Prayer Partners

I have inadvertently started a series on prayer; it is so important I want it to be the bookends of my life. I want pray to be so ingrained in my consciousness that I pray before problems come, not after I’ve tried everything. And at the end of every situation, I want to be mindful to give God thanks for the way it transpired. There are two scenarios I wish to share with you regarding Prayer Partners.

Scenario 1 – R&G
I attended a church where they had a Prayer Partner Program/Ministry. This ministry was created to connect High School and College graduates with people who would pray for them throughout their college years and as they transitioned to the workforce or the next stage of their lives. Partners were usually matched based on age or common interests but sometimes it was arbitrary. Usually the graduate was younger than his partner. So R and G were paired together. R was a relatively young Christian, just discovering his faith. G was older, more mature and had been a Christian for most of his adult life; he was a solid down to earth guy. He also had some misgivings about this program wondering if it would be effective. R said to me one day in passing, “G is my prayer partner; O yeah; well we need to pray and make this thing work!” G was receptive. What started off very unsure grew in to a beautiful relationship. Initially they would schedule time to pray and there was some awkwardness. Over time, they stopped scheduling, and talked and prayed whenever they were led. Through prayer, they became closer friends and both grew spiritually.

Scenario 2 – A&G
A&G have been married for 22 years and have not always prayed together even though they both are Christians. They have prayed together for major things – jobs, children, and crisis – but on a daily basis had their separate times. As they go deeper in to this thing called marriage, they have realized the beauty and the strength of praying together and now try to do it as often as possible. They’re not perfect, but they recognized that a three cord strand is not easily broken.

If you’re married you have an automatic prayer partner – your spouse. Talk about this and let it naturally lead in to praying together. Prayer is one of those things that deepens the intimacy in marriage.
An older lady at my former church took me under her wing and loved me like a daughter; she became another prayer partner of mine. I have been matched with people that I’m assigned to pray for – sometimes the relationship blossoms; sometimes it doesn’t. Either way, I pray.

Do you have a prayer partner? Would you like one? Let me know.