Prayer – If Two Agree
Prayer is one of the foundational practices in the Christian life, yet is probably the most neglected aspect of the Christian life. A Christian who has a weak prayer life has a weak spiritual life or will have a weakening spiritual life. There is no way to achieve the kind of depth God desires for us in our Christian life without a strong, consistent prayer life. The Bible commands that we pray without ceasing, yet Christians have the misconception that they can grow spiritual while willingly disobeying and neglecting this foundational principle.
Praying without ceasing does not mean that we must be praying every waking moment. It means that we have a daily consistent walk with the Lord that is founded upon prayer. Most people begin with a commitment to pray and do well for a while, but within a few weeks their prayer time begins to fade. Though prayer is a discipline, we should approach it with more than a commitment to be disciplined. We have a love relationship with God and like all relationships, it will not grow without communication. God constantly communicates with us through His word, our circumstances, our hearts, spirit and through prayer. We communicate with God through our responsiveness to Him and through prayer. Hopefully we would not consider ignoring our spouse for weeks or months at a time, yet we think nothing of doing this to God. In time, we wonder why we are feeling distant from Him.
A Christian who lives without prayer is a Christian who does not understand the power of God. God may use us even when we are lacking spiritually, but without prayer, we are limiting ourselves from God’s best. A church who fails to pray or does not have leaders who pray, will not see God move in a mighty way. Through prayer we acknowledge our gratitude, dependence and submission to God. Without prayer we are declaring, by our actions, that we don’t see our need for God, we believe we are self-sufficient and we take God for granted. Consistent and effective prayer comes from a heart that delights in time spent with God. The Bible teaches us that if we delight ourselves in the Lord, He will give us the desires of our hearts. When we look at prayer as ‘doing our duty’, we will not pray effectively. When we look at prayer as a time to delight ourselves in God and our desire to spend time with God drives us to pray, then we will pray effectively, consistently and we will see God move. Prayer will touch our inward lives and our outward needs.
What Prayer is not
Prayer is not a canned presentation to God. It is not words we mouth thoughtlessly to Him. Prayer is not chanting ‘Jesus’ over and over. Responsive reading can be a type of worshipful prayer, but it does not replace prayer in our lives. In Matthew 6:7, Jesus warned, “And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.” Vain repetitions are words that are habitually repeated without thought. Vain repetition is also repeating spiritual words or phrases as though there were some type of mystical power in the words themselves. Chants and ‘faith words’ are unbiblical and are closer to paganism than Christianity.
Vain repetition is not repeating a sincere prayer. Many people misunderstand the words of Jesus to mean that you cannot make a request more than once. This is not what Jesus is saying. In fact, Jesus teaches just the opposite. Look at Luke 18:
1 Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart,
2 saying: "There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man.
3 "Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ’Get justice for me from my adversary.’
4 "And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ’Though I do not fear God nor regard man,
5 ’yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’ "
6 Then the Lord said, "Hear what the unjust judge said.
7 "And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them?
The point of this parable is to show us that if an unrighteous judge will answer grant the persistent petitions of a widow he cares nothing about, how much more will God answer His people that He cares intimately for? Jesus used a persistent widow to teach us the benefit of persistent prayer. When Elijah prayed for rain, he prayed three times before he saw God answer. There is a difference between repeating a phrase and calling it prayer and taking a heart-felt need before God until you get results. Some people pray for years to see a loved one saved. This is biblical; chanting and special words are not.
There are many types of prayer: praise, thanksgiving, intercessory, repentance, petitions, seeking God’s will, and fellowship prayer. It would require a message for each one of these prayer topics just to begin to do justice to this subject, however, in this message I only will focus on petitions – the things we ask of God.
Labor of Two
If prayer is the single most neglected principle in Christianity, two or three gathering is the most neglected part of prayer when it is acknowledged. Don’t misunderstand this teaching. I am not negating personal, one-on-one time with God. As individuals, our relationship is built on personal time with God. A Christian becomes spiritually anemic without this time alone with God. However, when it comes to the labor of the church, no one is called to be a lone Christian. There are times when someone will have to stand alone and we will all be hurt when others fail us. God’s design requires that we become vulnerable. In order to have true accountability and true fellowship, we are required to let others through our defenses and we are called to reach beyond the walls others build around themselves. When we lower our guard, we risk injury. Unfortunately, we will be injured emotionally at some point in our life.
