Gene’s Daily Scriptural Postings
- H Gene Lawrence
- Aug 8
- 3 min read
While Jesus was teaching the disciples about prayer, forgiveness, and conflict resolution, He shares a powerful promise that relates directly to prayer. However, I believe this promise has been pulled out of context in many situations, and because of this, it might appear as though God does not answer us as quickly. But when we claim the promise Jesus shares with the disciples in our prayer experience, there is no telling how many answers we will discover.
Matthew’s gospel shares Jesus’ promise to His followers: “Also, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about something and pray for it, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. This is true because if two or three people come together in my name, I am there with them.” (v. 19-20)
These two verses contain what might appear like a blank check from God. Jesus’ promise sounds like all we must do is find one other person who agrees with us that something must happen, and then pray with them for God to step into the situation in a specific way. But in many cases I can think of, it seems as though all the steps have been followed and an answer does not come – and it may be because we are missing the context and details of this promise.
First, verse 19 begins with the word “Also”. This means that the message/promise Jesus is about to share hinges on what He had just finished saying. Jesus’ earlier statement focuses on God letting His followers determine where they will stand in what we could call “the gray areas of faith”.
This detail is important because it is unlikely that a prayer going to God that contradicts His character or plan will be answered according to our wishes. But this does mean that in the gray areas of His plan and history, our prayers will make a huge difference in directing God and inviting Him into the situations we have on our hearts.
Next, within these two verses is the secondary promise that if two or three (or more) people come together in Jesus’ name, Jesus will be there with them. The second big detail to remember is that the purpose of the group we form to pray must be unified under Jesus’ name, and we should invite Jesus to pray with us (however odd this might sound). If Jesus says He is with us when we gather together in His name, perhaps we should invite Him to pray with us.
The third detail for us to pay attention to is the focus and context of the verses that immediately follow this. While it might appear like this is a transition in Matthew’s narrative where he finishes one event and then begins another, what follows next is Peter asking Jesus about forgiveness, and even if this is a completely separate event, Matthew intentionally places it right next to Jesus’ promise to be with us when we gather in His name.
This third detail is important because if we are holding pain in our hearts with an unforgiving spirit, then our hearts are closed off to God and it may keep our prayers from being heard or answered. God wants our hearts above everything else, and forgiveness is the key to freeing our hearts in preparation for our gift to Him.
Together, these details form the best context we can for claiming Jesus’ promise. We must be asking for things within God’s will and plan – and/or within that gray area of faith; we must be united with Jesus while praying together; and we must have a forgiving heart and a humble spirit when we pray together. When we have done all these things, we can pray together in confidence that God will answer our prayers – even if His answer is “wait and see” or “no, but here is something better for you.”
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
Read this article on the web on it's official page: Praying Together with Jesus: Matthew 18:15-35
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