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The last two Sunday's have been very confronting for me as a realize more deeply the privilege it is to pray with someone and the difference it can make into their lives.
Prayer is a chance for us to either speak words of death or words of life into someone. I put that in stark contrast because as C.S. Lewis once said, every interaction we have with someone will either draw them closer to God or push them towards the devil (I'm paraphrasing their, leave a comment if you know where it's from), how much more so will be do this when praying with someone.
When we pray with someone the circumstances are certainly not by accident. God has chosen this person to come to you at that time and has privileged you as an agent of His grace to help them say what they can not do by themselves.
One of the things I believe that Catholic church can teach the Protestant church is the art of confession.
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. (James 5:16)
Recently I've had someone ask me to pray with them because they are on the treadmill of guilt and shame. They are doing something that they have a compulsion to do and feel like they do not have the strength to stop. They do, they feel guilt, then shame and after a while they are back doing it again.
James gives us good advise. When we confess our sins, when we give them voice to another and when we pray we can find healing! That is the hope of God that we can be transformed into someone more like His son every day.