By Matt Moore
During His earthly ministry, how did Jesus face trials with divine power? On His knees, wrestling in prayer. The disciples often heard His prayers—both public and private—as recorded throughout the Gospels.
But what effect does praying aloud have? Have you ever considered the impact of your prayers on fellow saints—or the impact of theirs on you? When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He gave them a template (Matt. 6:9–13). Notice the language:
“Our… us… us… our… us… us…”
The Lord’s Prayer is communal. It assumes believers often pray aloud together. May we learn to pray aloud with Jesus, just as His disciples did. For a local church, praying together should feel as natural as breathing in the same room.
John Onwuchekwa, Christian author and speaker, explains:
Prayer is oxygen for the Christian. It sustains us. So it follows that prayer must be a source of life for any community of Christians. It is to the church what it is to individuals—breathing. Yet many of our gatherings could be likened to people coming together merely to hold their collective breath. (Prayer: How Praying Together Shapes the Church, Crossway, 2018, 23)
The importance of corporate prayer cannot be overlooked. If you feel any hesitation to join the saints in prayer, resist it.
As Spurgeon urged:
Persuade all the brethren to pray aloud. If the younger and less-instructed members shrink from the privilege, tell them they are not to speak to man, but to God. Assure them that it does us all good to hear their groans and ineffectual attempts at utterance. For our own part, a few breakdowns come very sweetly home; and, awakening our sympathies, constrain us to aid the brother by our more earnest wrestlings. (Only a Prayer Meeting, 20)
Through Christ, our Mediator, we are ushered to the throne of God. Now seated at the right hand of the Father, our Intercessor invites us to face the next challenge—a new year—with power through prayer.
When I hear you pray, I am lifted nearer to heaven. When I hear you pray aloud, my heart aligns with God’s perspective so I can do His will on earth. That supernatural effect, multiplied through corporate prayer, prepares us to be a local church that advances the gospel with courage and confidence.
So let us hear one another’s prayers as we join together with one voice on January 3, 2026, at 5:00 PM.
