The Power of Prayer in Small Groups

Take the power of prayer found in one faithful heart and add a prayer partner: their prayer becomes much more than the sum of the two of them. Then put a few prayer partners together into a small prayer group. Now the power explodes exponentially. Add groups together to become a whole church, and let those groups pray fervently for the neighborhood of their church, for the neighborhoods of each member, for the work of God in the whole world. What might God be able to do with such a church?

A small group often includes study time as well as prayer time. The small group usually meets once a week, often in the middle of the week. By consensus, the group chooses a book of the Bible to systematically study, or they may choose another book to read through together. Prayer time follows during which individuals request prayer for themselves or situations they know about. Then they pray together. A group dedicated specifically to become prayer warriors will spend at least as much time in actual prayer as in study or in talking about prayer requests. The requests will be made known to God in each other’s assenting presence, rather than to each other in God’s presence. Instead of spending twenty minutes on “praises and concerns” and five minutes saying, “God, You know the needs of each person mentioned,” prayer groups will spend the time in prayer, giving God the praises, telling Him the concerns.

This will help to avoid sanctified gossip. It is easy to talk about other people in their absence under the guise of “praying for that person.” Sometimes this is well-intentioned. Sometimes pride and feeling better than the one prayed for plays a part. Make sure that you are not sharing confidential information. It’s best to get another’s permission to bring concerns to the group. Maintain loyalty in the absence of another. Show other people in the best light possible. When negatives come out remember that everyone has them. Admit your own weaknesses.

God works more easily when we are unified in purpose. When two or three people agree, God will hear their request. Does this mean that everyone needs to think alike, dress alike and live alike? Absolutely not. We are all different. Still, in spite of the differences, we can unite in purpose. Knowing the motives and intentions of others helps us focus on the important. To get past appearances to motives, we need to ask questions. What does this mean to you? What are your intentions? Then listen trying to see through the eyes of another person. Look for what will enhance God’s kingdom. At times we have to give

forgiveness to get beyond differences.