Prayer & Agreement

DAY #12, of the “Loving to Talk to God” Memory Challenge is here. Just joining us for the Challenge? Pick up the Memory Verse List here.

After today, two more days are left. The Challenge is flying by!

Okay, let’s get started on today’s verse.

Our thought for prayer today is that, Prayer can be shared in agreement.

DAY #12 MEMORY VERSE

For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Matthew 18:20

Prayer can be shared in agreement.

Once again, our verse comes from a passage where Jesus is teaching His disciples as He did so many times. And this is one of those verses that you really must read the passage above it to make it fall into perspective.

This is a passage about discipline in the local church. Jesus is telling the disciples how it should be done.

I hope if you have known Christ very long at all, that you have been taught the steps of proper discipline when it comes to believers, forgiveness, and getting along in the body of Christ. It’s found in the preceding verses to our memory verse today in Matthew 18. You can read the passage yourself to take it all in by reading Matthew 18:15-20.

I wanted to just mention that quickly because the prayer we are talking about today is the kind connected to that church discipline. The shared prayer that our memory verse alludes to is done by those ones who are involved in this type of discipline and are agreeing to the exclusion of someone from the church.

Serious Matters

I want you to look at what Charles Spurgeon had to say about this verse, way back in 1883.

“The meetings of God’s servants for the necessary discipline of the church are not trifling meetings, but there is a divine power in them, since what they do is done in the name of Jesus Christ their Lord. Oh, that church-meetings were more generally looked at in this solemn light!”

The Lord With Two or Three
Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Volume 30
October 4, 1883

Spurgeon says, the meetings done in churches to delve out discipline of a member are not trifling matters.

This, my friends, is serious stuff! Church discipline should not be done lightly. And above all, it should be done for the cause of Christ. It shouldn’t be done in anger, or in a way to punish someone because you don’t see eye to eye on matters in general. This is something that any believer that takes part in should do prayerfully, and united with the other believers.

Our memory verse is basically Jesus telling His disciples the promise He had for His apostles and those who were going to have to deal with church discipline. If they were gathered in Jesus’ name then Jesus would be there with them.

Look at that verse that immediately precedes our memory verse,

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. Matthew 18:19.

I actually could have made this our memory verse, but I chose verse 20, because we had other verses concentrating on the asking part. I wanted to focus more on gathering together and God being with us.

In the Midst

Jesus knew that these types of instances would come up in the church, and He was instructing His disciples how to go about dealing with it, and that He would be there with them when they did.

He promised them that He would be there “in the midst of them” when they agreed.

This is what I want us to remember today, is that two or more believers together can handle the tough stuff that comes along with church discipline. Prayer can be shared in agreement.

I know a lot of you that follow me are women’s ministry leaders or work in leadership in the church in some way, and there are times when those difficult situations between believers will arise. You might not be having to deal out church discipline in the extreme of cases like in this passage. But you may be in charge of a group of ladies or a specific ministry within your local church, and you may have arguments, disagreements, and fighting among believers in your group or ministry.

Sometimes leaders can get caught in the cross hairs of commotion between other believers somehow, and you have to know that prayer can be such an important step in these situations. You have to know how Jesus wants church discipline handled. Getting along in the body of Christ is so important.

Through the Tough Stuff

This memory verse today is about Jesus being there for His disciples and apostles as time came to build the early church. But God is still there in the midst of believers when they come together to pray for their local churches. He is there when we are praying together about those sensitive things that come into play. God is there during the tough stuff. He is there through the challenges and struggles that sometimes happens in our local churches.

Gathering Together

And, although this memory verse isn’t specifically talking about it, the Lord is with us when we pray with each other about anything. Sharing is part of building relationships with other believers. It helps us see their needs. It helps us bond together. Sure, this memory verse is talking about agreeing on church discipline, but there are so many things we can choose to agree on in prayer. There are so many things that we can all pray about together. And when we are walking in unity in the body of Christ it is a beautiful thing.

Grabbing another person to pray with over needs about your church, personal needs, the Salvation of others, or whatever it is can be so bonding and powerful.

I’m so thankful that we can have that fellowship and pray with and for each other in the body of Christ. Praying together strengthens us and is such a wonderful way that we can talk to God.

Thanks again for allowing me to ramble on about our memory verse. Feel free to leave your perspective on today’s verse in the comments.

Have a lovely day,
Julia

2022 Bible Memory Challenge

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