Sometimes a question makes you stop and think. The one posed on page 23 of It Begins with Prayer has that affect on me. The author asks, “What is meaningful community?”

How would you respond to that question? Rather than defining it, the author illustrated it with a story. He described in detail a group of high school friends, current friends and coworkers, and others whom he recruited to be prayer warriors for him and with him. Each person in this group has committed to pray one day a month for Dwayne, the author of the book.

As you can imagine, the prayers and prayer requests vary from day to day. Some of the prayers are work related. Others are of a more personal nature. The common denominator, though, is that you have two people praying for one another on a regular basis.

Over time, the prayer requests have created a special bond between the two people praying. Relationships have taken on deeper meanings for both participants. The author said, “We become bound to each other as we approach the Father on behalf of another. We are going to Him together” (p.24).

A healthy codependency develops when two people pray for each other. Lives are shared. Needs are presented. God is approached. The two people learn to depend upon one another, and upon God. A healthy codependency developes.

This is true community. And it begins with prayer. Strong bonds develop between people who may not be in proximity to one another. Prayer partners can be across town, out of state, or somewhere else in the world. It really doesn’t matter – location is a moot point. What matters is that two people commit to pray for one another regularly. Over time, real community develops. Is this a shared experience? Of course! But this shared experience goes deeper than other kinds of shared experiences.