Prayer question

[Joey1976]

Alot of people both Catholics and Protestants do this and i have a question about it. When we really are in need or have some crisis that we need to pray about we get as many people as we can to pray for our intention and some people even call this a prayer chain. My question is why do we do this and do we need to? If we pray to God and he hears our prayer and his grace is free to us then why do we think we need to get more people to pray for God to answer and certain request? It doesn’t make sense to me. Will God only answer this request if 100 people or however many pray for it? Do we have a better chance of having a prayer answered if more people pray? If i have a sincere prayer requesting assistance from God, won’t he hear and answer it if i just ask? It doesn’t seem fair to me if I have to ask so many people for a better chance to have a prayer answered.

 

[PhilotheaZ]

God is more likely to answer prayer if several people are praying together. Jesus Himself said so:

“Again, (amen,) I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:19-20).

We are specifically instructed in the Bible to pray for each other. When we ask others to pray with us and for us, we are giving them the opportunity to act in obedience to this command:

“First of all, then, I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone … This is good and pleasing to God our savior …” (1 Timothy 2:1-3)

It’s not that God needs lots of people to remind Him of what we need. Jesus said:

“Your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Matthew 6:8).

God doesn’t need prayer; we do. I think He wants us to pray for each other (and ask each other to do so) because prayer brings us into a loving relationship with Him. Every time we ask someone to pray for us, we are reminding that person to make an act of loving trust to a Father who loves us and wants us to be in a constant prayerful relationship with Him.

It also brings us into communion with each other, something God also desires. We are not lone wolves; we are a Church, members of the one body of Christ. Praying together and for each other strengthens that unity.

Saint John Vianney had this to say about praying with others:

“Individual praying is like straw scattered over a field. If you set a straw alight, the flame is small. But if you gather up all the bits of straw the flame fills out, rising high up in the sky, and it’s the same with communal prayer.”