Corporate Prayer
We are living in a time of History when the sound of God calling the Church to pray is louder and more earnest than any other. Corporate Prayer is first in the list of the Lord for our times.
The Bible recounts many occasions when people assembled to “cry out to the Lord”, like in the book of Judges. They cried out to the Lord to be liberated from their oppressors and God would send “deliverers” (judges) to get them out of trouble. There were times when the whole nation gathered to pray corporately with remarkable results. One of those times is recorded in 2 Chronicles 6:3. 12, 7:1
Then the king turned around and blessed the whole assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel was standing…
…Then SOLOMON stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands…
…When Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the temple.
…And he stood, and blessed all the congregation of Israel with a loud voice…
then the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices before the LORD.
1 King 8:55, 62 (Emphasis added).
Here the entire nation congregated, the leader prayed and the glory of God came and filled the temple. What made this meeting (and other mentioned in the Bible) so powerful and dynamic?
Why are so many prayer meetings in our churches so boring and lifeless? The best answer to this question is perhaps found in 2 Chronicles 7:14.
"if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
“If my people” this is the call of corporate prayer. “Shall humble themselves” prayer is accompanied with the humility of fasting, confession of sins and repentance. “…and seek my face” the most important purpose of corporate prayer is to hear what the Spirit is saying, so we can pray what’s on God’s heart and agenda. “And turn from their wicked ways”. “Individual agendas (“our ways” which are wicked because they contradict God’s way) must be laid aside, otherwise our gatherings are nothing more than individual desires and requests in a corporate settings.
Power of Corporate Prayer
To have a corporate prayer meeting is much more than coming together in the same place. Someone said it this way: “Praying together is not just physical proximity, but unified purpose”. The power of corporate prayer is released through everyone being in “one accord” in the Spirit and not in the intellect or in the emotions.
Acts 2:1-2 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
Those who pray together must be in agreement with God first, then with one another. We agree together about what God reveals of His will and of His heart.
To be in one accord means to agree. The word “agree” comes from the Greek SYMPHONIO (from which we derive the word symphony). Symphonio results from the coupling of two words: SYN (together) and phone (sound). Therefore to agree means to make a harmony of sounds. In corporate prayer the Holy Spirit is the composer and the conductor and we are the orchestra.
The word “accord” comes from two Latin words: AC (with) and CORDIS (heart). Being in one accord therefore means having the same heart; no dissention.
The enemy knows the worth of consulting and agreeing together:
Ps 83:1-5 Do not keep silent, O God! Do not hold Your peace, and do not be still, O God!
For behold, Your enemies make a tumult; and those who hate You have lifted up their head.
They have taken crafty counsel against Your people, and consulted together against Your sheltered ones. They have said, "Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be remembered no more." For they have consulted together with one consent; they form a confederacy against You. (Emphasis added).
Demons form a confederacy against God. They probably challenge Him saying: “can your people down there ever agree together with You?”.
Strength of Corporate Prayer
Unity and agreement are the force of corporate prayer.
- Eccl 4:9-12 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up. Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one be warm alone? Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
The strength of unity is greater than the strength of numbers.(3 fold cord = 2+God).
- Deut 32:30 How could one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight…
- Lev 26:8 And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight…
The strength of agreement is multiplied in huge proportions.
Rules for Effective Corporate Prayer
- Pray one at the time There are times when congregations of believers will lift their voices in unison, however – in order to pray in agreement, - we must hear what the other person is praying. How can we say “Amen” if we don’t know what’s being prayed?
Remember: the Holy Spirit is a gentleman. He will not be rude, unruly, nor will He interrupt Himself. (See I Corinthians 14).
- Pray in the Spirit (Ephesians 6:18). Praying in the Spirit can be done with our spirit and with our understanding. We pray in the Spirit by following the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, allowing Him to direct our prayers and to energize them.
- Pray through: one burden at a time. (I Samuel 15:18). Allow the Holy Spirit to discharge, through various members of the group, all He wants to pray regarding a particular burden. Then move to another burden.
Value of Corporate Prayer
Praying together in one accord produces true and complete fellowship because it links us with the Father and with the Son.
I John 1:3 …and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.
“Our” fellowship (the fellowship we have with one another) is based on the one we have individually and corporately with the Father and the Son. The Greek word for fellowship is KOINONIA, which means to share with others, to participate in social interaction. We share Jesus as we participate in His Life.
Matt 18:19-20 …For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them
Is the Lord there when we draw together? If Jesus is not the focus of our gathering, there is no real fellowship; all we have a social club. Many Christian reunions, including some “prayer meetings” are nothing more than a time to enjoy food or snacks and to talk at length about each other needs. We come with our own agenda and instruction on how we want others to pray for our particular burden. The Holy Spirit is rarely addressed and time is infrequently given to wait in unison until we hear what the Lord would have us to pray for and how.
In Corporate prayer we need the Lord and we need each other. God wants us to be a community of believers, more than that, a family. Didn’t Jesus teach His followers to pray: “Our Father”? He belongs to each and all His children. He is the link that we have with one another.
The Holy Spirit is passionately calling the Church to return to the purpose, the power and the focus of Corporate prayer. Let us hear what the Spirit is saying and let us obey the exhortation of the Scriptures.
Heb 10:24-25 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
Phil 1:27 Only let your conversation be as it becomes the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel…
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