7 reasons to get yourself a prayer partner

I have lots of great Christian friends who pray for me, encourage me and that's wonderful. But around the first week of February this year, I found my first prayer partner (or rather she found me).

Now four months down the line, I have truly seen the fruit of our prayers and God's abundant blessings in my life. So I thought I'd share with you some of the reasons you should get a prayer partner (that is if you don't already have one).

1. For starters, Jesus said that if "two" of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven (Matthew 18: 19). My prayer partner and I have agreed in prayer on several occasions and seen God work, whether it was for our job situations, healing or even provision for a member of our housegroup.

2. A while ago I went through a dry spell in my prayer life and it wasn't my mother, my friends or even my pastor who helped me out of it. It was my prayer partner!

Ecclesiastes 4: 9-10 is so true. It says, Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!

3. Everyone of us face trials and sometimes we fall into temptation. No doubt, we can confess our sins to God but it is also important for us to come clean before someone mature in the Lord that we can trust. In James 5:16 it says, Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."

4. Having a prayer partner has also helped me open up to correction. We are both part of the serving team in our church. There was this time I was slacking and it was my prayer partner who corrected me for not being on time on Sunday mornings. It was a blessing to have someone look out for me -- somewhat like what the Bible talks about in Colossians 3:16 - Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

5. The Bible tells us to encourage each other and build each other up (1 Thessalonians 5:11). I remember this one time we met at a park to pray. I had had a really rough day and was feeling so down that I just couldn't pray by myself. That's when she prayed with me and at the end of the half hour we spent together, my spirit was so lifted up. I was laughing and joking like nothing bad had happened.

Another time, she was going through a trial in her life and God gave me a word for her that helped her not to give up in that situation.

6. In Romans 1: 12, Paul writes to the Roman church that he longs to see them so that "you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith". A couple of weeks ago I was telling my prayer partner that I really wanted something to happen for me but I didn't have the faith to believe for it. Impossible as the situation seemed, her faith encouraged me to believe and not doubt. Today, that thing still hasn't happened, but I know that I know that God is going to do it!

7. And the last one. This one isn't exactly a reason to have a prayer partner but rather a word of advice :p - Never give into gossip. Proverbs 20:19 says, A gossip tells secrets, so don't hang around with someone who talks too much.

It's easy, when you are sharing with each other things that happened in church, at your workplace etc, to start gossiping - may be even unknowingly. But now that you are aware of this, you can stop your conversations from becoming gossip sessions.