Matthew 18:19 – “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven…” NKJV
I recall a time at church when we were told to join with another believer and pray for one another. A woman in the church gave me her request and I prayed earnestly. She asked me to pray for her husband. After church, I discovered that she had no husband. I felt like the biggest fool because I had prayed with everything in me for her husband, only to find out that she didn’t have one!
Even though I had that weird and negative experience of praying with someone about a fantasy situation, I couldn’t be more confident in saying, I believe wholeheartedly in the prayer of agreement.
Let’s start by zeroing in on the concept of agreement. The Greek word for agreement is “symphoneo” and gives us a picture of a symphony in perfect harmony. I’ve gone to many concerts over the years, and have heard many different instruments playing together. The harmony and timing of the concert leaves you in awe, as you listen to the majestic sounds emanating from the strings, the percussions, the brass, and the woodwinds. Each playing their part, combining to make one sound! Harmonious! That’s a picture of agreement.
The prophet Amos, asked this question:
Amos 3:3 -Can two walk together, unless they are agreed? NKJV
I ask, “Can two pray together effectively, if they don’t agree?” And I’ll answer this question. They cannot!
Agreement should be in the request. One person praying can’t be praying for a miraculous healing, while the other person is praying for everything to go well in the surgery. That’s not agreement! Agreement is when you are all praying for the same thing. It may be said differently, it may cover a different aspect of the request, but it has to be for the same result. So if someone asks you to pray for a speedy recovery, get in agreement with them and pray for a speedy recovery! If while you are praying, you believe God is leading you to pray in another direction, let it be known. If they still can’t get in agreement with you, you need to get in agreement with them. After that sad situation I mentioned in the beginning, I have learned to say that I don’t have the faith for that, or I can’t get in agreement with that. It is what it is!
Agreement should be in the bond of association. I can’t come in agreement in prayer with a non-believer, for there is no agreement. Light and darkness don’t agree. It’s called being unequally yoked:
Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? 2 Corinthians 6:14-15 – NKJV
You can pray for unbelievers. You can also pray for those in another religion, or those who are lawless, but it can’t be the prayer of agreement. Because, what will you be agreeing on?
Agreement works well when you are praying for the same thing, believe in the same God, believe the same truth about what you are praying, and are kindred spirits in prayer. In other words, you can’t just hear this scripture and grab just anybody to pray with you and be in agreement. However, in a church setting, when you are asked to pray with someone next to you, the prayer of agreement can be effective, as long as they person is a believer and you are in agreement with what is being prayed.
Agreement must be in the Name of Jesus! Can you pray a prayer of agreement with a Buddhist, if you are a Christian? Not hardly, since only one of you can pray in His Name. I have to admit that as I watched the inauguration in January, I experienced disappointment, as I heard the pastor ended his prayer in “the strong name of our collective faith”! What is that? I’m still baffled at that one! We are not all collectively in relationship with the same God! And if we were, then ending in the name of Jesus would have been acceptable!
The situation that I mentioned at the beginning when the woman had me praying for her husband? The beautiful thing is that it taught me about just jumping in and praying. As a minister, I have prayed with many people at the altar. Not a lot of time for an interview. However, I have learned to ask clarifying questions because of that situation. And you should to. In doing so, you will find out if you are in agreement or not. With my prayer warriors, I don’t have to ask clarifying questions, the years have solidified what we believe and how we believe. But with new people, I need to understand what you are asking me to agree with you about. And you need to know also!
I remember many times when I prayed in agreement with someone and God answered. I’ll share a couple:
Our firstborn was diagnosed with abnormal seizure disorder at the age of 2 weeks old. Of course, this was pretty hard to hear. We alerted the family and everyone we knew, to please pray. She was placed on medication and given a life sentence of seizure activity. We knew we were moving to Chicago and wanted to establish a connection to a pediatric neurologist in Chicago, and we made an appointment there around her sixth month. She was looking and acting very normal at this time, and was free of seizures. (Prayer changes things). But her pediatrician didn’t want to take her off of the medicine or to say that she was fine. My husband and I prayed that the doctor in Chicago would give us a different report and take her off of the medication. Sure enough, he told us how to wean her properly from the medicine and said that all tests had come back normal! God is a good God!!
Another time, someone asked me to pray with her about her job. A trap was being laid out against her by someone at her job. We prayed together that the trap being set for her would trap that individual. Sure enough, that person ended up losing her job as a result of her own actions! We were specific, we were in agreement, and we saw God shut that person down.
Over the years, I have had a tremendous amount of prayer support within my circle of friends. We have learned to trust each others’ hearts and have built our relationships in the God of our Lord and Savior, Jesus! As a result we have seen mountains moved, diagnoses turned around, debts paid, and relationships restored. We have become so adept in our ability to pray with and for one another that now we can simply say, “pray”! When we pray, we are like a symphony orchestra that has played together for years. Even if improvisation is needed, we pray well together. One of us might pray for the situation, another may pray against satanic forces, then it will get picked up again by a third who can pray about another facet of the same situation. When we are done, it has been well covered and it is as if one person did the praying, when it was easily two or three, or four of us!
Jesus said that the prayer of agreement will work concerning anything that we ask. We’ve probably prayed about some of everything, and seen God answer. What do we do when we don’t get the results we want? Because it has happened over the years. And here’s what we do, we continue to pray in faith, because we have found Him to be faithful. Some results are better than what we ask, some are point on, and some we have had to continue to trust God with, but nothing could turn us from our conviction that the prayer of agreement is a powerful way to get results.
What do you have going on in your life that you need to see God move in? Whatever it is, you may just need some prayer support. Your spouse, your child, your sibling, your friend…the list is endless. Just make sure that it is someone who can get in agreement with you. The last thing you want when you are praying, is someone praying against what you are believing God for! So never ask someone to pray with you about something when they have already expressed their doubts. They can’t pray above those doubts. No one can!
If you have seen success with the prayer of agreement, keep it up! I know you have testimonies of your own. If you haven’t used it before, you may want to start using it now. It’s a powerful way to pray that gets results! And that type of prayer is a symphony before heaven! Wonderful Jesus!
Wonderful Jesus! 