"For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." Matthew 18:20
In Junior High, my pastor always taught us the importance of memorizing Scripture. He taught us that it was always good to include Bible verses in our prayers because it solidifies and makes our prayers that much more credible- kinda like citing your sources. That stuck with me throughout my Christian life, and the one verse that always pops into my head when I pray in a group setting or with a partner is Matthew 18:20. If God hears and answers our prayers when we pray alone to Him, how much more powerful would our prayers be if a bunch of us prayed for a common cause? This is the power of numbers. God is with us when we come together as one body of Christ. He desires community from us, so we should desire community as well. I read this book on small groups over break, and it mentioned a term I had never heard before: Koinonia. In its most basic form, Koinonia is defined as community, fellowship, sharing and intimacy. God is with us when we have Koinonia. And because community is what God desires of us, I desire it too.
