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THE PRAYER MINISTRY OF THE CHURCH
“Moreover if your brother sins against you, go, reprove him between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not hear you, take with you one or two more, that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to hear the church also, let him be to you just like the Gentile and the tax collector. Truly I say to you, Whatever you bind on the earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on the earth shall have been loosed in heaven. Again, truly I say to you that if two of you are in harmony on earth concerning any matter for which they ask, it will be done for them from My Father who is in the heavens. For where there are two or three gathered into My name, there am I in their midst” (Matt. 18:15-20). These few verses can be divided into two sections. Verses 15-17 are one section, while verses 18-20 are another section. If we read them carefully, we will find the relationship between the two sections. Verses 15-17 cover one specific thing, one particular thing, while verses 18-20 cover the general principle. Verses 15-17 mention one specific case that needs to be dealt with, while verses 18-20 cover a general principle which one should diligently learn. Although the case in verses 15-17 is mentioned first and the principle in verses 18-20 is mentioned second, the words in verses 18-20 are more important than the words in verses 15-17. In other words, the first section covers a specific case, while the second section covers a general principle, a great principle. The way to deal with the case in the first section is based on the principle covered in the second section. The second section is the foundation; the first section merely carries out a matter based on that foundation. In verses 15-17, the Lord Jesus tells us what should be done when a brother has sinned against another brother. The first thing that should be done is to reprove the sinning brother. If he will not listen, the brother who has been sinned against should bring one or two more to reprove him. If he will still not listen, then the church should be told. If he refuses to hear the church, he should be considered a Gentile and a tax collector. After the Lord Jesus mentioned this case, He said, “Truly I say to you.…” He meant that one should act in this way because these are crucial matters and because this is an important principle. This is the basis for saying that verses 18-20 are the foundation of verses 15-17.
We are not speaking about the case in verses 15-17. We are trying to consider the broad principle from this one matter. We have to see that we should not only handle a brother’s offenses against us in this way but also thousands of other things. Now we want to consider what God intends for us to know in the second section.
THE EARTH CONTROLS HEAVEN
In verse 18 the Lord says, “Truly I say to you, Whatever you bind on the earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on the earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” What is special about this verse? The special thing is that there must be a move on earth before there is a move in heaven. It is not heaven that binds first but the earth that binds first. It is not heaven that looses first but the earth that looses first. After the earth binds, heaven binds; after the earth looses, heaven looses. The move in heaven is controlled by the move on earth. Everything contrary to God has to be bound, and everything in harmony with God has to be released. Everything, whether it is something to be bound or loosed, should have its binding or its loosing originate from the earth. The move on the earth precedes the move in heaven. The earth controls heaven.
We can see how the earth controls heaven from a few cases in the Old Testament. When Moses was on the mountain, the Israelites won every time he raised his hands, and the Amalekites won every time he lowered his hands (Exo. 17:9-11). Who decided the victory at the bottom of the mountain? Did God decide or did Moses decide? Brothers and sisters, we have to see God’s principle of work and the key to His move. God cannot do what He wants to do unless man wants it. We cannot make God do what He does not want to do, yet we can stop God from doing what He wants to do. The victory was decided by God in heaven, but the victory was decided by Moses before men. Truly, God in heaven wanted the Israelites to win, but if Moses had not raised his hands on earth, the Israelites would have lost. When he raised his hands, the Israelites won. The earth controls heaven.
Ezekiel 36:37 says, “Thus saith the Lord God; I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock.” God has a purpose to increase the number of the house of Israel so that the Israelites would increase like a flock. Those who do not know God will say, “If God wants to increase the number of the Israelites like a flock, He could go ahead and do it. Who could stop Him?” But this verse says that God must be inquired of first before He will accomplish it for them. This is a clear principle: Even though God decides on a matter, He will not do it immediately. He would increase the house of Israel only after they inquired of Him. He wants the earth to control heaven.
Isaiah 45:11 has a most peculiar word, “Thus says Jehovah, /The Holy One of Israel and the One who formed him,/Ask Me about the things to come concerning My sons,/And concerning the work of My hands, command Me.” Brothers and sisters, is not this word most peculiar? Concerning the sons and the work of His hand, God says that we can command Him. We would almost be afraid to use the word “command.” How can man command God? All those who know God realize that man cannot be haughty before Him. But God Himself says, “Concerning My sons,/And concerning the work of My hands, command Me.” This is the earth controlling heaven. It does not mean that we force God to do what He does not want to do. Rather, it means that we can command God to do what He wants to do. This is our position. After we know God’s will, we can say to Him, “God, we want You to do this. We are determined that You should do this. God, You must do this.” We can utter such strong and powerful prayers before God. We have to ask God to open our eyes to see the kind of work He is doing in this age. In this age all His work is based on this position. Heaven may want to accomplish something, but heaven will not do it alone; heaven waits for the earth to do it first, and then heaven does it. Although the earth stands in the second place, at the same time, it also stands in the first place. The earth must move before heaven will move. God wants the earth to move heaven.
HARMONY OF WILL
Some may ask why God would want the earth to control heaven. If we want to understand this, we have to remember that our God is limited by time. Time refers to the section between the two eternities. There is an eternity past and an eternity future. Between these two eternities, there is time. Within this section called time, God is limited. He cannot work as freely as He wants to. This is a limitation God encountered in the creation of man. According to Genesis 2, God gave man a free will when He created him. God has a will, and man has a will. Whenever man’s will is not one with God’s will, God is limited. In this room, there is a table, chair, floor, and ceiling. If a man comes in, he can do whatever he wants and not be restricted. The table, chair, floor, and ceiling will not be able to restrict him. God is a powerful God; He can do anything. If the earth was filled with spiritless material, God would be without restriction. But one day, God created man. The man He created was not like a piece of stone or wood; he was not a table or a chair which could be placed here or there by God at will. The man that God created had a free will. Man could choose to obey God’s word and he also could choose to disobey His word. God did not create a man who was obligated to obey Him. He created a man with a free will, one who could obey or disobey His word. After God created a man with a free will, His power was limited by this man. He could no longer act according to what He wanted. He had to ask whether man wanted the same thing and whether he was willing to do the same thing. God cannot treat man like a stone, a piece of wood, a table, or a chair, because man has a free will. Since the day God created man, man could choose to allow God’s authority to be carried out or to be blocked. This is why we say that within time, the period between the two eternities, God’s authority is limited by man.
God is willing to be limited in time because He wants to gain a harmonious will in the second eternity. He wants man’s free will to be harmonious with His will. This is a glory to God. If you put a book on the table, it remains on the table. If you put it on the shelf, it remains on the shelf. It is very obedient to you. But even though it is obedient, you are still not satisfied, because it does not have a free will; it is completely passive. God does not want the man He created to be like a book which can be shuffled around at will. Even though God wants man to be fully submissive to Him, He also gave man a free will. God’s intention is that man’s free will would choose to obey Him. This is a glory to God! In eternity future the free will of man will be joined to God’s eternal will. That will be the time for God’s eternal will to be fulfilled and for man’s free will to become harmonious with God’s eternal will. Every man has a free will. In eternity future man still has a free will, but it will stand on God’s side. He still has the ability to oppose God, but he will not oppose Him. Hallelujah! Even though man will have the freedom to oppose God, he will not oppose Him. He will do what God wants. This harmony of will is a glory to God!
In eternity future, although man’s will is free, it will be in conformity to God’s will, and there will be no will that is not subordinate to God’s authority. However, in time, God is limited by man. Man does not do what God wants, or man does only a little of what God wants. God may want something to be big, yet man may want it to be small. Or God may want something to be small, yet man may want it to be big. God has no freedom at all! God’s move is controlled by man in time. This speaking is in reference to the church. All of God’s moves are limited by the church in time because the church represents man in eternity future. The church is standing on the earth today for God’s will. If the church comes up to the standard of God’s will, He will not be limited. But if it does not come up to the standard of His will, God will be limited. God is doing what He wants to do through the church. Today the church is taking the position that man will take in eternity. Then, even though man’s will is free, it will stand completely on the side of God’s eternal will. The church is taking that position ahead of time. Just as God will express Himself in eternity through the New Jerusalem, the Lamb’s wife, He also is expressing Himself today through the Body of Christ. Although the church has a free will, it submits this will to God’s authority as if no other will existed. This allows God to do whatever He wants to do. When the church places its will under God’s will today, He will move in the same way that He will in eternity; He will move as if no other will were opposing Him. This is a glory to God!
Now we can see the church’s position before God. We cannot make the church so low by suggesting that it is merely a meeting. No, the church is a group of people who have been redeemed by the blood, who have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit, who have committed themselves to God’s hand, and who are willing to take God’s will, do His will, and stand for God on earth for the sake of maintaining His testimony.
