Prayer of Agreement: the Power of Praying with People

In World Vision magazine John Robb writes: Seven years ago, a giant tree stood on the banks of the Awash River, in an arid valley about two hours’ drive southeast of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It had stood there for generations, seemingly eternal. For years, the people who lived in the surrounding district had suffered through famines. In their suffering, the people looked to the tree for help. Believing a spirit gave it divine powers, they worshipped the towering giant. Adults would kiss the great trunk when they passed by, and they spoke of the tree in hushed, reverent tones. Children said, “This tree saved us.”

In 1989, World Vision began a development project there, including an irrigation system. But even as they labored to build the system, the great tree stood like a forbidding sentinel of the old order, presiding over the community, enslaving the people through fear. For spirits need to be appeased with animal sacrifices and strict observance of taboos. When World Vision workers saw how the villagers worshipped the tree, they knew it was an idolatrous barrier to the entrance of Christ’s kingdom and transformation of the community. One morning as the staff prayed together, one of Jesus’ promises struck them: “If you have faith, you can say to this tree, ‘Be taken up and removed’ … and it will obey you.” In faith, they began to pray that God would bring down the menacing Goliath.

Soon the whole community knew the Christians were praying about the tree. Six months later, the tree began to dry up, its leafy foliage disappeared, and finally, it collapsed like a stricken giant into the river. The people of the community were astonished, proclaiming, “Your God has done this! Your God has dried up the tree!” In the days and weeks afterward, approximately 100 members of the community received Jesus Christ because they saw his power displayed in answer to the Christians’ prayers.¹ Today’s podcast focuses on the power of praying with people specifically the prayer of agreement. What results are achievable praying this prayer and what are some the rules that govern it? That’s our focus on this week’s Light on Life.

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Each week’s podcast also contains a question designed to encourage testimony. Testimony is vital to a believers life. We overcome by it (Rev. 12:11).
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Question of the Day: How did the Lord change your circumstance in response to the prayer of agreement? Please leave your testimony in the comments section below.

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About Emery

Emery committed his life to the Lord Jesus Christ over 42 years ago. He has served as both a full-time pastor and an itinerant minister. Both he and his wife Sharon of 38 years emphasize personal growth and development through the Word of God. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is both the focus and the hallmark of their mission. Read more about them here.

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Podcast Notes

Praying with People is One Kind of Prayer

Ephesians 6:18 (TNIV) — 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

The Greek word ‘all’ in ‘all kinds of prayer means ‘all sorts of’ or ‘all manner of.’
So, it’s all sorts of prayer.
Or, all manner of prayer.
There are all sorts or all manner of prayer.
Different kinds of prayer have different rules.
You could say guidelines.
When spending time with God, know what kind of prayer you are praying.

Praying with People: The Prayer of Agreement

Matthew 18:19–20 (KJV) — 19 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. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

There is tremendous power in agreement.
Jesus said it only takes two people agreeing on earth to get an answer concerning anything that they ask.
And, with that thought, here’s the definition of the day.
The Greek word ‘agree’ is a verb and it means to be in harmony of opinion, feeling, or purpose.
But, this is misleading because the agreement needed is not a natural agreement.
You hear it all the time when two people pray.
One person is doing all the praying and the other person mouths the words, ‘I agree.’
And, they think that they have prayed the prayer of agreement because they have uttered those two words.
It’s kind of like the story about two employees who were chatting. “The boss wants a meeting today at 4:30,” said one employee to the other. “Why does he always have to have them on Friday at 4:30”, replied the other employee. “People tend to agree with him at 4:30 on a Friday”, was the answer.²

Praying with People: Mental Agreement Versus Heart Agreement

Saying that you agree and agreeing from your heart is two different things.
The Greek dictionary BDAG gets a little closer to the real meaning of this word in its context.
BDAG says the word means ‘being of one mind.’ ³
That’s better, but it’s still not quite right because it’s not mental agreement that’s needed.
It’s not agreeing with your mind.
It’s agreeing with your heart.
Now, the only way you can agree from your heart is if you have faith for what is being prayer as well as the person doing the praying.
The prayer of agreement requires that both people ‘believe that they receive.’
They both have to agree with their hearts.

Praying with People: Why ‘Two Agreeing’ Equals More Effectiveness

Ecclesiastes 4:9 (NKJV) — 9 Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor.

