"When two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." I’ve often wondered what this oft quoted promise from Jesus (Mathew 18:20) actually means. If you talk with some friends about what Jesus might do in a situation, does it mean that Jesus will appear on the scene to comment upon the speculation? If so, then we’d have a lot more Jesus sightings than we do. One of the most frequently accepted intepretations of the quotation has to do with prayer, suggesting that two or more people praying together has special power.

The power of group prayer is the focus of the new book, Pray together now: How to find or form a prayer group (Element Books). The author, the Reverend Cay Randall-May, Ph.D., is a research biologist, a practicing psychic, and also an ordained minister. This book began as her thesis for divinity school, searching the history of group prayer. She continued on to research the exent of group prayer activities today, the various methodologies used, and the benefits of group prayer. Exhaustive research resulted in a compendium of almost all (some did not wish to be listed!) ongoing prayer groups in the United and abroad, cross-referenced by religious tradition and particular focus or intention. (The Glad Helpers of Virginia Beach receive good coverage with a mention of its being inspired by one of Edgar Cayce’s dream.) Dr. Randall-May also provides detailed instructions and encouragement on how to start a prayer group of one’s own. As far as I know, this is the only book devoted to elucidating the nature of group prayer and its special qualilties. The book is clearly motivated by the author’s experiences of great personal benefit from participating in group prayer and wishing to make this opportunity available to all who might be interested.

Asked what is a prayer group, the author realized that most people assumed she was referring to group prayer, as when people gather together for a church service and during that service, join together in prayer. But what she means by a prayer group is when a group of the same people get together over a period of time to pray for a common concern. It is a concerted effort at collaboration on a goal, using prayer as the method to achieve the goal. Beyond that, she points out, prayer groups differ widely. They can differ in tone, from silent, heartfelt prayers for healing to effusive and ecstatic prayers of praise, from small groups in a home, to a widely scattered network of hundreds or thousands of praying people. The introduction of email and the internet has of course enlarged the domain of prayer groups. Dr. Randall-May reports that her search on the Internet with the term, "prayer group" yielded over one million web sites!

Whereas in the past, the power of prayer was a matter of faith and testimonial, today we have research on prayer. Statistics comparing those prayed for and those not show that prayer works. Whereas in the past, prayer meetings were a way to promote revival of faith, today we see prayer groups and organized prayer events as a way of gaining leverage to promote healing and harmony. We have research, such as the "Mother Teresa Effect," showing that entering a loving state of consciousness is good for our endorphins and our health. We have research, such as the "Majarishi Effect," showing that a large group of people entering into a loving state of consciousness promotes peace in the neighborhood. When the funeral for Princess Diana was attended by millions, televised and watched by billions worldwide, investigators at the Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research noted that random generator machines located worldwide as part of their ongoing research projects, deviated from their usual random behavior in an unusually significant degree. It provided one of their most striking instances of a material manifestation of the convergence of minds worldwide in prayer.

Do these developments in group prayer have any relevance for understanding Jesus’s intriguing statement? For me, they do. The symbol of Jesus surrounded by the twelve apostles matches the pattern of several other images of twelve around one, such as the months of the year, signs of the Zodiac, etc., all of which suggest the mystery of "the Many and the One," or how One Creator, One God, can exist is such a multiplicity of forms, and further, that the multiplicities can make a connection with their underlying Oneness. In the Christian myth, it is through the common sharing of the awareness of Christ Consciousness that this experience of oneness is possible. Quoting Edgar Cayce on the spiritual nature of intuition, "The purpose of the heart is to know yourself, to be yourself, and yet be one with God." The collaboration of many diverse people with a common ideal simulates a transcendent reality. Whether prayer works through the "God within" or the "God without," in group prayer these two perspectives utlimately merge, until the will of the people and the Will of God become as One.