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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
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