There is a temptation when we are praying with others to try to impress. It is important to keep in mind some of the potential pitfalls of praying with others. When we join hands and voices with tender hearts and teachable spirits we invite the Spirit to be present with us in powerful ways.
Thirdly, the Spirit sometimes chooses to move, teach, heal and counsel in ways that may not happen when we are by ourselves in prayer. We have the opportunity to directly experience our spiritual connection with other people. We draw on each other’s experience, strength and hope. First, our faith is often strengthened by the faith of those with whom we pray. The effects of this experience in prayer are many. When we physically join hands and voices with others in prayer we experience in a direct way that we are a part of a family, that we are interconnected and interdependent. Prayer is always an act of communion with a larger community. Prayer always joins our spirits with God’s Spirit and with the spirits of others. Praying with others reminds us that when we pray, whether we are by ourselves or in a congregation of worshippers, we never really pray alone. Sometimes prayer is joining hands and voices in worship, in petition, in confession, in grief and in joy. Albert’s four years of sacrifice for his older brother had an enormous spiritual effect: he gave the world the gift of one of the greatest artists who ever lived.They devoted themselves to the apostles teachingĪnd to fellowship, to the breaking of bread It is also a reminder that the greatest sacrifices are often the most hidden – and the most pleasing in the eyes of God.
The simple drawing, which contains in itself the silent story of brotherly love, sacrifice, and generosity, has become a favorite of Christians for generations and is still seen today hanging on the walls of many Christian homes as a reminder of our need to pray. He then drew the famous ink and pencil sketch of the “Praying Hands” as a model for an altarpiece he had been commissioned to create for a patron. It is said that Albrecht was so moved by his brother’s sacrifice that he asked Albert to pose in prayer for him. It was now impossible for him to do the fine and delicate work of an artist. His hands were rough, disfigured, and arthritic. He told Albrecht that every bone in his hands had been broken at least once by the hard labor in the coal mines. He showed his brother his working hands that had been damaged during the previous four years. When four years passed and it came time to send Albrecht’s younger brother to school, poor Albert broke down sobbing. He proved to be something of a prodigy at drawing, painting, and woodcutting, even surpassing his teachers in artistic ability. They would toss a coin, and the loser of the coin toss would go to work in the coal mines near their home in order to support his brother during his years of study.įour years after that, they would reverse roles: the brother who went to school would then be able to work and make money and would support the other brother as the latter studied and pursued his dreams of becoming an artist.Īs providence would have it, Albrecht won the coin toss and spent four years in the academy learning and applying his trade. In fact, it was unlikely that they could even afford to send one of the boys to a school of that type. Both boys wanted to be artists, but their parents could not afford to send the pair of them to the academy (art school) as they desired. It is a story of how one person’s suffering can transform another and even have an extraordinary effect on the world.Īlbrecht and his brother Albert came from a middle class family of eighteen children. One such example is of the famous German Renaissance artist, Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) and his younger brother Albert, whose inner burdens were hidden to all but a few during their lifetimes. In fact, if we knew the inside story of most people’s lives, we would gain a deep reverence for them and a respect for their perseverance through the difficulties that only they have experienced and that only they know. It is impossible to know from external appearances what kinds of interior burdens people carry with them throughout life.
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