Right relationships

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Focus: The power of agreement in prayer

Matthew 18:19 (NKJV) “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. For where two or three are gathered together in My Name, I am there in the midst of them.”

Prayer is so important to anyone’s recovery from depression and dependency. Simply talking to God brings about healing in our minds and in our bodies. When we talk to God—He pays attention. In other words, He comes close to us. The Bible says that in the presence of the Lord there is everlasting joy (Psalm 16:11). So, if we need more joy, we should be spending a lot of time talking to God.

If you haven’t spent much time talking to God in the past, you might wonder what you could find to talk about for any length of time. You might also have an impression of ‘prayer’ as something that has to be very formal—something that would be ‘stiff’ and ‘uncomfortable’ in your mind.

Well, talking to God doesn’t have to be stiff and formal—or uncomfortable. God created humans for friendship. In scripture, Jesus said we are no longer servants, but ‘friends’ (John 15:15). Someone who desires friendship with you wants to be talked to as a friend—not as some foreign dignitary. So, when you talk to God—just have a normal conversation. Hopefully, you will be talking to Him frequently—as in several times a day. If you cultivate the habit of talking to Him frequently—your conversation becomes an ‘ongoing’ dialog that never really ends.

The simple act of talking to God frequently will help you develop more of a personal relationship to Him. Maybe you’ve heard people refer to their personal relationship with the Lord and you haven’t totally understood that.

Possibly some of the things in your past have caused you to have a little trouble thinking of God as a ‘pal’. Maybe the impression you have of God is someone who is too Holy and too Righteous to be able to relate to you. Well, He is Holy and He is Righteous—and before Jesus came, few people were able to approach Him directly. However, everything changed when Jesus came to earth. Through His life, death, and resurrection from the dead, Jesus fulfilled the plan of God to tear down the wall that sin had created between us and God. Through a supernatural conception by the Holy Spirit, Jesus was born of a human virgin, named, ‘Mary’.  In His death, the life of Jesus was offered as a perfect blood sacrifice, or atonement, for the sins of mankind. In rising from the dead, Jesus proved He was not just a man, but also One with God and the true Son of God.

Jesus fulfilled what God had spoken in Deuteronomy 32:43. “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people; 
for He will avenge the blood of His servants,
and render vengeance to His adversaries; 
He will provide atonement for His land and His people.”

Through His obedience, Jesus created a ‘direct line’ to God. He became the ‘mediator’ between God and people (1 Timothy 2:5). People no longer had to go through a priest to talk to God.

Jesus told us we shouldn’t ask Him (Jesus) for anything directly—rather, we should make our requests known to God ‘in Jesus’ Name’, and God would hear us. We can talk to Jesus, but He specifically told us that when we had requests, we should ask the Father, not Him.

One of the reasons it’s valuable to have right relationships is because of the power we have in prayer through ‘agreement’. We are told in Ecclesiastes chapter four that ‘two are better than one…if either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.

In Matthew 18:19, we are told that Jesus dwells in the midst of people who are gathered together in His Name. That’s a pretty important reason to have righteous relationships. If you’re aware that the presence of the Lord brings joy and joy brings strength (Nehemiah 8:10)—it should make you want to know more Christian people and it should make you want to spend more time with them.

One of the best things you can do with a Christian friend is pray. Pray for each other—and pray for others. Pray for all of the things that trouble your heart and cause you concern. When you have a righteous relationship with a person who prays, you will have the comfort of knowing they are praying for you and you are not alone. They will be blessed and strengthened knowing the same thing is happening for them—because of your friendship and prayers.

Declaration: I will find new strength by sharing my prayer needs with a Christian friend who is willing to pray for me. I will offer that person my prayer support, in return. Whenever possible, I will join together with other believers where there will be even more power and strength in our prayers of agreement.