During seasons of prayer, when congregations unite for intercession or groups meet in homes to appeal to God, it is important we stay united in Spirit, supportive and passionate with the goal of touching the heart of God. Even though we pray differently or come together with different styles or burdens, our unity plays an important dynamic in obtaining spiritual success.
For instance, when my wife and I pray together, I like to pack all the meaning I can into a couple sentences. I might pray a simple prayer, “Lord bless and fill my kids,” What I mean, is Lord touch them, forgive them, provide for them, guide them, use them and protect them. My prayer is like a “zip file.” It’s bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. It appears small, but when God opens it up, there’s a lot of meaning in my prayer.
My wife’s prayers are longer than mine. She tells the Lord everything He needs to know about the kids, as though He were just meeting them for the first time. She explains what they need in life and offers suggestions to the Lord on how to get them into their future. She touches God’s heart because she is so compassionate about her children.
The main thing is, we agree with each other when we pray. We don’t judge each other. We listen and appreciate our different approaches and styles. Usually, when we are finished praying together, she will continue interceding alone. I can hear her in the background: “Lord, remind the boys to wash their bed sheets and help them to get enough sleep, and don’t let them eat junk food.” It’s okay, as their mother, she’s consumed by her love for them.
When we get together in a group at church, the same principles apply: we all agree with each other. It doesn’t matter if one person prays longer or with more detail than another. We pray for our nation along with other nations and their leaders. Some pray for the governmental leaders of nations; another might pray for gang leaders, while someone else will pray for business leaders. We’ll stand in repentance for the sins of our nation, asking God to forgive our national sins of pride, injustice and murder (especially concerning the unborn); we ask for mercy concerning our greed and national arrogance, and we ask for forgiveness for the immoral nature of much of our entertainment industry. We each may have a different burden or focus, but with passion we agree with one another’s prayer.
Jesus promised that whatever we agreed upon in prayer, it would be done for us by our heavenly Father (Matthew 18:19). Our agreement is as important as our prayer. It’s okay that we have different styles: I pace. A dear friend of mine rocks back and forth. Another karate chops the air. Yet, even though our styles are different, our hearts burn together in strong agreement.
Interestingly, the word agree as used in the Gospels was the Greek word sumphoneo. From it we get the English word symphony. In other words, God hears our prayers of agreement not so much as a tolerance of one another’s quirks, but as a symphony of passionate voices – each voice as a unique instrument, yet all participating in the same glorious song.
Beloved, let us stay in agreement when we pray. Avoid strife at all costs. Whether our expression is one of weeping or rejoicing, warring or worship, our prayer of agreement can be symphonic to the listening heart of God.
By Francis Frangipane
Used By Permission
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