Did you know that in the story where Jesus heals a paralytic (the one who Luke and Mark said was lowered down by his friends through a hole they cut in a roof in a place where Jesus was preaching), Jesus forgives the man’s sins and heals him because of (and this is in both versions) the faith of his friends?

I invite you to think about what that says about how much power we have when it comes to praying to God with faith on the behalf of others and the prayers they have. The bible is filled with countless examples of just how important (and effective) intercessory prayer is.

As C. H. Spurgeon notes: "Peter might never have been brought out of prison if it had not been that prayer was made without ceasing by all the Church for him. Pentecost might never have come if all the disciples had not been praying ‘with one accord in one place.’”

It’s even in the very language of the prayers we’re taught to say. For example, have you ever stopped to think why it’s the our Father and not the my Father? You might be surprised to see just how many prayers are said in the plural (and not singular) tense if you think about it.

Here’s another important thought from the mind of C. H. Spurgeon: “Prayer moves the arm that moves the world. Just as Elijah's prayers directed the rain, your prayers—if you are in Christ—direct the world. Yes, God is sovereign and can do what he will without us, but he chooses to use our prayers.” God does not need us to ask him to intervene/intercede in our lives—but he wants us to. He commands us to. And the more effort and faith behind our prayers—both of which are factors of just how many people are praying for a given prayer—the more power that prayer has.

What do you think we’re supposed to take away from the fact that the success of Joshua and the Israelites in their battle against the Amalekites was dependent on whether or not Moses kept his hands held up—which he couldn’t do by himself and thus needed Aaron and Hur to keep them up? Certainly the message wasn’t that success in battle was somehow voodoo-ishly dependent on how high or low a people’s leader held them during the battle.

What should we make of the fact that when Joel tells the Israelites to gather and sanctify themselves to repent and pray he goes out of his way to specifically include even the aged and children and those nursing at the breast? He’s very, very clear that it’s to be a group effort and no one should be left out.

We are the body of Christ, and as Harold Martin notes: "The eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee; nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. Now, ye are the body of Christ and members in particular, and it is just this mutual dependence which is recognized" in all the instances of group prayer in the bible.

If this isn’t enough to drive home the point, power, and necessity of group prayer, let me direct your attention to Paul’s assertion that our battle is with “principalities and powers”. Notice the plurality of the language? If even evil knows and takes advantage of the effects of uniting efforts, then so must we have the ability—and responsibility—to unite ourselves in what we ask from God. Make no mistake that while we’re in church praying together, those principalities and powers wait for us in the parking lot doing push-ups. How much more necessary then is it for us to sustain our own group efforts more than just the hour we all spend together in the church on the sabbath?