| THE POWER OF AGREEMENT IN PRAYER HIS GLORY REIGNS B. Childress Dec 20, 2007 PRAYERS OF AGREEMENT "...Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them." Matthew 18:18-20 God did not put all of the promises about prayer in the Bible just to fill up space. They are there for our benefit. They are there for us to act upon. We must use the authority He has given us to get things done.
Living in Agreement The prayer of agreement is only effective when those who come into agreement in prayer are living in agreement in their natural everyday lives. Living in agreement does not mean we cannot ever have our own opinions about everything, but it does mean that there is harmony, mutual respect, and honor in our relationships. It means that there is an absence of the things that cause division and strife - like selfishness, anger, resentment, jealousy, bitterness, or comparison. Living in agreement is like being on the same ball team - everyone works together, supports and encourages each other, believes each other, and trusts each other as they all pursue the same goal and share the victory. There may exist differing opinions or disagreement over issues but a commitment must be made to avoid strife and division in our relationships, even if it means "agreeing to disagree" to maintain honor and respect for one another. Even in ministry, the vision for that ministry should be communicated to the ministry team so that when decisions are made, the team members do so in agreement with the vision God has given for that ministry. In this way, all of the team members are praying and working in agreement with the God-given purpose of the ministry as they will experience great blessings and will be used to bless others as well. Living in Agreement is Not... * Gossiping about the pastor all week and then asking him to agree with you in prayer for healing, etc. * We cannot scream at our children everyday, nag them, or continually point out their faults and then say we will agree with them in prayer for good grades. * We cannot talk behind a co-worker's back and then ask that person to agree with us in prayer to keep your jobs when you know layoffs are imminent. * We cannot fight with our spouse all the time, complain about them to our friends, and then, when they lose their jobs, want to come into agreement with them that they will soon find another job. * We cannot hold unspoken resentment toward a family member for years and then ask that person to pray in agreement for both of you to be mightily blessed when the time comes to read grandfather's will. Maintaining unity and harmony does require effort, but the power released when people pray who live in agreement is worth it. God is honored when we commit to living in unity because He knows it is not always easy. Be a maker and maintainer of peace and you will be called a son of God (Matthew 5:9). Pray in Agreement: Pray to God In Luke 18:10-11, we read about two men who went up to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other one was a tax collector. Jesus said, "The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, of even as this publican....I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican standing afar off would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast saying, God be merciful to me a sinner." Here we read about a man who appeared to be praying, and yet the Bible says he was not even talking to God; he was talking to himself. Sometimes we pray to impress people - to impress them with our eloquence. When we are praying in agreement with someone else or with a group of people, we have to be very careful that we are not preaching to the other people and that we are not simply trying to sound superspiritual, but that our prayers are led by the Spirit and that we are really sharing our hearts with God. Agreement is incredibly powerful, but it has to be pure, and it has to come from a place of humility. Multiplied Power Jesus has promised that if two people on earth agree about something, God will bring it to pass (Matthew 18:19). As already mentioned, He answers prayers of agreement when the people who are praying are already expressing agreement in their everyday lives. The power of your agreement is so dynamic that you are going to break through - no doubt about it. Agreement is so powerful that it is a principle of multiplication, not addition. That is why the Bible says that one person can put a thousand to flight and two can put ten thousand. If agreement were based on addition, one would put a thousand to flight and two would put two thousand to flight. But unity commands God's blessing and God's blessing brings multiplication. For that reason, the prayer of true agreement is a strong and mighty force in the spiritual realm. The prayer of agreement is indeed a type of prayer that releases multiplied power, and praying this way will have tremendous results in your life. Agreement seems to be a law and force of it's own, just like gravity. Right agreement results in light and good; wrong agreement results in darkness and evil. If we flirt with the law of gravity by dancing, fighting, or sleeping on the edge of a cliff and we fall off-frantic prayer will not stop us from being smashed into oblivion at the foot of that cliff. We ignored the obvious consequences of the law of gravity. We must not flirt with words of wrong agreement and ignore their consequences. We are better off to be silent than create darkness and evil with our words. UNITED PRAYER There is power in united prayer. In the third chapter of Acts we read that as Peter and John entered the Temple through the Gate Beautiful, they saw a man begging alms. Peter told the man to look at them. Expecting to receive a coin, he looked, and Peter told him, "Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk." Acts 3:6. Peter took the man by the hand, lifted him up, and the man started walking. He entered the Temple praising God. This raised a stir among the people, and Peter and John were taken before the priests and elders. They were cast into prison, and the next day were taken before the rulers. Unable to deny that a true miracle had taken place, the priests were forced to let them go. However, they commanded them not to preach or teach in the Name of Jesus anymore. Then we read: "And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them. And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: Who by the mouth of thy servant David has said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?....For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done. And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be one by the name of thy holy child Jesus." Acts 4:23-30. Notice the first thing Peter and John did when they were released from the prison: "And being let go, they went to their own company..." A good place to be when in trouble is with your "own company" - people of like faith. Christians today would probably organize a committee to go talk to those leaders and make a deal whereby everyone could get along. However, the Bible says, "...they lifted up their voice to God with one accord." They knew the