When Two Or Three Gather
Praying in agreement and Dynamics of small group prayer meetings
For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them. - Matthew 18:20
Jesus is speaking of his church — those who gather in his name, even just two or three, and praying together. Why are two or three important? Jesus teaches in verse 16 to take one or two others along with you, that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses.
Witnesses must testify in agreement or the evidence cannot be confirmed. Agreement is being in harmony, like instruments in a symphony. We might refer to this as “being on the same page.”
Then in verse 19, Jesus ties this to the topic of prayer: if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.
Gather To Pray
In the church we are to assemble to pray. When we do, Jesus is among us, and when we agree in what is being asked, it will be done. How do we pray in agreement? First, we must gather. Next, by praying the Word; the power of agreement isn’t our agreeing with others in the prayer group (though we should), but the group being in agreement with Jesus — who is among them!
For example, He tells us we are salt and light. We can be neither salt nor light without his help, so we ask in Jesus name that he fulfill this promise. This is being in agreement with Jesus, with his will and his promise, and we agree together to ask him for what he commanded us.
This is why we have the section praying for the people of God from the word of God: so we will be praying in harmony with each other in agreement with Jesus
Prayer Group Dynamics
Some people love prayer groups, while others shy away from them. Some love to pray long prayers and others never pray at all. In many groups, there are those who dominate the prayer times with their own prayers and others who are intimidated by out-loud praying.
Some Suggestions
If you are comfortable praying out loud in front of others, try not to dominate the prayer time, but pray shorter prayers and allow time for others to contribute.
If you are newer to group prayer, don’t be shy — jump in. Sometimes it helps to be brief at first, but your contribution is valuable to the rest of the group.
You don’t have to get everything prayed all at once. Pick one portion of the verse and just pray that. Pray later with another theme or portion.
It is not a competition to see who has the most spiritual sounding prayer; don’t try to impress others, you are praying to the Father.
Don’t use prayer as gossip (this is common: Lord we pray for Joe who has been gambling his paycheck, and ask…) unless that fact is a prayer request and known to all in the group already.
Take turns. If there are several in the group, go in turns praying the topic, theme, or passage. For example, praying our suggested FOCUS prayers, each person would pray from one of the letters (Father, Others, Church, Useful, Scripture) taking turns.
Try to keep your prayers to a minute or two each. This is not a race, nor do you get extra points for praying the most. The more times people pray out loud with others, the more they learn to pray.
Remember to have a time, a place, and a list. Many prayer groups just wing it, but having a starting place of prayer, and a few scriptures or requests will help maintain direction.
Use Biblical prayers as the foundation of group praying. God wants to us pray these for His church because he plans to answer them.
Pray For The People Of God From The Word Of God
Here are three passages we are praying from this week (one passage per day):
Monday - Matthew 6:9-13
Tuesday - Luke 10:2
Wednesday - Luke 11:13
Will you join me in praying these verses, and ask one person to join you?
Until Thursday, grace and peace
Photo by Cassidy Rowell on Unsplash