When people are hurt, they have to make a decision; do I protect myself and become a loner inside my walls, or do I forgive, trust in God’s design and forge ahead? God will send others into our lives so we can be encouraged and encourage others. If our only focus is to protect ourselves, we will never experience God’s design for relationships. Men especially have trouble in this area. Once burned, it is very difficult to become vulnerable again. Statistics have shown that most men have no deep friendships with other men. Yet the Bible teaches that this is necessary for success in God’s design. Look at Ecclesiastes 4
9 Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor.
10 For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one to help him up.
11 Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; But how can one be warm alone?
12 Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
The encouragement spoken of in this passage is essential for pursuing the labor God has placed before us. Labor is tiring. When we set our sights on obedience, attacks will come; trials will come; discouragement will come. There will be times when we become weary. After so many failures, there comes a time when we just want to sit down and give up. Yet, if a friend labors with you, he will lift you up. When attacks come, a friend can make a stand with you. Where it may seem hopeless alone, I can draw off a friend’s strength and he off mine. God did not design us to stand alone. God’s plan is to be interdependent – not independent.
Putting Trust in Man
Even though we become interdependent and trust is an integral part of that relationship, we do not make our hope in anyone other than God. The Bible says that a man is cursed who puts such trust in a man that flesh becomes his strength. God is our hope and our strength. It always hurts to see someone fail and more so when that failure betrays my trust. However, I am called to be the one who picks up my companion when he falls, not become dashed because I have put him in a position that only God can fulfill. This is such a fine line, it is difficult to make this point clear without sounding as though it negates the previous point.
We can’t be dependent on another person so much so that if they fail, we crash with them. Yet, we must establish that trusting relationship so that we lift each other up, hold each other accountable, encourage and trust one another. There is a difference between trusting someone and putting our trust in them to the point where our hope is dependent on their success. I am called to help my friends succeed and because we have a common pursuit founded upon the labor God has called us to, we succeed together.
When I become dependent on approval of men, I am destined to either fall or depart from the course God has set for me. Even so, we all need encouragement. It is a God-given need that we have significance, value and belonging. Significance is found in the labor God has given us. His labor always has eternal significance. When we commit ourselves to God, He gives us a vision and the power to pursue it. Value is only found in our relationship with God. I see my value because of what Christ has done for me and the intrinsic value all of us have because we are made in His image. If our view of God is accurate and if our idea of how He views us is accurate, we will understand our eternal value. Belonging comes through human relationships. Two laboring together have belonging because they become interdependent. At the center of it all is a Christ-centered life and a Christ-centered world view.
It is our responsibility to encourage one another. Abraham Lincoln was a good example of this. When he became president, he entered the hotbed of the world at that time. Both sides hated him. Both in the press and in the political arena He was called evil, self-serving, power hungry, a baboon, a man with a gorilla face, backwoods hick and many other personal attacks. He entered the presidency with a nation at war and was determined to abolish slavery. Lincoln suffered from depression and had one of the most difficult presidencies in history. When Lincoln was assassinated, in his possession was a very worn, over-read newspaper article that said, “Lincoln is probably the greatest statesman that ever lived”. One single article that offered encouragement was cherished and continued to encourage him through all those hard times. He held to his Christian values in the face of criticism and attack and was lifted up by one word of encouragement.
I believe this is what the scriptures are teaching. When the going gets difficult, we cling to our values by encouraging ourselves in the Lord. He is our refuge and our rock. He is our strong tower that the righteous run into and are safe. Our true dependency is on Him. Friends offer the hand to lift us up when we are down and a piece of encouragement that opens our eyes to the belonging we have. Those who isolate themselves will never find this encouragement and will never have the benefit of laboring together.
