Letter to an Absent Father | Men of Integrity

Letter to an Absent Father | Men of Integrity

Corporate Prayer

Corporate Prayer I. Foundation Scripture: Matthew 18:19 - 20, "Again I Tell you, if two of you on earth agree (harmonize together, together make a symphony) about - anything and everything - whatever they shall ask, it will come to pass and be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." (Amplified Bible) Matthew 18:19 - 20, "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 am I in the midst of them." (KJV) Matthew 18:19 - 20, "When two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my Father in heaven goes into action. And when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I'll be there." (Message) Matthew 18:19 - 20, "Again I say to you, that if two of you shall agree on the earth concerning any matter, whatsoever it may be that they shall ask, it shall come to them from my Father who is in the heavens. For where two or three are gathered together unto my name, there am I in the midst of them." (1889 Darby Bible) A. Corporate prayer is probably one of the most neglected and misunderstood forms of prayer we find described in the Bible. Usually when Christians get together to pray, a whole array of prayers are offered by each individual instead of the group simply bringing a few focused prayers in complete unison before the Lord. Despite some of the misconceptions that exist, proper corporate prayer is extremely powerful when we truly appreciate its value and perform it correctly. In Acts 2:1 - 2 we read a very famous account of corporate prayer and its powerful result, "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting." The term "one accord" carries the meaning of having the same mind, or being in agreement mentally about the same thing. It also means to be of "one passion". (Acts 4:24 - 32 gives another powerful account of how effective corporate prayer is) B. The word "agree" in Matthew 18:19 not only carries the meaning of being in one accord, but goes further; Strong's #G4856 sumphõneõ - soom-fo-neh'-o from Strong's #G4859; to be harmonious, agree (together, with) The word sumphõneõ is the root of our modern English word, symphony. Symphony carries the meaning of "harmony of sound" such as one would experience when a Symphony Orchestra plays a symphony of music or symphonic musical composition. On their own, each individual musical instrument may make a wonderful sound, however, when all the instruments play or symphonize together, they form one beautiful harmonious sound carrying with it much deeper emotion and meaning. The same happens when we agree or symphonize together in corporate prayer. When we all pray together at the same time for the same thing, the power of the Holy Spirit is released in a much greater way, bringing swift breakthroughs and answers to prayer. Psalm 133:1 - 3, "A Song of degrees of David - Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore." C. Towards the end of Matthew 18:19 we read, "... whatever they shall ask, it will come to pass and be done for them by My Father in heaven." The word "done" is defined by the Strong’s Concordance as follows: Strong's #G1096 ginomai - ghin'-om-ahee - means to generate, to become or come into being, to come into existence, begin to be, receive being, be assembled, come to pass, be finished, be fulfilled, be made, ordained to be, be performed, be wrought. The meaning conveyed here strongly suggests something which had not yet taken place will take place. I think it even goes further in that it implies something which had not existed before will come into being or into existence. I believe this not only denotes that a recreative miracle may take place such as when a person has lost a limb, but also in areas where God’s people may need breakthroughs, where a breakthrough situation did not exist before, God will bring a breakthrough into being. Areas in our lives where provision is required will also fall into this category. Recalling when I was still an employee in the secular world, I remember my desire to work for a specific company. Initially when applying for a position with this company, they informed me that the specific position I required did not exist, but that I needed to contact them again in future. The problem was that I needed to work soon as I needed the income, so I continued to pray and trust the Lord in corporate agreement with other Believers. Not long afterwards when I contacted the company again, they informed me that they now had the exact position I wanted. I believe God intervened in answer to corporate prayer and "created" the position for me. D. To conclude my exegesis of Matthew 18:19 - 20, I summarize as follows: Corporate Prayer takes place when at least two or three Believers are present in one place, their unity of faith and prayer being of such a degree that when they harmonize or symphonize together in agreement with God’s Will and His Word, God intervenes and brings to pass the specific request. Matthew 18:19 - 20 states Believers may ask for anything and He will command His blessing! Verse 20 affirms when we gather together in this manner, Jesus is in our midst, and I believe He is in our midst not only to fellowship with us, and we with Him, but He is in our midst to personally bring into being and manifestation the answer and result of our prayer request. The following points illustrate how we should pray corporately and what we should pray for; II. According to God's Will 1 John 5:14-15 (also Proverbs 10:24; Psalm 37:4-5) "And this is the confidence - the assurance, the [privilege of] boldness - which we have in Him: [we are sure] that if we ask anything (make any request) according to His will (in agreement with His own plan) He listens to and hears us, And if (since) we [positively] know that He listens to us in whatever we ask, we also know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that we have [granted us as our present possessions] the requests made of Him." (Amplified) "And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him." (KJV) "And this is the confidence which we have before Him, that if we are asking anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have requested from Him." (Analytical-Literal Translation) "And we have an assured confidence that whenever we ask anything in accordance with His will, He listens to us. And since we know that He listens to us, then whatever we ask, we know that we have the things which we have asked from Him." (1912 Weymouth New Testament) III. Pray with all kinds or types of prayer Ephesians 6:18 (also read Luke 1:1-8) "Pray at all times - on every occasion, in every season - in the Spirit, with all [manner of] prayer and entreaty ..." (Amplified) "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit ..." (KJV) "Pray in the Spirit at all times with every kind of prayer and request there is ..." (International Standard Version) "Pray in the Spirit in every situation. Use every kind of prayer and request there is ..." (God’s Word Translation) IV. Pray with our spirit and with our understanding; 1 Corinthians 14:12-15 "... Then what am I to do? I will pray with my spirit - by the Holy Spirit that is within me; but I will also pray intelligently - with my mind and understanding; I will sing with my spirit - by the Holy Spirit that is within me; but I will sing (intelligently) with my mind and understanding also." (Amplified) "... What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also." (KJV) "... Then what should I do? There are times when I should pray with my spirit, and times when I should pray with my mind." (Contemporary English Version) V. Pray for all men 1 Timothy 2:1-5 (also see Psalm 33:12) "First of all, then, I admonish and urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings be offered on behalf of all men ..." (Amplified) "I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men ..." (KJV) "The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know ..." (Message) "Therefore, I urge first of all [for] petition to be continually made, prayers, intercessions, [and] thanksgivings, on behalf of all people ..." (Analytical-Literal Translation) VI. In Conclusion As Christian Believers we must seek the Lord corporately and apply the principles of corporate prayer diligently and accurately. Corporate prayer for all people will bring the Presence of God into manifestation on the earth and bring change and revival where religious and demonic strongholds have held cities, nations and continents captive for thousands of years. Jesus paid the price in full, so let us come into agreement with Him: Colossians 2:15, "And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it ..." In His Love and Anointing Jan van Rooyen