"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. "For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst."
Matthew 18:19-20
Greeting everyone! I hope everyone had a blessed time moving on the promise from Psalm 73 last week and that those of you who chose to fast drew closer to the Lord through that. I have a feeling this won't be the last opportunity we have to fast through our promises to move on, so if you didn't have a chance to fast...don't worry...your time will come!
For this week we will be moving on a promise Jesus gave us in Matthew 18:19-20. Thanks go out to Amanda Valantine for suggesting this verse. If any of you have suggestions for promises to move on please let me know. It is such a blessing to me to have others get involved!
For the promise this week I'm going to ask you to get out of your bubble and reach out to someone else. All of the promises up to this point have been pretty singular, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but the Bible calls us, very clearly, to be part of a body. This means not doing things on our own. I'm going to push it even a little further.
I am sure that some of the people reading this are involved in church and that is fantastic. I don't think you are a lost soul if you don't attend church. The Bible doesn't say anywhere that you have to attend church service once a week to earn eternal glory. I do think it is incredibly beneficial to get plugged in to a body of fellow believers. It's like working out. I have always been more disciplined when I have a friend working out with me to push me and keep me going. On the days I would rather sit on the couch and watch TV, having a friend to keep me accountable keeps me off the couch and on the treadmill (or bench, squat rack, bike trail, etc.).
So that is the promise this week. Jesus promises us that when two of us agree on anything, it will be done by God! That's as good as gold! Where two or three are gathered in the name of Jesus Christ, Jesus promises that He will be there with us. What more could you ask for?!
For this week find one or two people at least to join with you in prayer. I know that we all have incredibly busy schedules, so it may not be possible to physically get together with these people every day, but get in contact somehow and agree in prayer. Praying together is such a powerful tool that is not utilized nearly enough!
I'm going to take it even further though and "highly suggest" (this is like when your mother "highly suggests" you clean your room) that you involve someone you don't normally turn to. My wife and I pray together all the time. I absolutely love it! But I'm suggesting - and am also going to participate - incorporating people I normally don't share my prayer requests with. This whole promises thing isn't about reaffirming what we already "do right" - it's about pushing ourselves to go deeper. So if our promise is on joining others in prayer, I'm not going to sit here and say, "Well, I pray with my wife...so check that one off the list." I am going to push myself to go deeper.
So find a new prayer buddy, or a couple! Talk about your requests to God, get in agreement (I should mention that this is a great time to make sure your motives are Spirit led...so don't just agree on everything, but challenge each other) and pray! Then after all of that, know without a doubt that Jesus is there with you and that your prayers are answered! God promised!
Have a blessed week moving on His promise!
No comments:
Post a Comment