JESUS WANTS US to take Him at His Word. I believe He said what He meant and meant what He said. For Matthew 18:19 to work, two people have to agree, and they have to be on earth. That fits us. We just have to agree in line with God’s Word as touching anything that we shall ask. When we do, the Bible says it shall be granted to us.
Notice that Jesus said, “It shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven” (v. 19). The strongest assertion one can make in the English language is to say “I shall” or “I will.” Jesus said in John 14:14, “If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.”
The Greek scholar P.C. Nelson said he always did his reading and private devotions from the Greek because he said the Greek language was more beautiful than English. Rev. Nelson said a number of Greek idioms could not be translated into English because the English language didn’t have any counterpart for those words.
The translators made the strongest statement they could, but Rev. Nelson said a more literal rendering of John 14:14 in Greek is, “If you shall ask anything in My Name and I don’t have it, I will make it for you.” It’s just more beautiful to say that verse this way!
“Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 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. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
Matthew 18:18–20
BINDING AND LOOSING
We usually apply Matthew 18:20 to gathering in Jesus’ Name for a church service. Jesus said, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” You can do that, but that is not what this scripture is talking about.
Jesus is saying that whenever two people agree in prayer, He is right there to make it good. Jesus is bringing out the fact that whatever we bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven, and whatever we loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven. Heaven will back us up in what we pray on earth in agreement, as long as our prayer is in line with God’s Word. We have the authority to loose and bind.
Instead of using that authority, many folks let the devil bind them. They say they can’t help it and that the devil is after them. They seem to think they can’t do anything about the
devil’s attacks.
They can do something. Every believer has authority over the devil in Jesus’ Name. If you don’t know how to use your God-given authority over the devil, then get in agreement with another believer and bind the devil from harassing you.
The prayer of agreement is for us today. What is Matthew 18:19 doing in the Bible if it’s not for us to use to get our needs met?
THE PRAYER OF AGREEMENT WORKS
Jesus said if two people agree on earth, anything they ask in prayer shall be done for them. He didn’t say there was only a possibility that it would be done. He said it would be done!
Years ago at Christmastime, I was preaching in west Texas. Although I had been there for three weeks, the pastor wanted me to stay for three more weeks. He said he realized I needed extra money at Christmastime since I would not be in meetings during the holidays. But he wasn’t sure if his people could give extra.
Nonetheless, I agreed to stay, believing that I would receive sufficient offerings. I wrote my wife, Oretha, telling her that I was going to stay on. I also wanted her to agree with me for a certain amount of money according to Matthew 18:19. The next Sunday night, I received more than what we agreed on.
I wrote my wife again, telling her to do the same thing the following Sunday afternoon, and I would do likewise. When the week was over, we received above the amount we asked for.
The Sunday night before Christmas, the church had a Christmas program, and I preached for only 15 minutes. After the service, we went to the parsonage, and the pastor and I counted the offering. It was $20 short of what Oretha and I had claimed.
I suggested that we count the offering again because the money had to be there. I told the pastor how Oretha and I had agreed in prayer. If the prayer of agreement didn’t work, I would throw it away! I’m just that honest.
We counted the offering again and still came up short. But then I remembered that someone had bought a Bible from me before church. She also gave me a $25 offering that I had forgotten about. We again received more money than we had agreed for!
TWO CAN PUT TEN THOUSAND TO FLIGHT
You may be mighty in prayer alone, but you can be mightier with someone joining you. The Bible says that one will put one thousand to flight, but two will put ten thousand to flight. (See Leviticus 26:8 and Deuteronomy 32:30.)
In other words, you can do 10 times as much with someone agreeing with you as you can by yourself. That’s a good thought to meditate on. There doesn’t have to be a great number of people for the prayer of agreement to work. The prayer of agreement requires two people on earth to agree according to God’s Word. It will work for you and any believer who will dare to believe and act on it.
[Editor’s Note: This article was adapted from Kenneth E. Hagin’s Bible Prayer Study Course.]
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Kenneth E. Hagin
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