I once had a sick friend whose family asked everyone they knew to pray for her. Before they knew it, they had heard from enough pray-ers that they had good reason to believe that there was at least one person praying for her in every corner of the globe. In today’s Gospel reading from Matthew, Jesus teaches about the importance of collective prayer. It calls my attention to whatever I might be holding privately and not praying for out loud, but it also reminds me that my fellow congregants are also silently asking God for the things that weigh heavily on them. Today’s Gospel gives us a clue about why: When we gathered in prayer, even at a great distance, Christ was present there.