UNITY AND PRAYER
“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.” Matthew 18:19
One of the most common subjects in the Bible is that of prayer. From the Garden of Eden to the Book of Revelation, we find men conversing with God. The primary purpose for our existence is to fellowship with God. God made man to communicate with his Creator. This matter of prayer ought to be central to our Christian lives. We are instructed to pray about everything. We are to pray for our daily needs, wisdom, forgiveness, deliverance, and strength. We need to learn all we can about prayer, and we need to practice what we know. The disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray.
A valuable lesson about prayer is found in this passage. It has to do with unity and prayer. Jesus was teaching about resolving conflicts in the body of Christ, the authority given to the church to make decisions, and how His presence would be committed to the local assembly. In that context, our Lord emphasized the importance of unity and prayer. Being in unity, or agreement, increases the power of prayer. The primary application of this lesson has to do with the church in prayer. Obviously, being in unity and agreement with others would be important in any prayer meeting, but Jesus is specifically addressing the matter of church harmony and agreement. God desires that His churches be in one accord, and He makes unity a condition of answered prayer.
There are many things which will affect our prayers, and one of them is unity with the brethren. It is very foolish to think that God will hear and answer our prayers if there is strife and discord within the Christian family. God wants us to communicate with Him; He desires to show Himself strong as we look to Him in faith and prayer. We need to have unbroken access to God and to be able to bring our requests and burdens before Him continually. In order to see our prayers answered, we must seek to be right with one another, as well as stay right with God.
Because we are serious about our prayer lives, we must also be serious about our church unity. In prayer, we earnestly and sincerely desire for God to work according to His will. The more we are in agreement with fellow believers, the more we can expect our prayers to be effective.