I want to think with you about prayer for awhile. We Christians believe in prayer, and with good reason. The Bible is full of calls to prayer. Our Example and Lord, Jesus, was a man of prayer. Also, we have seen the results of prayer; not only have we seen results, we have personally experienced the power of effective prayer. I have two questions about prayer that I want to deal with right now. The first question is "does prayer influence God?" The second question is "are prayers more likely to be answered if several people pray for the same thing?" I hope you don't mind, but this is more of a "thinking out loud" sermon than a "here is the answer" sermon. It is okay to say, "I need to think about this before I agree or disagree." And it is okay to say, after some thought (and, yes, some prayer), "Matter of fact, I do disagree." Here are my thoughts on prayer this evening.

Right off, let me say that I don't think the primary purpose of prayer is to get God to do things we want Him to do. No matter what I think of prayer, I do understand that God is God and I am not. Because of that, no matter how hard and long I pray and no matter how much I believe, I cannot force God into doing anything.

Instead of being about getting things from God, prayer is about fellowship. If our prayer life is centered on what we want God to do rather than on our relationship with Him it is a far cry from the unity prayer is to bring about.

Still, we have to wonder if prayer does, indeed, influence God. Our response is greatly influenced by how we view God's relationship to the world he has created. If we think all is already decided and that whatever is preordained to happen will happen, then we probably have little reason to ever ask God for anything in prayer. However, there are several examples in the Bible in which people prayed and God was influenced by their prayer. In Genesis 18 Abraham bargains for the sinful Sodom to be spared. In II Kings Hezekiah's prayers and tears had influenced God to add fifteen years to his life. In Ezra 8:23 we read "So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer." In the N.T. Jesus encourages us to ask that we may receive. Obviously, there are limits. Jesus clearly stated that our asking must be in "his name;" that is, our asking must be in the spirit and purposes of Jesus, not just our wanting God to do things for us.

Still, there is plenty of Biblical evidence that God does respond to prayer. Some things will not happen unless we petition God in faith for them. If prayer is only about asking, we are missing the heart of prayer, but if it has no asking we are missing out on many things the Lord would do in response to our petition prayers.

Let me say this before I continue: I believe cooperate prayer is a good thing. Jesus encouraged it in Matthew 18:20 where he said: "where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."

He expected us to pray together about things…and he promised to honor us with his presence when we did that.

And it may be that it is along this line where we start thinking that "more prayers is better." We do some spiritual math and think, "If Jesus is present when 2 or 3 people pray, then he is much more present when 4 or 6 pray, and even more present when 8 or 12 pray." More prayers, more Jesus!

Of course, we know that isn't true. Jesus, teaching on prayer said: Matthew 6:7 "And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words." If we aren't careful we find ourselves acting as though we think our prayers have a better chance of being answered if we have many prayers (and thus, many words being prayed). We don't believe that more prayers will increase the "odds" of our prayer being answered, but it is very easy to act like it.

Another related area of concern is what kind of prayer requests reflect our faith in a God who loves us and hears our prayers. For instance, daily, on the Internet people send messages asking for prayer about various things. The requests are worded something like this, "Please pray for this man in our church who is having heart surgery tomorrow." While I know there was no Internet in N.T. days, I have to wonder if such long distance prayer requests would have been emailed around the N.T. church. Jesus taught us to pray for our enemies, he prayed for children brought to him, and he prayed for his disciples…both near and far. Paul testified that he prayed for all the churches he had planted and asked them to pray for him.

James called for his readers to pray one another. The disciples prayed for boldness to proclaim the Good News and the church prayed for the imprisoned Peter. Honestly, it is amazing that one type of prayer that is so common in the church today is so absent from the N.T. record…and you already know what I am thinking about: prayers for the physical well being of friends and relatives unknown to the immediate church!

Don't get me wrong. When I am sick, I want your prayers! James did link healing to prayer, and we should take full advantage of the privileges that are ours as God's people. Still, I find it at least interesting that Paul never wrote to one of the churches saying, "be sure to pray for Sister Jones, Brother Smith, and the wife of our landlord here…all of them are under the weather."

However, there is another side to this coin. We are a Christian Community, a Family of God. We have a vital connection with one another. We do, indeed, weep with those who weep. When one of our number hears news from across the country about someone who is dear to them, their concern becomes ours.

So what do we do with all this?

First, I will not act as though I think getting more people to pray increases my chances of having God answer prayer. I will not ask people who are strangers to the situation to pray over things that are disconnected from their lives. James emphasized the power of just one righteous man's prayer in James 5:16 ("The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective".)

Second, I can respond to the concerns of my Christian friends by praying for them and that which burdens them. In other words, when a friend in the church tells me that his sister-in-law is facing surgery, can pray for that friend in the church and ask the Lord to strengthen him and help him as he prays over this need. That is probably a more Biblical and reasonable response than my trying to pray for some distant, unknown need – especially in light of all the needs that constantly surround me.

Third, I will be sensitive to the Holy Spirit's leading. Spiritual events don't always make sense when seen from our worldly point of view. Sometimes we pray over things simply because we believe the Lord is directing us to do so. We must not neglect prayers for the needs and concerns that directly touch our lives, but when the Lord lays some distant, unattached concern on our hearts, we willingly respond by praying the best we are able, leaving the unknown side in God's hands. To answer my own questions: Yes, I do believe prayer influences God. I don't think the primary purpose of prayer is to do that, but I do believe that God hears and responds to our prayers. And, no, I don't think getting more people to pray increases the likelihood that my prayer will be answered. I want my actions to reflect this. However, at the same time, I want to be sensitive to the concerns and needs of by brother's and sisters in Christ…praying for them even when I have no direct connection to the need.