Does It Matter How Many People Pray?

Here in my local city a 10-year-old boy was swept into a storm drain and severely injured. He is now in intensive care with no brain activity. It is a tragic story and a nightmare no parent should ever have to go through. Since the boy was injured, there have been many requests for prayers.

That made me wonder...does it matter how many people are praying? Does the number of people praying influence God in any way?

I often see on social media when people will request for "prayer warriors" to pray for a need.  So, does this make any difference to God?

Jesus never mentioned any numerical requirement for giving prayers a better chance of being answered.  In one passage Jesus did say:  "For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them." (Matthew 18:20)   If you read that again you will also see that this doesn't guarantee an answer - only that Jesus will be there.  

There is also a passage in 2 Corinthians 1:11 which says:  "Joining me in praying so that, when God answers, God will be glorified in answering many prayers."  This would indicate that praying together helps but not a guarantee that God will answer in your favor based on that.

God doesn't need us to "tip the scales" in prayers in order to force him to answer us.  There are no numbers which will pressure God to answer.  While prayers of others are good and needed, it shouldn't be where my need got 199 people praying and someone else only had 25 people praying so I get mine answered.  That's not how it works.

If God wants to answer, it really only takes one prayer of faith.  James 5:16 tells us that "the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much."  Answered prayer is a result of our faith connecting with God's will, not the number of people praying.

We shouldn't think that the chances of God's response is based on the number of people praying about a matter.  That isn't found in the Bible and can lead us to think the wrong way about how God works.  

So, should we ask others to pray with us?  Absolutely.  There are times when we are weak or in situations where we don't have the strength to pray effectively on our own.  For instance, when we are sick, the Bible gives a specific template about what a believer should do.  James wrote "is anyone among you sick?  Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord and the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven."  (James 5:14-15)

There is power in prayer, not in numbers.