This one comes from Basil, Bishop of Caesarea in the middle of fourth century. Even I had my breath taken away by his emphasis on our need to pray together. In the rather unimaginatively named ‘Epistle 97’, he writes (based on I Cor.12:14) about the unity and inter-dependence of the Church. In that context he drops this bombshell:

‘To sum up, in everything accomplished through natural action and by the human will, I see nothing done except by the joint working of powers in alliance. Even prayer itself, when it isn’t the prayer of believers united together, loses its proper effect; the Lord tells us that when two or three call upon Him in joint prayer that He will be in the midst … For these reasons, my prayer is that for however many days are left for me here below, I may spend them in harmonious fellowship with others…’

Amen ?