One of the best ways to grow in prayer is to pray with others. The light of God shines through in a special way when Christians come together to seek the Lord. And something stunning is made, as each person contributes their humble piece.
It reminds me of stained glass windows or mosaic-type windows. They are typically made of various shapes of colored glass. Sometimes even broken glass is used for mosaics. Each piece on its own wouldn’t amount to much. But when arranged and fused together by a skilled artist the result is beautiful. Many of the most renowned cathedrals of the world are adorned with stained glass windows.
When we pray together a similar thing happens. Alone, we are just an ordinary plain piece of glass. But when we come together with other believers, the Holy Spirit—the skilled Artist—puts it all together to create a fresh portrait of Christ.
Design of God
It seems clear from Scripture that the Lord intended His people to pray together. Even before the Church was born we see the followers of Jesus praying together.
And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers. — Acts 1:13-14
I’m sure that these early followers prayed privately as they walked and worked, and on their beds in the evening. But there was a great emphasis on praying together as a family of believers. This prayer gathering in the Upper Room went on for ten days with about 120 men and women. This is exactly what Jesus had told them to do just before He ascended into heaven.
And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, "you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." — Acts 1:4-5
We aren’t told how long these prayer meetings were. I’m so curious! All we know is that they came together daily to cry out for this promised baptism of the Spirit. I’m also curious what these gatherings sounded like. Were they loud or quiet? Did they take turns praying or did everyone pray at the same time? Did anyone lead the prayer meeting? Was it mellow or urgent? What we do know is what happened at the end of the ten days.
When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. — Acts 2:1-4
Early church ethos
This was the birth of the Church, and once this happened, the believers did not stop meeting regularly to pray. The Bible tells us they devoted themselves to prayer and “day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts” (Acts 2:46). They were having daily prayer gatherings!
This practice of corporate prayer is threaded all through the Book of Acts which chronicles early church life. After the apostles were persecuted for preaching the Gospel they came back to the church family and stirred up a prayer meeting. They all started calling upon the Lord together and, again, God moved upon their hearts in a powerful way.
And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. — Acts 4:31
Many other examples could be given, but that should be sufficient to make the point that praying together was an important part of early church culture. It’s what they did. It’s not the only thing they did. They listened to the apostle's teachings and, apparently, they liked to eat. But prayer together was a central practice.
What happened?
At least in my corner of the world, it seems like this strong emphasis on prayer together has been lost. I’m not saying Christians aren’t praying. I think all Christians pray. Maybe some neglect to pray as they should. But what I’m saying is that, for some strange reason, we don’t like praying together. I call it “strange” because I really can’t make sense of it. It seems like everyone can be so private about things. Maybe prayer is too vulnerable to do together? Maybe the problem is people in the church sometimes don’t really know each other well? You know, because everyone is so busy and the community is so transient. Another factor could be the complexity of styles of prayer that have evolved over 2000 years. People have very different ways of praying, and this makes praying together a challenge. In some cases, I think people are a little socially scared of prayer gatherings because they seem too intense or emotional. Prayer meetings can also be intimidating. Some who are undeveloped might worry they will be called on to pray out loud—and that they’ll just pass out with fright! Many other factors could be mentioned. But I want to encourage you not to give up meeting together for prayer. It’s a good thing!
Inside and outside
Back to the metaphor of the stained glass window, it’s interesting that from one side it doesn’t look that great, right? From the outside of the building, stained glass looks very bland. The colors are barely noticeable, and the composition is muddy. I would almost describe it as depressing or boring. But when you are on the inside—what a different sight! As the sun shines through the colored glass, the window art comes to life.
Prayer meetings are often like this. On the outside they appear bland and unattractive. They just don’t look like much from the outside looking in. But when we are on the inside of a vibrant prayer experience with others, wow, the light of Jesus shines through, and a gorgeous portrait of Jesus comes to life before our spiritual eyes.
I say that to some of you who may have very little interest in attending a prayer meeting. Don’t give up on it. You may have had a bad experience, I know. That’s unfortunate. I’ve had several bad experiences myself. But gathering with brothers and sisters to pray is too wonderful to give up on. So many amazing things can happen! Things happen in prayer gatherings that don’t happen anywhere else.
I’m not even sure why, but the manifest presence of God is often stronger when hearts are united in prayer. It’s as if each person brings a small flame, and joins it with 100 other flames, and a great bonfire is created!
Instrumental in my life
I can say that praying with others has been instrumental for me in forming my life of prayer. I’ve been in prayer meetings with just 2-3 friends, and I’ve been in prayer gatherings of several thousand, like at the Brooklyn Tabernacle. Both small and large gatherings are beautiful in different ways.
When I was a brand new believer I used to pray with just a few friends out on a train trestle at night under the stars. It was a quiet vibe and we would each talk to the Lord as our Father.
In NYC I experienced the power that is released when thousands of believers cry out to God in one accord. Oh my! The presence of God was so thick and tangible at times all I could do was weep for joy that Christ was so real.
In Bible school I remember, in one season, praying twice a day with those on campus who seemed most interested in prayer. These were times of experiencing fire from heaven for revival. Those times shaped me.
In my years of working with college students in Boston I saw how creativity and intellectual depth could mesh with spiritual fervor. I saw God in a whole new way through those prayer times.
In each season the Lord has always had me involved in some kind of regular prayer with others, and it has been transformative. Oh, there were boring ones, weird ones, confusing ones, sure—but I have encountered the Living God at many of these gatherings!
Don’t give up!
Don’t give up on prayer gatherings. Don’t just go to one single prayer meeting and then decide if they are helpful or not. They don’t work that way. It takes a while to, kind of, “get inside them”—because you can attend but not really be inside. Just keep showing up. Yeah, maybe it is a little scary, but it’s worth it. Some prayer meetings may be boring. That’s okay. Sometimes boring is a work of God showing us our emptiness apart from Him.
If you have a strong aversion to praying with mostly strangers at the prayer meeting at your church, then pull together a handful of trusted friends. But figure out a way to pray with others. I can say with all my heart that I’ve learned more about prayer—and about God Himself—at prayer meetings, than any other place. Selah.
Jim Cymbala
When I think of prayer gatherings that are marked with the glory of the presence of Jesus I think of the Brooklyn Tabernacle. It is pastored by one of my favorite pastors, Jim Cymbala who has such a sweet gentle spirit. Pastor Cymbala means a lot to me personally because when I attended Bible school in Rhode Island as a new Christian, his daughter Suzie, was in my class. And his other daughter Chrissy was the choir director. Pastor Cymbala was also a graduate of URI (and captain of the basketball team). Well, this meant that Pastor Cymbala quite frequently came to the school to preach in our chapel services. In my time at school we had hundreds of guest preachers come through. Pastor Cymbala was my favorite. Usually, I’d cry for several days after he came and would be deeply refreshed.
Pastor Cymbala took on a very small struggling church in Brooklyn as a young man with a small family. It didn’t go very well until the Lord spoke to him to make prayer a priority in the church. Today the Brooklyn Tabernacle has 10,000 members and their ministry is internationally known. Their choir has won several Grammy awards. I highly recommend Jim Cymbala’s book Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire. And if you are able to, go to one of their Tuesday prayer meetings (get there early). You can also listen to Pastor Cymbala’s sermons on this website: