prayer Alive in You. This article is adapted from his new book United and Ignited: Encountering God through Dynamic Corporate Prayer. Both are available through livingprayer.net.
Praying Together Increases Faith
By Jonathan Graf
In Matthew 17 and Mark 9 is the story of the father who brought his demon-possessed son to the disciples. They tried to cast it out, but could not. The boy was taken to Jesus, who spoke a word and the demon left. Later the disciples came to Jesus, baffled at what happened. Why? They knew how to cast out demons. Jesus had already sent them two by two into villages to cast out demons and heal the sick. So they asked Jesus why they couldn’t do it this time.
Jesus said two things: “because you have so little faith” (Matt. 17:20), and “this kind can come out only by prayer” (Mark 9:29). I wonder if the disciples attacked this demon issue cavalierly or routinely. They knew the words to say, the steps to take. But nothing worked because they were not “prayed up enough.” Their faith was not there as a result. There is a clear connection between prayer and faith.
I believe faith is the most significant thing lost in a church that does not have corporate prayer. The main reason most churches are stagnant and do not see God at work in miraculous ways in their midst is that people don’t know how to pray in faith anymore. Faith grows as we pray together. Here’s how it works: Imagine I am going through a tough time. In the midst of it, I try to pray with trust and faith, but it is difficult because I only see the issue. If I go and pray with others, however, what happens? As I listen to others pray with more faith than I have, my faith grows.
Here’s how it works in a corporate situation: Let’s say our church is planning to build. I’m an elder who is skeptical of the plans because they are beyond what we can afford. But I begin to pray with others, asking God for direction. God can now put a heart of trust in me, bringing me to unity with others and giving me the faith to believe Him for the miraculous—His vision and plan for my church. When I only pray by myself, this is less likely to happen.
Churches that do not pray together still minister in whatever ways they can, given their resources, abilities, and sacrifices. But churches that pray together begin to see the miraculous power of God at work in their midst. It goes beyond what they can and should do—into what God wants to do through them.
