TOGETHER WE PRAY

TOGETHER WE PRAY 

“… If two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in My name, there am I in the midst of them” (Mt 18:19-20). Jesus said that in the context of prayer: “If two or three of you join your voices on earth to pray for anything whatever, it shall be granted you by My Father in heaven. Where two or three are gathered in My name, there am I in their midst.” Jesus was using numbers to impress upon us the importance of praying with others, as opposed to praying by ourselves. 

Elsewhere Jesus stressed praying in private. In Matthew 6:6 He recommended that we go to our room when we pray, shut the door, and speak to our Father in secret. Here in Matthew 18, Jesus shows that He equally endorses the practice of praying with others. 

He Himself prayed this way when He took with Him on several occasions His three closest disciples, Peter, James and John. Recall the stories of the raising of Jairus’ daughter (Mk 5:21-24,35-43; Lk 8:40-42,49-56; Mt 9:18-26), the transfiguration (Mt 17:1-13; Mk 9:2-13; Lk 9:28-36), and the agony in the garden (Mt 26:36-46; Mk 14:32-42; Lk 22:39-46). 

Praying with others is so important to Jesus that He attached two promises to it. First, if we join together to ask for anything whatever, it will be given to us. Second, if we gather together in His name, He will be present to us. 

The first promise – getting whatever we ask for – must not be taken literally. Otherwise, we reduce God to something like an applause meter – that is, a God who grants requests to one competing group over another depending on which one prays the loudest or the longest. The promise really centers on God’s answer to our prayers, which may be different from our own imagined answer. God’s answer may not solve our problem, but it will help us search for a solution. God’s answer may not remove all our problem, but it will help us search for a solution. God’s answer may not remove all our troubles, but it will renew our strength to deal with them. 

The second promise – God being with us in our midst – can be taken literally. Whether we are in a crowd of two or three million people praying with the Pope on some of his papal visits, or in a small group of two or three praying with a grieving family over someone’s death, God is present there. 

Moreover, where we pray is secondary. Certainly it is inspiring to pray in a beautiful cathedral, temple or shrine, for there God’s presence seems to be very powerful. But it is no less a spiritual experience when we gather to pray at the family dinner table before meals, in a schoolroom before catechism class, in a hospital ward before surgery, or on a street after an accident. 

Significant changes can take place in the natural order when two or three people get together to achieve some goal. For all the more reason, magnificent things can happen in the spiritual order when two or three people join together in prayer for something. 

The presence of God is felt in our midst and His power becomes operative in us. What we cannot do alone, we can do together in terms of correction and forgiveness, healing and service, organization and building. 

Jakarta, 23 January 2013 

 

A Christian Pilgrim