Does It Matter How Many People Pray?

When we are in a desperate situation, we will usually ask others to pray for us. I have seen requests for prayer in church and on social media.  When we are in need and we reach out to others for help in praying.

But does it make a difference how many people are praying?

The number of people praying does not necessarily increase the chances of God answering in the way we want, prayer is not about "numbers" or manipulating a specific outcome. However, shared prayer is highly valued for unity, encouragement, and communal worship, with promises of presence when even two or three gather. I know that we like to read the passage in Matthew 18:20 when it says "For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them."  We often mistake that to mean that our prayer will be answered but this just assures us that Christ will be in our presence.  It doesn't mean we tip the scales in our direction.

The sincerity, faith, and alignment with God's will are generally considered more important than the number of participants.  Personal, private prayer is considered just as valid and effective as group prayer.

There may be some situations when prayer can change God’s mind but this isn’t dependent on the number of people praying.

I know when I ask people to pray for my need, I only seek out those I have confidence in and know who will pray for my need and not just say they will pray and then forget about it.  Sometimes I just don't have the words to pray or I feel weak in my faith so I reach out to others who I know will hold me up.

Ultimately, the answer to our prayers is in God’s hands. We can’t assume that we know what it is. Sometimes His answers do not make sense to us.

In my opinion, when you have a desperate need you do all that you feel you need to do in prayer. Tell no one or tell everyone. Desperate times calls for desperate measures.  Even if numbers don’t make a difference, having the support of others can be encouraging to help us during our time of need.

Red Sea Moments

One of my favorite scenes from the “Ten Commandments” movie is when Moses leads Israel to the Red Sea. They suddenly find that the Egyptians are pursuing them. They are trapped with no place to go. 

Immediately they turn on Moses. The Carlton Heston version of Moses tells the people that they are going to see the salvation of the Lord. Moses lifts his staff and the Red Sea is parted. 

There are times in life where we find ourselves in situations where we feel trapped. We trust and believe in God but we see the waves of our Red Sea and the enemy approaching. It’s a scary moment.

We can still be scared and trust God. Our faith sees things that we don’t see with our physical eyes.

It’s easy in these moments to complain as Israel did to Moses about the situation.

The pharaoh character in the movie played by Yul Brenner was leading the charge of the Egyptian armor toward Israel. When they got close he said “Their God is a poor field general.”

There are times when we wonder why God has led us to a place that has us trapped with no deliverance in sight. It would seem that God is not in control.

It the moments where is appears God has been a poor field general, He opens the way to our greatest victory.

The Red Sea scares us. We wonder where God is. Our faith is tested. Will God deliver us this time or will the enemy destroy us?

The only thing we can do is stand still. Does it guarantee that things will turn out the way we want it to turn out? Not always but where else are we going to turn?  Some times it simply comes down to the fact that either God will deliver us or He won't.  None of us knows the mind of God and what His purpose is in what we are facing.  

God’s faithfulness and our faith do not guarantee our deliverance. Likewise, ongoing pain and lack of deliverance do not indicate a lack of faithfulness on God’s part or lack of faith on ours. Whether God parts our Red Sea moments or not, we still put our trust in Him.  Stand firm and endure.

When Your Faith is Tested

Faith. That’s a powerful word. This is what connects our relationship to God. 

Faith is a great word to talk about. Even better to sing it loudly in a praise and worship song in church.

It is different when faith and fear meet.

It’s what I call the scared place. When you have that scared feeling when your faith is tested.

I’m in that scared place right now. While I have faith God will answer my prayers, I’m scared because I don’t know how this will turn out. God has a plan that He doesn’t always share with us. It’s a scary place because we don’t know.

I don’t like being in this place but whether I like it or not, I am here. Trusting God isn’t always easy. Sometimes He gives us things that are painful to bear. I don’t like the painful part.

Is my faith strong enough? I can’t say for sure but I won’t give up easily. I will fight as long as I have fight in me.

As I face this test to my faith, I keep reminding myself that I can only do this one step at a time. I only need strength for today and when I wake up tomorrow I will start again.

Having faith doesn’t mean it won’t be a struggle or that I won’t shed some tears along the way. It’s going to hurt but I have to push though it.