This verse in Ecclesiastes four gives us a spiritual principle; two are better than one.
The prayer of agreement is better because two people are praying about the same thing, not just one.
The prayer of agreement differs from the prayer of faith which is just you praying for your need.
Why pray this prayer if you can pray the prayer of faith yourself and get the answer?
Because, as we have seen, two are better than one.

Praying with People: How Much Better Are Two Who Agree Than One?

Deuteronomy 32:30 (NKJV) — 30 How could one chase a thousand, And two put ten thousand to flight, Unless their Rock had sold them, And the LORD had surrendered them?

Per this verse in Deuteronomy, two are ten times better than one.
One, by himself, can put ten thousand to flight.
Two together can put ten thousand to flight.
So, two in agreement is not just twice as strong but ten times as strong.
Agreement in prayer can have a logarithmic impact.

The Example of Jonathan and His Armorbearer

1 Samuel 14:6–8, 11–15 (NKJV) — 6 Then Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armor, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that the LORD will work for us. For nothing restrains the LORD from saving by many or by few.” 7 So his armorbearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart. Go then; here I am with you, according to your heart.” 8 Then Jonathan said, “Very well, let us cross over to these men, and we will show ourselves to them…

Look what happens next.

11 So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines. And the Philistines said, “Look, the Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden.” 12 Then the men of the garrison called to Jonathan and his armor-bearer, and said, “Come up to us, and we will show you something.” Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, “Come up after me, for the LORD has delivered them into the hand of Israel.” 13 And Jonathan climbed up on his hands and knees with his armor-bearer after him; and they fell before Jonathan. And as he came after him, his armor-bearer killed them.

Note as we continue to read this passage of scripture how many men these two men in agreement took out.

14 That first slaughter which Jonathan and his armor-bearer made was about twenty men within about half an acre of land. 15 And there was trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. The garrison and the raiders also trembled; and the earth quaked, so that it was a very great trembling.

Two Men Take Out Twenty

Johnathan and his armor bearer were in agreement in this battle against the enemies of God.
Together, two men in agreement took out twenty men.
Again, that’s ten times as effective.
But, look at what happened after these two men came into agreement and stood their ground.
After they finished, God got Himself got in the fight with an earthquake.

Praying with People: Answers to Prayer and It’s Connection to Time

We have heard about people who received ‘instant’ answers to prayer.
These are super fun to experience.
The question though that comes to mind is can it be repeated?
Is there any part that the believer plays in the amount of time it takes?
The answer to that is sometimes.
Even Jesus didn’t receive an instant outward manifestation.
It took 24 hours before the word that Jesus spoke to the fig tree was outwardly manifest.
Time is involved.
Why? because it takes time for trees to die from the roots.
The same is true of some sicknesses.
It takes time for cancers which are cursed in Jesus Name to finish dying off.
Death is a process, and a process means time.
How much time it takes is often dependent on two things.
- Number one: the degree of faith present.
- Number two: the degree of anointing present.
Both faith and anointing are by degrees; maybe levels is a better way to say it.
If there is great faith coupled with a great anointing, the healing manifestation is quicker.

Praying with People: Degrees of Faith

Let’s look at the levels of faith described in the Bible.

Praying with People: Great Faith and Little Faith

A individuals faith can be great, or it can be little.

Matthew 8:10 (NKJV) — 10 When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!

Matthew 14:31 (NKJV) — 31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

Praying with People: Strong Faith and Weak Faith

Faith is described as strong or weak.

Romans 4:19–20 (KJV) — 19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb: 20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;

Praying with People: Full of Faith and Wavering Faith

Believers can come to a place where they are full of confidence or be full of wavering.

Acts 6:5 (KJV) — 5 And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch:

James 1:6 (KJV) — 6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

Praying with People: Real Faith and Shipwrecked Faith

Then there’s real genuine faith and a faith that the scripture describes as shipwrecked.

1 Timothy 1:5 (KJV) — 5 Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:

1 Timothy 1:19 (KJV) — 19 Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:

To this list you can add ‘rich in faith – James 2:5; perfect in faith – James 2:22; overcoming faith – 1 John 5:4; and exceedingly growing faith – 2 Thessalonians 1:3.
So, there are levels of faith and levels of anointing or power.
Look for example at God Most High.
How fast do you suppose that He gets things done?
God has ultimate faith and ultimate power.

