The Power of Prayer Meetings

In 2 Corinthians 1:11, there is a beautiful little phrase: “You also must help us by prayer.” The NIV translates it as, “You help us by your prayers.”

The context of this verse in 2 Corinthians 1 is that of suffering in the Christian life and ministry. Paul opens himself up to his readers in this letter more than in any other of his epistles. He speaks of the comfort he has received from the “Father of mercies” and the “God of all comfort” (2 Cor. 1:3).

In the midst of overwhelming pressure far beyond his ability to endure, he has been strengthened by God. He was at the end of his rope; he’d reached his limits. He states that he even despaired of life. Some people might think it’s inappropriate for a Christian to speak in such a way, but the Apostle is far more realistic. 

There are difficulties in the life of every Christian that can lead us to say, “I do not know what to do, and I don’t know if I can carry on.” Think of the woman that Jesus meets with the issue of blood: For years she had struggled, spending a fortune on doctors who only made her condition worse. Did she not, at times, despair of life?

Think of the struggles that our fellow Christians know: those battling overwhelming grief, those whose hopes for marriage have never materialized, those who have relatives who are unwell with no seeming recovery in sight, those who have prayed that God would give them children but to no avail. The Apostle Paul felt such distress that in his heart he felt the sentence of death.

As he reflects on his life and the tribulations he was enduring, Paul says that these things were not out of God’s sovereign control. They were not the result of random chance, but these things had happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.

For Paul, it was the stresses and strains of Christian ministry that drove him to the edge. It was at that edge where he discovered he did not have the resources to get through on his own. Instead, relying on God’s strength, he could cope.

I am not sure we are fully aware of the constant temptation to rely on ourselves. In many ways, it is the great battle of the Christian life. It’s a constant battle to remind ourselves day by day to trust in the Lord with all our hearts and lean not on our own understanding (Prov. 3:5). I find myself believing the lie that I can do it if I only try hard enough or summon up enough willpower.

The great killer in the Christian life is not doubt. Sometimes it can be quite healthy to doubt. If we handle doubts properly, they will strengthen our faith. The thing that will destroy our faith is self-reliance.

One of the purpose of trials, temptations, and struggles is to remind us not to rely on ourselves. There is a God who is strong, whose omnipotent power can reach into the grave and raise the dead.  Trials come into our lives and prick the bubble of our self-reliance. Time and again in our Christian lives we are thrown back on God to know that only the Lord can do it.

In 2 Corinthians 1, Paul is already previewing the big theme of his letter that God’s strength is seen in weakness, and into this he interjects that the prayers of this church have helped him. In the sovereignty of God, the prayers of God’s people have caused him to persevere.

Often, we think individually when it comes to prayer, but here Paul is saying that the corporate prayers of God’s people have helped him. As the church in Corinth has prayed together (the original language shows that this is plural and not singular), their prayers have blessed him, and the result is that many will give thanks for Paul and his colleagues in ministry.

It is a remarkable encouragement to pray as a church. One of my great failings is when I have that feeling of helplessness about a situation, thinking, “All I can do is pray,” as if that is somehow second best. We often want to contribute help, and there will be many times when we can. But often I find myself thinking, “All I can do is pray.” We need to realize that our prayers do help. Our brothers and sisters keep going in God’s sovereignty because of our prayers.

If we as a church could see the power of our prayers—that our prayers sustain one another, help one another, and keep one another—it would encourage us to pray for Christians who are struggling. Minister and author Geoffrey Wilson says of this verse, “We are no idle spectators of a drama in which we have no part to play.”

When we gather in our prayer meeting, we are participating in the purposes of God. There is profound mystery here, but our prayers help our brothers and sisters in Christ and are used to fulfill God’s eternal purposes.