Partnership in Prayer 6

Discouragement in unfaithful partnerships

There is discouragement in unfaithful partnerships. Take Jesus for example. Peter, the blustering disciple was to partner with him in prayer over a critical and urgent issue on his last night before death but failed. We can nearly hear discouragement in his rebuke, “Couldn't you stay awake with me for one hour? Stay awake, and pray that you won't be tempted. You want to do what's right, but you're weak." I know he was unhappy with Peter’s unfaithful prayer partnership when he concluded, "You might as well sleep now. The time is near for the Son of Man to be handed over to sinners.” (Matt 26:40-45)

“Peter, Peter, I thought you would be there for me at this time, at the very least, in an hour of  prayer. But you’re sleeping. When I asked, ‘Please, pray along with me,’ you answered me with the glib Christianese cliché, ‘I will be praying for you, brother.’ But here you are, sound asleep. Not even praying for yourself. And James, John, sons of Zebeddee, you know my heart. John, your head rested in my bosom tonight hearing all the deep secrets of my life. I invited you here to pray, not to sleep. You left your soft mattress and feather pillow in the upper room and still chose to sleep on the untilled soil under the olive trees. It hurts me. You might as well keep sleeping. My hour has come. It is too late for your intercession to have any impact.” There is great discouragement in unfaithful partnerships. Many a time, someone has asked whether I have been praying for him or her. Not really is usually the true answer.

Others have had intimate prayer and counselling sessions broadcast as sermon illustrations or heard their prayer needs as gossip points from well meaning believers who make statements like, ‘Don’t tell anybody, just pray about it…’ to everyone that comes their way.

To avoid this discouragement, choose carefully. If your prayer partner is not a growing Christian; if he or she has plateaued in his or her walk with God and in the place of prayer, move on. If you are not having the ancient Hebrew experience of iron sharpening iron, move on. If rather than pray, you are having a pity party and ruining each other’s faith, move on. If you can not ‘agree as touching’ issues, move on. If all you do is gossip rather than pray, move on. If God has not led you to him or her or led him or her to you, move on.

One of the personal lessons I have learnt about choosing a prayer partner is that, as a young man or young woman, it is best you pray alone with someone of your gender. Prayer partners meet at seemingly odd hours, assume all sorts of postures and can be shockingly honest with one another when sharing prayer requests and prayer items. Partnering in prayer engenders an unplanned intimacy created by approaching Majesty together. If, as a man, you are serious prayer partners with a woman who is not your spouse, be careful not to create an environment for Satan to gain advantage of you by subtle lust or sexual sin. Temptation is best avoided. I remember a beautiful firebrand woman of God who lived downstairs in the same apartment building with me back in the University. She had a burden for the salvation of the souls of other occupants of our private hostel block and invited me to partner with her in prayer. During our very first prayer meeting one evening in the open hostel lobby, holding hands and praying became an issue for me. I found my mind drifting and my emotions stirring. Needless to say, that was our last prayer meeting together. I never discussed it with her, but I sort of dodged any other possible moves of the spirit to pray together. The precise words of Paul were, ‘Lest we give the devil a foothold.’ Quite a few explanations for fornication and adultery have begun with, “Initially, we just used to pray together...”

Matt 26:39 And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed

There is immense power in proper prayer partnerships. Still, we must remember that partnership does not replace effectual fervent personal prayer. When you are praying with Peter, James and John, you eventually learn that you need to go a little bit further to a place where you can touch God on your own.

Our prayer walks can never remain the same when we are surrounded by the right partners in prayer.

Prayer: Father, send me men and women with a burden of prayer. Surround me with people who believe that all things are possible. Send me a partner in prayer. Shake the earth and connect me with the ones that will agree with me as touching your will for my life. Help me learn, help me grow in prayer by association. And Father, free me from unwholesome partnerships in the name of prayer; for Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, in Jesus Name. Amen.