As a freshman in college, it was my first time away from home. On the outside, I was excited and couldn’t wait to start my classes and participate in school activities. But on the inside, I was nervous. My mom was no longer close by to help me out, and I had many new responsibilities to handle. One of them was doing the Word on my own, and that seemed like a big job. My mom provided me with the Word when I called home and in letters, but I knew that to be successful at living on my own, I needed God. Not getting His help was not an option.
Many times I felt as if I didn’t know where to start. Then I remembered my mom teaching me that I could always start with prayer if I didn’t know what to do. She would say, “Allow God to do His job. He will take care of you.” She encouraged me to build a strong and effectual prayer life with God and advised me in college to find a like-minded believer who could be my prayer partner. She shared that having a prayer partner is a great way to build an effectual prayer life with our heavenly Father. I took her suggestion and began to apply with great results some principles for effectively praying together.
God wants us to know of the power we have together as we are unified in prayer.
Matthew 18:19,20:
Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
The words “shall agree” in verse 19 are one Greek word that means “to sound together, be in accord,” or “to harmonize.” When two people agree, they are in harmony. Nothing is too big for God, and we can pray together to see God’s hand in action. When we pray with others, we build each other’s believing to expect those answers that follow. Though I have had many different prayer partners through the years, the results have always been the same: the mutual believing of partners in prayer yields great results from God.
We can have boldness and confidence when we pray with like-minded believers. We can be confident that our heavenly Father is listening.
I John 5:14,15:
And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
We never have to be concerned that our prayers are useless requests. We can boldly believe as we pray together in harmony with God’s will. And God is always ready, willing, and waiting to hear from us. Basing our unified prayer upon what is available from God’s Word is powerful!
When we pray together, we help each other keep the adversary away and overcome challenges with the power of God.
Ecclesiastes 4:9,10,12:
Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.
For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.
And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
When two like-minded believers agree together and God is in the midst, that “threefold cord” is strong and the adversary cannot break it. Life is full of many distractions that can take up our time and attention, but it is up to us to plan those things in light of keeping our time with God as our first priority. Prayer partners help each other so that the adversary doesn’t isolate and distract them from what God has made available.
Like-minded believers help us to remember that our heavenly Father loves us and wants the best for us in all situations.
Ephesians 3:20:
Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.
God will do exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think as we trust Him to fulfill His Word. He is always ready, willing, and able to supply our needs and help us. When we pray together, we can claim His great abundance in any and all situations. With our joint believing locked in, we can expect nothing less than God’s mighty hand of deliverance. There is nothing too big or too small to take to God in prayer.
Jeremiah 32:27:
Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?
Our prayers are not too hard for God to answer. He loves us and wants the absolute best for us. Keeping ourselves surrounded by those who know and remind us of this is wise and profitable.
God placed us in His wonderful household where there are believers we can pray with. United on God’s Word, we can have boldness and confidence when we pray together. We can be confident that God is always listening to our prayers. We can stay ahead of the adversary and overcome his distractions and challenges with God’s power. And we can claim God’s abundance in all of life’s situations.
Ever since my mother encouraged me, I’ve enjoyed having partners in prayer. It has deepened my relationship with my heavenly Father and given me the sweet victories of seeing the power in prayer together.