The Godhead In Agreement

Genesis 1:26 (KJV) — 26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

In the creation, God the Father, who has ultimate faith and power in agreement with His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who also has ultimate faith and power, who also are in agreement with the Holy Spirit who has ultimate faith and anointing.
How fast did it take to do the job of making man?
The answer? – 1/2 a day.
There is power in agreement.

Praying with People: Ten Times As Effective

So, here’s an application of all that we’ve said.
Here you are, say, for example, you have little faith, and the person you are praying with is in the same boat.
Both of you have little faith.
But, now we hook up together in agreement.
Real agreement means that we both have faith for what we agree upon.
You’re pulling on it with your faith, and the person you are praying with is pulling on it with theirs.
And now, we aren’t just twice as effective but logarithmically more effective maybe even to the tune of ten times.
Ten times more effective doesn’t mean ten times the faith.
That’s the power of agreement.

Praying with People: Vital Rules to Remember

Here is a prayer rule you need to remember: You can’t pray beyond your faith level.
This rule holds whether you are off by yourself praying for your own needs or if you are praying with people.
For example, when praying the prayer of agreement, for a financial need, both of you must have faith for what you are praying about.
Let’s put this into a quantitative example.
Let’s say you and the person you are praying with are agreeing for $100.00.
If the person you agree with doesn’t have faith for the $100.00, there is no agreement and consequently, no answer.
You don’t multiply faith; you multiply effectiveness.
Pick the people you are praying with carefully.
Have they ever prayed about money coming in before?
Husbands and wives should be ideal people to pray together.
Again, faith is critical in all kinds of prayer.

When Praying with People, Don’t Be Lazy

You’ve probably seen or been part of a situation where someone comes up to you and says, ‘Agree with me about so and so.’
That person says ‘Yes, I agree’ and then turns around and walks off.
I’m pretty sure this will not produce the results you are looking for.
Sometimes we get loose and lazy with the things of God.
We begin to incorporate some of our ideas instead of staying close to the Word.
Our incorporated ideas then mushroom out into full-blown religion instead of God-ordained spirituality.
You should pray with purpose.
Prayer should get results.
If we are mindful of these things, we’ll get better results.

When Praying with People, Do Your Homework

You would do well to follow the same course of action as you did when praying prayers for your needs to be met.
That is you should find a Bible verse that you can stand on.
It must be a verse that promises what you are asking for.
If the scripture is not in your heart, take the time to get in there by meditating and quoting the Word.
You should take the time to make sure that you have God’s promise in your heart first before you engage in prayer.
Get involved with God’s system of speaking the Word with your mouth and hearing the scripture with your ears until the revelation of God’s Word dawns on your heart.
Faith comes by hearing.
Both people who are praying and agreeing should have the Word of God in their heart on the matter at hand. Otherwise, there is no agreement.
Agreement is of the heart, not the head.
With that thought here’s the question of the day.

How Can You Tell if the Word Is in Your Heart?

One way is to observe how you react when presented with a problem.
What comes out of your mouth first?
Whatever it is, positive or negative, is what is in your heart.
So when you start feeling not so well, what did you say first?
If you have to catch yourself because you said something that was not of faith, then it’s wise to work on your heart a little bit more.
Take some more time building the Word inside you.
In the natural, people talk about ‘muscle memory.’
Muscle memory occurs when a movement is repeated over time eventually allowing it to be performed without conscious effort.⁴
With spiritual things, it works the same way.
Whatever you repeatedly say and how you repeatedly act, shows where you are in faith.
That’s one reason you should be careful about who you pray the prayer of agreement with.
Be clear about what you are agreeing on.
Be sure that each one of you can believe for that very request.
Don’t just wing it.
Remind God of His Word and then believe that you receive the answer based on Mat. 18:19.

#S4-020: Humility: How to Put On God’s Glory Suit [Podcast]

References:

Craig Brian Larson, 750 Engaging Illustrations for Preachers, Teachers & Writers (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2002), 543–544. ↩
Source Unknown http://higherpraise.com/illustrations/agreement.htm ↩
William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 961. ↩
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscle_memory ↩

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Prayer of Agreement: the Power of Praying with People

Podcast: Light on Life Season 6 Episode 8

by Emery Horvath

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