value of united prayer Results of United Prayer What was the result of the united prayer of the believers in this fourth chapter of Acts? Was their united prayer answered? Let's look at Acts 4:31, "And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness." In verse 29 we read that they had prayed, "And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word." They had not asked the Lord to remove the persecution or to strike down their enemies. They had not asked the Lord to make their way easy. Instead they had prayed that in the midst of persecution they might preach the Word with boldness. And the Lord had answered their prayer. Verse 31 says that "...the place was shaken where they were assembled together..." Do you know of any group of people who are praying and shaking anything today? If Christians today would get together and pray "with one accord" they would shake the world for Jesus. There is power in united prayer! Notice too, that their prayer was for something specific. They were definite in their praying. They were not praying some generalized prayer; they were praying about the need that faced them. And they all prayed at once. As they lifted their voices to God in fervent prayer, "the place was shaken." Paul and Silas had been thrown in jail in Philippi for preaching the Gospel. Instead of complaining to the Lord about what had happened to them, they lifted their voices to the Lord in songs of praise. "And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them." Acts 16:25. They, too, were praying aloud, for "the prisoners heard them." They weren't off in some corner mumbling quiet, forlorn pleas to God. The prisoners heard them as they sang praises unto God. Some people say they want to pray quietly because the Lord knows they have a song in their heart. But, if it is there, it is going to come out, "...for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." Matthew 12:34. Did God answer the united prayer of Paul and Silas? Acts 16:26 says, "And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened and every one's bands were loosed." Again the place was shaken as a result of united prayer! When Paul and Silas joined forces in prayer and praise to God, the very foundations of the prison were shaken. The stocks came off their feet, and they were free. The jailer, awakened by the earthquake, saw the prison doors standing open and assumed the prisoners had fled. He knew he would be held responsible for their escape, and he became so frightened that he was going to kill himself. Just then Paul cried out, "...Do thy self no harm: for we are all here." Acts 16:28. The jailer knew he had witnessed the supernatural that night. He knew Paul and Silas were no ordinary men, and he "...came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." Acts 16:29-31. As a result of Paul and Silas' united prayer that night, the jailer and his entire family accepted Christ as Savior and all were baptized. There is supernatural power in united prayer! "These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication..." Acts 1:14 Sample Prayers of Agreement The case of a young man who was praying for a wife and asking his pastor to do the same every day. Alan prayed: "Father God, the Bible says that You put the single in families, and I am asking You to send me my wife in Your perfect timing." The Pastor: "Lord, I agree with Alan. Your Word says that if any two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. So Lord, we agree and believe that Alan's wife will come quickly in Jesus' name. The case of the rancher who had been praying that his ranch foreman and family might be saved. The rancher approached a young man (later known as Dr. George Truett) who was conducting revival meetings in his town about coming into agreement with him about this family's salvation. The Rancher: "Do you believe Matthew 18:19? Dr. Truett: (Didn't know offhand what Matthew 18:19 said at that moment, but responded) "If it is in the Bible, I believe it. The Rancher: (quoted Matthew 18:19 to Dr. Truett and told him he was the first preacher they had ever had who really believed it.) "Dr. Truett, agree with me that my ranch foreman and his family will be saved tomorrow night. I promise to have them in the church tomorrow night." Dr. Truett: "I agree for the salvation of your ranch foreman and his family in tomorrow night's service." The Rancher: "Lord, I have finally found someone to agree with me. I've been looking for someone for years. This little preacher and I agree that John and his family will be saved tomorrow night." The next night the entire family answered the altar call and each one was saved. For two weeks the meetings continued. Every night the rancher asked Dr. Truett to agree with him for another family, and every night that family was saved. It works! Sample of United Prayer (One person leading in prayer amongst a body of believers) Father, we come to you now with great expectation and hope in our souls and our spirits. We come to you by choice and in the fullest agreement. Jesus, as our Head, we bind our minds to your mind, asking for your grace and anointing to complete our commitment to this commission. God, we stand on and believe your promise in 2 Chronicles 7:14 that if we, your people, will humble ourselves, and pray, and seek your face, and turn from our wicked way; then will you hear from heaven, and will forgive our sin, and will heal our land. We now choose to humble ourselves individually, and in corporate agreement, and to pray and seek your face. For government leaders: Lord, we bind the government leaders of our country and of the world to your will and to the truth of your Word. We loose the hold of all of their human conclusions and expectations from their souls. We loose the power and effects of the wrong agreements they have voluntarily made or felt coerced to make. We loose wrong counsel of others from them. We ask that your will be done in their lives, in their families, in their decisions, in their motives, and in their agendas. We ask that your will be done on earth as you have so established in heaven. For spiritual leaders: Lord, we bind the spiritual leaders of our own cities, our own states, of our country, of Israel, and of the world, to your will and to the truth of your Word. We loose the hold of all soulish conclusions and personal expectations from their souls. We loose the power and effects of the wrong agreements they have voluntarily made or felt coerced to make. We loose wrong counsel of others from them. We ask that your will be done in their lives, in their families, in their decisions, in their motives, and in their agendas. We ask that you will be done on earth as you have so established it in heaven. In Jesus' Name, Amen. Father, show us how to always pray in agreement for the one result that is always right. Sources: Prevailing Prayer to Peace, by Kenneth E. Hagin, Copyright 1985, RHEMA Bible Church. The Power of Simple Prayer, by Joyce Meyer, Copyright 2007, Hachette Book Group, USA. Producing the Promise, by Liberty Savard, Copyright 1999, Bridge-Logos. |
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