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Written by Brenda Brizendine, Volunteer Coordinator for Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Colorado
Have you ever felt like you were carrying the entire weight of planet Earth on your shoulders? Or have you felt a very deep sadness? But what makes these feelings even more troubling is that you don't have any idea why.
I remember very well one particular day when I felt this way. I can't describe how real that weight felt. All I wanted to do was cry. I was so overwhelmed by this feeling that I couldn't concentrate on anything.
I wanted to pray and ask God to help me with that weight, but I couldn't complete even a single sentence in prayer, and I didn't know how to ask or what to ask for. But I remember that God directed me to ask for support in prayer from my group of sisters, prayer warriors, who had accompanied me for a long time on my Christian walk.
It was when I shared my request with them, and we agreed to pray for mercy and for God to take away this overwhelming burden, I was released. Through that unity in prayer, even from miles away, the battle was fought for me, and God freed me from the burden that I was carrying.
To this day, I can't find a reason for those feelings, but I am very aware of what I felt when that load was being lifted from my shoulders and my heart was being filled with peace and joy as I read the words of prayer that the sisters shared in our group chat.
Their faith, united in prayer with mine, made something supernatural happen. This reminds me of the passage in Matthew 18:19-20 (NIV)
“Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
And also, the passage found in James 5:16b, “pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”
The enemy tried to defeat me because he found me alone, but when my heart was united with the hearts of my sisters, something powerful happened. The power of the unity of the family of God once again conquered evil with good, sadness with joy, tribulation with peace.
It is important that we develop that community of faith. If you've ever seen the movie "Facing the Giants," there's a scene where a group of people come together to pray for the kids at school. Things began to change. Things started to improve. Powerful things begin to happen when we come together in common agreement, and they are asked in the name of Jesus.
In his novel, This Present Darkness, Frank E. Peretti describes what he imagines our prayers together can do when we are in agreement. It is like clearing the way so that the angels can complete the mission that God has given them.
I currently meet regularly with a group of friends and sisters to pray over our children. Each week we share specific requests, and together, in single-minded agreement, we share these deep desires with the Father. We have seen many of those requests answered. And we are confident that we will continue to see the Hand of God at work in the lives of our little ones. I encourage you today to find your own prayer group, remembering that where two or more are united in the Name that is above all names, there is the power of the Holy Spirit to work miracles.
Allow me to share a prayer with you:
Eternal Father, Great, and Strong You are! I come to you through the Lord Jesus Christ, declaring what Your Word says— that where two or three are gathered together in Your name, there You are in the midst of them. At this moment I come in agreement with my sisters to cry out to You and invoke Your presence. You are Almighty God and for You nothing is impossible. I ask you to take control of our lives and those of our families, keeping us from illness, and supplying us with everything we need in a supernatural way. In the name of Jesus, Father, we humble ourselves and cry out to You for our nations and we ask You to establish Your kingdom. Shower down Your power and glory upon the world, pouring out repentance and conversion on every inhabitant of our countries. Lord, thank You for the power we experience in agreement and help us to maintain unity and keep us from division and strife. In the name of Jesus, Amen!
Written by Alina Muraru, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Romania
We all know that prayer, the highest form of communication, is a privileged dialog between us and God, our Father who created us. What is unity? It is congruency between thoughts, feelings, will, words, and actions. In the past two years when I prayed to our Father, there were many times when I couldn't even utter the words because of the pain I was feeling inside.
I have no doubt that each one of us has faced different struggles—times that were handled easier/harder than others. During those hardships, I learned how important it is to be aware that God is always with me/us. Sometimes, so many times, we tend to forget, but even so, He is still with us, as stated in Matthew 28:20 NASB:
…and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age”; and Deuteronomy 31:8: “And the Lord is the one who is going ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not desert you or abandon you. Do not fear and do not be dismayed.”
Yes, God is always with us, and when we are praying together in unity as sisters in Christ, we experience God's presence at a deeper level. As Matthew 18:20 says, "For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.”
We also know from the Bible that we have access to His presence by reading Ephesians 3:12. " ... in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him," and Psalm 133:1, "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to live together in unity!"
Unity among His people is so important to God. It pleases Him when He sees His people dwelling together in unity. This is also of great importance when we pray together. It was significant when the apostles of Jesus prayed to God to show them who was the one God desired to replace Judas. We can read about this in the Book of Acts, chapter 1, verse 14. “They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.“
Christian unity is the result of God bringing together people of different backgrounds, ethnicities, and social classes into one family, or body, by faith in Christ.
“Now you are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it.” (1 Cor. 12:27)
For you are all sons and daughters of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Gal. 3:26-28)
Prayer not only connects us with our Creator but also to one another. When we pray to God together, we experience the most important, significant, and deepest communication that can exist, and we are certain that God is listening when we ask for things in faith, in wisdom, and in harmony with God's Word. "And whatever you ask in My name, this I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it" (John 14:13-14).
When we are too hurt to be able to utter some words to give content to our plea, the Holy Spirit is always there to act as an intermediary for us in prayer in concordance with God's will.
"Now, in the same way, the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God." (Rom. 8:26-27)
It is also important that women who pray together, pray with the same mind and for the same purpose, encouraging one another and being content with what they already have.