Where Two Agree
As we have already seen, God has designed us to work together in His plan. Let’s now look at a few principles about asking and tie these principles together to gain a more complete picture taught in scripture. In our petitions, our motives must be Christ-centered. The Bible says that we ask and don’t receive because we ask for selfish motives to fulfill our lusts. Jesus also said in John 18 that when we ask anything, we will receive so that God may be glorified and we will be His disciples. The Bible also states in 1 John 5 that if we ask anything according to God’s will, He hears us and we will have the petitions we ask. The underlying principle to this all is the will and glory of God. King Solomon was blessed materially because he didn’t ask for his own desires, but he asked for what was right and he sought the wisdom and direction of God to lead God’s people. I do believe that God desires to bless us, but that is not the focus of our lives or our prayers.
In Luke 11, Jesus used an illustration about a man whose friend came in the middle of the night to ask for bread so he could feed those who came to him. His friend said that he and his family were in the bed and could not get up. Because of the great persistence of his friend, he arose and gave his friend what he needed. The purpose of the parable is found in Luke 11:
9 " So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
10 "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
We are not called to knock and give up, but to get the vision God has given us and pursue it without taking ‘no’ for an answer. Remember, we are pursuing what God has given us, not our selfish desires. When God has revealed our purpose to us, we know it is His will and we are called to persistently pursue that vision. If the door is closed, we knock until the door opens; we ask God until He answers; we seek until we find a way to accomplish His will. There is no such thing as a barrier that God will not demolish. Gates stand in our way because we do not have enough faith to batter them down. Persistent prayer reveals persistent faith. Someone who is faithless will pray and then turn away when the answer is not found immediately. Jesus said that the gates of hell can’t prevail against His church. Gates protect the enemy’s stronghold. We are not told to sit and wait for the enemy to come to us, but to go behind enemy lines. This world is at war with God and the Bible calls us soldiers in this spiritual warfare. “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:4). Look at Mark 11
22 So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God.
23 "For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ’Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.
24 "Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
25 " And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.
26 "But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses."
If you can’t forgive, the enemy is in your camp. You will never have God’s power when you are bitter against another individual. When you are Christ-centered, you will have faith because of your confidence in God. What is a mountain in our way but an obstacle for God to move? Assuredly it will be done! There is one thing that ties into this that cannot be ignored. The power in prayer was not given to the solo Christian, but to those who labor together. Look at Matthew 18
19 "Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.
20 "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them."
Here is where the church misses the point. Corporate prayer is good and effective in worship; individual prayer is key for spiritual growth and loving God. However, corporate prayer is not what this passage is talking about. When the church prays as a whole, one person prays and most others listen. Some speak prayerfully to themselves, but all the distractions prevent a deep time of prayer. It is important for the church to pray together, but it does not fulfill Jesus’ command revealed here.
Two or three is vital for petitions. When men gather with other men, or women with other women, there is an opportunity for deep prayer in faith that isn’t found anywhere else. The Bible does not give any other model. When two or three are gathered, they agree on the need and one by one they lift up their prayers to God and He has promised that it will be done. If you examine the great revivals of the past, it starts with two men on their knees praying for God to start a fire in them; in their church; in their community and in their world.
Agreeing together is the focus of this passage. We are not gathering just to pray for the sake of praying – though that has its place. First there is personal growth. I seek to be right with God and right with others. I have wiped the slate clean and wiped clean the offenses others have done to me. I have sought God’s face and my relationship with Jesus Christ is what everything else is founded upon. I delight myself in God, love His law and seek His will. God then gives me the right kinds of desires and cultivates a vision in me and a desire to do His work. God also brings other people into my life who have the same vision. We agree together on the vision God has given us and our purpose to do His will. We then take this on our knees, praying without doubting and He promises that our prayer of faith will be done by Him. No gate can withstand; every mountain will be moved and God will open the door. In Revelation 3:8, Jesus said,
I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.
If God is not opening the door, we need to examine our lives or examine our vision to see if we are following selfish desires, or the labor God has called us. God may be opening a door and we are refusing to go through it. God never promises that it will be easy. God never promises that we will be insulated from trouble. God does promise that He will bless our prayers when we are walking in His will. Pursue God and knock until He opens; ask until He gives; seek until you find. Your persistence reflects your faith.
Eddie Snipes
Exchanged Life Outreach
http://www.exchangedlife.com
