The Bond of Prayer

…you also joining in helping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many.  2 Cor 1:11

Circumstances at youth camp last night resulted in Doug being back in the dorm much earlier than almost everyone else.  Sitting there trying to wind down, he pulled out some “light” reading – Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxes.  He emailed me a few quotes on prayer.  All of them were very powerful and convicting, but one of them has been more powerfully on my mind than the others.

“Where a people prays, there is the church, and where the church is, there is never loneliness."

This quote comes from a man who felt human loneliness far beyond anything I can begin to fathom.  Yet he knew the power of prayer that strongly. 

So did Paul.  This verse is just one of many where Paul shares how he was encouraged simply knowing the love and prayer of his fellow believers. 

I hunger to know prayer that way.  I have caught a glimpse of it at times.  Praying for a friend across many miles brings unity of heart in a way nothing else can.  But, I don’t want to just experience that now and then.  I want to live that continually!  The very thought of such unity fills me to the brim with excitement and fervor.  May I be diligent to live that out day in and day out from this point on!