Prayers, is the more that pray better? Biblical evidence please.

[SonOfThunder]

We all do it, we reach out to others for prayers.

It struck me that if 5,000 pray for something do they do better than 2 that pray for the same something?

What Biblical evidence can you come up with to support this please?


here are a couple

JAM 5:14 Is any sick among you? 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:

JAM 5:15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

JAM 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

James

[rural_preacher]

The church prayed earnestly for Peter and God sent an angel to release him from prison.

Acts 12

1It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. 2He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. 3When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. 4After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.

5So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.
6The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. 7Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. "Quick, get up!" he said, and the chains fell off Peter's wrists.
8Then the angel said to him, "Put on your clothes and sandals." And Peter did so. "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me," the angel told him. 9Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. 10They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.
11Then Peter came to himself and said, "Now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod's clutches and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating."
12When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. 13Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer the door. 14When she recognized Peter's voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, "Peter is at the door!"
15"You're out of your mind," they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, "It must be his angel."
16But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. 17Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. "Tell James and the brothers about this," he said, and then he left for another place. 18In the morning, there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. 19After Herod had a thorough search made for him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed.



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[chrismon]

Even if we're really prone to think of it that way, prayer is not some spell-casting that gets stronger with numbers.

Prayer does a lot more for our own understand of God and our need for him than it is some helpful revelation for God. On the otherhand, our prayers do effect God in what we might humanly call an emotional way. Not that it changes his ultimate designs and plans for his world or invididuals, but our sincere submission does seem to elicite is compassion and mercy. Remember Moses' prayer on behalf of a rebellious Hebrew people and how their destruction was avoided.... on the other hand, remember Abraham's and the destruction of Sodom and Gamorrah.

The purpose of communal prayer, it seems from Scripture, is the building up of the people of God. When we pray together we live that much more transparently with one another, sharing our needs, cares and hopes. And, truly, this is the sort of people God wants for himself: a people who live transparently with one another, hiding nothing, full of mutual love and generosity. What greater way do we have to practice that than to bring those things to God kneeling along side one another?

[ZiSunka]

It isn't the volume or length of the prayer, or the numbers of people who pray that has any effectiveness, it is the heart out of which you pray. If you are honest with God, if you pray for the right reasons, if you pray for something God can honor, then you are praying with effectiveness.

If you lie to God, if you ask him for something evil or harmful, if you pray for your own selfish reasons to to impress someone else, you might as well not even bother.

[JPPT1974]

You are indeed doing so for selfish reasons
You need to ask for the Lord's forgiveness
And repent like asap!!

[ZiSunka]

You are indeed doing so for selfish reasons
You need to ask for the Lord's forgiveness
And repent like asap!!

I appreciate your honesty and directness JP. I love you all the more for being a true friend and sister in Christ. :hug:

[UncleRicky]

There are many things about prayer that are a mystery to me. One thing I know, It's not the strength of the prayer that matters, but the strength of our God.

Why He chooses to work through the prayers of His people is a mystery to me.
Why He answers positively or negatively is a mystery to me.
Why He even bothers to even listen half the time is a mystery. (So many of our prayers are selfish, or just plain goofy)


But I do know that God answers prayer. Sometime right away, and sometimes hundreds of years later.
I also believe that most of the time, we know when we are praying in line with God's will.

Anyway, just a few thoughts on prayer. You are welcome to challenge my assumptions... I've been wrong before.

Cheers,
Rick

http://unclerickysperigrinations.blogspot.com/

[rural_preacher]

Even if we're really prone to think of it that way, prayer is not some spell-casting that gets stronger with numbers.

Prayer does a lot more for our own understand of God and our need for him than it is some helpful revelation for God. On the otherhand, our prayers do effect God in what we might humanly call an emotional way. Not that it changes his ultimate designs and plans for his world or invididuals, but our sincere submission does seem to elicite is compassion and mercy. Remember Moses' prayer on behalf of a rebellious Hebrew people and how their destruction was avoided.... on the other hand, remember Abraham's and the destruction of Sodom and Gamorrah.

The purpose of communal prayer, it seems from Scripture, is the building up of the people of God. When we pray together we live that much more transparently with one another, sharing our needs, cares and hopes. And, truly, this is the sort of people God wants for himself: a people who live transparently with one another, hiding nothing, full of mutual love and generosity. What greater way do we have to practice that than to bring those things to God kneeling along side one another?

AMEN!

Prayer does not change God...Prayer changes us!


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[JPPT1974]

God will do His will on us
In His time and way
And that we just need to lean on Him
As well as put our trust & faith in Him