United In Prayer With Others

(Plain Text Version)

When we pray, we take a step away from what is familiar and become connected to God.  We need to pray alone and pray with others.  Back in March we discussed personal prayer.  Today let’s look at group prayer.

Praying Together
Ever since God called His Chosen People together, they regularly prayed together.  For example, Moses led the entire nation in a song of praise after the Crossing Of the Red Sea (Exodus 15: 1-18).

In the New Testament, we find instructions from Christ Himself on how to pray together.  In addition, St. Paul and other New Testament authors urge us to pray together.  (See Mark 11: 17, Luke 11: 1-4, Ephesians 5: 19)

Why Pray With Others?
Since God doesn’t need anything from us, our prayers are for our own benefit.  Prayer makes us more and more like God.  When we pray as a group, the whole group becomes holier.

When we request a favor from God, praying as a group is especially powerful (Matthew 18: 19-20).

Opportunities to Pray Together
Whenever we are with other believers, there is an opportunity to offer united prayers to God.  In our family, prayer before meals, prayer before bed time and praying the Rosary are very common.  When good news or bad news is heard, a brief prayer puts the concern into the hands of the Lord.  It also teaches the children to have a supernatural approach to life.

In the parish, the celebration of the Sunday Mass outweighs all other activities.  At Mass, we are presented with Christ’s sacrifice for us.  It would be fair to say that we have one foot in Heaven.  The Holy Mass is the highest of all group prayers.  When we say “Amen”, the prayers said by the priest become our prayers, too.

In Western society today, we don’t get reminders to pray or even to acknowledge that God exists.  We need to be alert for opportunities to pray together.  For example, when someone asks us to pray for some need or situation, an Our Father or a Hail Mary can be prayed together right away.

Our Prayers In Heaven
Here on Earth, prayer can be difficult, because we always have something we would rather be doing.  In Heaven, we will see things as they really are.  Prayer will come naturally.  In  Revelation 7: 9-17, the prayer of the saints is described in vivid terms. 

When we enjoy the everlasting glory of Heaven, our few years of trouble on Earth will be forgotten!