Come Together...

At my church, each week we recite the Apostle's Creed, which lists the core tenets of the Christian faith. We start off saying, "I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord." We continue on, listing off the things we believe about Jesus. Then we say, "I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins..."

In this context, the term 'catholic church' is not referring to Roman Catholicism as we know it today but simply refers to the universal Church of believers. And the communion of saints is talking about the spiritual union of the members of the Christian Church, living and dead.

The Body of Christ—His church—is a powerful thing that I don't think we always recognize. It's not just the Christians we know or who go to our church. We are intimately connected with every Christian everywhere, who has ever lived. It is a crazy concept but it shows the power of the Body coming together.

For more than a year, I oversaw the Women Praying Boldly prayer group that I kicked off last summer as a way to band together and encourage women who are still waiting for God to write their love stories and bring them together with a godly spouse. Because life has gotten crazy with a kiddo who's crawling around like crazy, I recently passed the torch along to two other women (Leeann and Jen) who are now overseeing the group and keeping it going, growing and vibrant. (If you want to find out more about the Women Praying Boldly prayer group, you can read more about it here and sign up to receive the monthly e-newsletters here.)

Over the course of the almost two years that I started and grew the group, I received emails from women from all over the country, even throughout the world, who tell me how much they need this, how much it means to them to get prayer from and to pray for another woman, who feels the exact same way, even if she’s on the other side of the globe. I’ve heard how this challenge to keep praying and keep praying even when your circumstances never seem to change has been a challenge for them to come to know God more and deeper and fuller.

While we celebrate with the women who became engaged during the span of the project, there are others who have instead found heartbreak even in spite of all this prayer. And yet, in the midst of it, many of those same heartbroken and disappointed have told me how God’s used this time to draw them closer into His own love, how they started off looking for one thing and ended up finding something far better that they hadn’t realized was missing from their relationship with God. And it’s a journey we have taken together, sharing the ups and downs, the disappointments and the times of joy, even when they come from the most surprising of places.

What we are doing in this group—what we are doing together—matters. (Which is why I was so pleased that these ladies were willing to take over for me!)

There is truly power in us coming together to pray for one another, to encourage one another through the Holy Spirit, to plead strength and mercy on each others accounts.

In Hebrews 12 it says:"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish. ... Think about all he endured when sinful people did such terrible things to him, so that you don't become weary and give up. After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin."

Yes, friends. Let us endure together and keep our eyes on Jesus.

Together.

(If you want to find out more about the Women Praying Boldly prayer group, you can read more about it here and sign up to receive the monthly e-newsletters here.)

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