Different Kinds Of Prayer (Part 9)

THE DAILY WORD
By Jim Seekamp

Friday August 7, 2009

Jesus told us that if any two of us agree in prayer about anything, it will be done for us:

Matthew 18:19 (NIV) (Jesus speaking)
Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.

Many have tried to put limitations on this prayer of agreement, but Jesus didn't, so we shouldn't either! Jesus said if two of us on earth agree about ANYTHING, it will be done for us!
Anything is anything, so if you can get another person on earth to agree with you in prayer on something, it's as good as done! Jesus said it would be done FOR us by the Father in Heaven! That means we won't do it ourselves; God will do it!

An example of the prayer of agreement is found in Acts:

Acts 4:24 (NIV)
When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. "Sovereign Lord," they said, "you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them..."

Here we see the early church gathered together in a prayer of agreement. After they were done praying, the place where they were meeting was shaken:

Acts 4:31 (NIV)
After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

The problem is that in this fast food society, people give up too easily and therefore never see the answers to their prayers. Jesus told us to have faith in God; He told us that WHATEVER we ask for in prayer, to believe we HAVE RECEIVED it and it would be ours:

Mark 11:22-24 (NIV)
22. "Have faith in God," Jesus answered. 23. "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. 24. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

Whether we pray by ourselves or pray in agreement with someone else, we should believe we have received what we asked for before we ever see it manifested. Notice that Jesus mentions in verse 23 the importance of what we SAY, and THEN says "THEREFORE whatever you ask for in prayer..."
In other words, we should keep our words in line with the request that we believe we have received.

Hebrews 4 tells us more about this:

Hebrews 4:14-16 (NIV)
14. Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-- yet was without sin. 16. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Verses 14 tells us to hold firmly to the faith we PROFESS (or confess), the reason being that we have a faithful High Priest (Jesus), and we can approach the throne of grace WITH CONFIDENCE that we may receive help in our time of need. This is clearly talking about praying to the Father, and it tells us to HOLD FIRMLY to the faith we PROFESS (confess, speak)! That means we should be SPEAKING what we believe we have received:

2 Corinthians 4:13 (NIV)
It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken." With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak

When we start speaking doubt; when our words no longer show our faith in God that we've received what we asked for, then we have stopped believing we have received it, and we therefore cannot expect to receive it. James calls that kind of doubt being "double-minded":

James 1:6-8 (NIV)
6. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8. he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

Let's hold firmly to the faith we profess (speak) and receive from God what we asked according to His Word!

PRAYER
Thank You Father for Your Word that tells me so much about You. Thank You for living in me by Your Holy Spirit. Help me understand Your Word better so I can allow You to govern my life in every way.
In Jesus' Name, Amen.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Check out the Daily Word Archives at:
http://www.jimseekamp.com

To subscribe to the Daily Word, send an email with the subject "SUBSCRIBE" to mailto:dailyword@jimseekamp.com

If you wish to unsubscribe, please send an email with the subject "UNSUBSCRIBE" to mailto:dailyword@jimseekamp.com

To have Jim Seekamp speak at your church or group meeting, email him at: jimseekamp@jimseekamp.com