We’ll never succeed through self-reliance, because God created us to need others in our faith journey.
The Importance of Prayer Partners
ECCLESIASTES 4:9-12
9 Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor.
10 For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up.
11 Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone?
12 And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.
Keeping your arms raised for a period of time might not seem like a difficult task—until you try it. No matter how strong you are, you’ll eventually find it impossible to hold them up, as if a 20-pound weight were strapped to each one.
In Exodus 17:8-16, Moses was faithfully praying on a hill while his soldiers were below, fighting the Amalekites. As long as his arms were raised, the Israelites prevailed. But he couldn’t maintain this posture on his own for very long. He needed Aaron and Hur to hold up his hands.
The Lord never expected Moses to do the job by himself. Nor is He going to let any one of us be absolutely independent—that isn’t how He operates. God has built His church in such a way that the world will recognize Christians by their love toward one another (John 13:35). As we ultimately depend on God, we likewise interdepend upon each other.
Everybody needs an Aaron and a Hur—people who can hold up our drooping arms and help us in our intercessions before the Lord. We don’t need helpers who react with judgmental comments or platitudes. Rather, our prayer partners should simply come alongside and intercede with and for us.
Ask God to bring people into your life who can faithfully and lovingly lift you up in prayer without judging you or expecting anything in return. And if you’re not in Moses’ situation right now, perhaps you can be someone else’s Aaron or Hur. Why not ask God to lead you to a person who would appreciate intercession?
In Touch Ministries