Strength in Numbers - Greg Laurie Daily Devotion - May 17, 2016

Strength in Numbers

“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.”—Matthew 18:19

There is power in united prayer. It is better to prayer with your fellow Christians than to just pray solo. Of course, it is great to pray by yourself. But get together with other believers to pray as well.

Why does this matter? Believers praying together could be compared to Roman soldiers in battle. Maybe you have seen their military tactics depicted in a movie. The Romans would use their shields very effectively. When they went into battle, they would form a wall with their shields. If they came under attack, they would hunker down, forming a box as they pulled their shields together on all sides and overhead to deflect the barrage of arrows. Then they would break out and counterattack. It was a very effective military maneuver.

That is what it is like when Christians pray together. We link our shields together instead of one person going it alone in the battle with a single shield and sword. We all stand together as a wall of prayer warriors, marching forward.

Jesus gave us this promise in Matthew 18:19: “If two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.” First, let’s understand what this doesn’t mean. It doesn’t mean that two Christians can get together and decide to pray for the same thing, and it will automatically happen. Sometimes our prayers may not be in line with God’s will. So just because two misguided believers agree about one thing doesn’t mean that God necessarily will answer their prayer.

The assumption here is that we are in alignment with God’s will, and thus we are praying together for something that we know God wants to do. So let’s align our will with His and pray together.

Copyright © 2016 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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