Effective Together!

Gary Stebbins
Church on the Rock - Melbourne

Jesus would often slip aside from the crowds and even the disciples to pray. On one such occasion a disciple of Jesus said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples” (Lk 11.1). Jesus instructed His disciples how to pray with what we call today the Lord’s Prayer. Certainly this prayer has served as a model of prayer for two thousand years. There is however another principle of prayer that Jesus taught the disciples that I believe is equally important, but one the church has not taken hold of as clearly. We find this in Matthew 18, “Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven” (Mat 18.19).

“If two of you agree on earth.” Prayer of any type is very important. There is however something very significant about praying together in agreement. This can only happen when two or more people make the decision to come together and pray. This is part of God’s plan and purpose for the church- to gather together and pray. As we read in the book of James, “The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much” (Jam 5.16). Certainly our individual prayer’s can be very effective, but there is something beyond individual prayer that takes place when believers gather together to pray. As the church gathers together in unity and comes into alignment with God’s will and purposes, great things can happen. The effectiveness of our individual prayers is greatly increased through the principle of agreeing and crying out together to God. Matthew says that as we come together, “anything they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven.” This is a very significant promise that the Lord has given to His church. The power of agreement greatly increases our effectiveness in prayer. There are things that will only be accomplished as the church gathers together to pray.

There is another dynamic that praying together with other believers brings. We see this as we read on in Matthew 18, “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst” (Mat 18.20). There is something about the power of agreement that draws the very presence of God. God responds to His people when they gather together in unity and cry out to Him.

As I have taken time to look at the verses above, I have been encouraged that we need to continue to press forward with MyHop and other corporate gatherings where the church comes together in agreement to pray. There is much power in prayer. To think that we can move the heart of the Creator and invoke His response to our prayers is an absolutely humbling thought.

We serve a wonderful God. Consider taking time to gather together with other believers to pray. You will be greatly blessed as you do.

Unity

Tony Hauck

Church on the Rock - Melbourne

I have really worked and prayed for unity among pastors and churches in our city. I believe it’s a huge deal to God. If fact, I think it’s a prerequisite to getting many of the things we’re asking for; things God won’t give to us as individuals. Things we have to come to Him together to get. Let me attempt to justify my belief biblically. Consider Psalm 133.

"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! {2} It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments. {3} It is like the dew of Hermon, descending upon the mountains of Zion; For there the LORD commanded the blessing; Life forevermore."

We begin with the prerequisite: unity, and end with what we want: God’s commanded blessing. Note that we’re to dwell together in unity. I think that implies substantially more than coming together occasionally for big meetings. But look at the picture God paints twice in between the action and the result.

First the anointing oil poured on Aaron’s head that runs down to collect at the hem of his priestly garments. The New Testament says that now we’re God’s priests. Ephesians 4 describes the church as a body knit together with Christ as the head. There is enough anointing to heal a sick woman who touches the hem, the lowest position in the body. Then the dew that collects on Mount Hermon and pools together as it runs down to become the Jordan river. Jesus said in John 7 that we’d have rivers of living water flowing out of us.

So why don’t we see the manifestations of the Kingdom we’ve been asking for? The problem isn’t a lack of anointing. All the anointing the church is ever going to have has already been poured out on the head, Jesus, who dwells in us (Col 1:27). Maybe the problem is a lack of connection. How can anointing flow down from the head to the body if the body is dismembered? How can we have a river if we each hoard our own little stream? We know how important it is to stay connected to Jesus, but we may have underestimated how important it is that we stay connected to each other.