We have to see that God works according to a law. Since there is free will on earth, God will not annul man by His own will. Brothers and sisters, do not think that this is a strange thing. This is a fact. God is in heaven. Yet all His works on earth can be accomplished only when there is a will on earth that agrees with and decides to do the works. He will not put aside man’s will on earth. He will not usurp man’s will on earth and act independently. Everything related to Him can be accomplished only when there is a will on earth that cooperates with Him. When the earth works, God works. When the earth decides, God acts. God must have man’s will in harmony with His will. This harmony in will is a great glory to God!
THREE GREAT PRINCIPLES
We have said that God has a will for everything. Yet God does not act independently; He will not do anything by Himself. Even though God has a will, He wants the free will on earth to echo His will before He does anything. If there is only a will in heaven, God will not move. The heavenly move is accomplished on earth only when the earth wants the same thing as heaven. Today this is called the ministry of the church. Brothers and sisters, the ministry of the church is not only the preaching of the gospel. This does not mean that we should not preach the gospel; it means that the ministry of the church is not merely the preaching of the gospel. The ministry of the church is to bring the will in heaven to earth. How does the church bring the will in heaven to earth? It is by prayer on earth. Prayer is not as small and insignificant as some may think. It is not something that is dispensable. Prayer is a work. Prayer is the church saying to God, “God, we want Your will.” Prayer is the church knowing God’s heart and opening its mouth to ask for what is in God’s heart. If the church does not do this, it does not have much use on earth.
Many prayers for spiritual edification, prayers for fellowship, and prayers for supplication cannot replace prayers which are in the nature of work or ministry. If all your prayers are prayers for spiritual edification, fellowship, and supplication, they are too small. A prayer which is in the nature of work or ministry is one in which you stand on God’s side, wanting what God wants. Brothers and sisters, if a prayer is uttered according to God’s will, it is the most powerful thing. For the church to pray means that it finds out God’s will and speaks out this will. Prayer is not just asking God for something. For the church to pray means that it stands on God’s side to declare that man wants what God wants. If the church declares this, the declaration will be effectual.
Now let us consider three great principles in ministerial prayer from Matthew 18:18-20.
Speaking Out God’s Will
In verse 18 the Lord says, “Whatever you bind on the earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on the earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” Who is the “you” here? It is the church because verse 17 mentions the church, and verse 18 is a continuation of verse 17. Whatever the church binds on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever the church looses on earth will be loosed in heaven. This is a very important principle: today God works through the church. God cannot do anything at will; He has to do everything through the church. Without going through the church, God cannot do anything. Brothers and sisters, this is a very sober principle. God cannot do anything by Himself today. There is a free will besides His will. If this will does not cooperate with Him, He cannot do anything. The amount of power that the church has expresses the amount of power that God has because His power is expressed through the church. God has placed Himself in the church. The height and extent that the church reaches is the height and extent that God’s power reaches. If the power of the church is small and restricted, God cannot express the height or extensiveness of His power. The water department’s reservoir may be great, but if you have only a small tap in your house, a great amount of water will not flow out. If you want more water in your house, you have to install a larger pipe. Today the capacity of the church determines the degree to which God’s power is expressed. This can be seen from God’s expression in Christ; the capacity of Christ is the degree of the manifestation of God. Today God is expressed in the church; the capacity of the church determines the degree of the expression of God and also the amount of knowledge one can have about God.
God wants to do many things on earth today. But He must have the church stand on His side before He can accomplish these things through the church. God cannot do what He wants to do by Himself; He has to do it with the cooperation of the church. The church is the means through which God expresses Himself. Let me repeat: the church is like a water tap. If the tap is small, the amount of water flowing through the tap will not be great, even if there is as much water as the Yangtze River. God truly wants to work in heaven, but He has to wait for the earth to move before He can work. There are many things that God wants to bind in heaven, and there are many things that God wants to loose in heaven. God wants to see many people, objects, and things contrary to Him bound, and He wants to see many spiritual, valuable, beneficial, and holy things that are of Him loosed. The question is whether or not there are men on earth to bind what God wants to bind and loose what God wants to loose. He wants the earth to control heaven. God wants the church to control heaven.
This by no means says that God is not omnipotent. God is indeed omnipotent, but He needs a channel on earth before He can manifest His omnipotence. We cannot increase God’s power, but we can hinder His power. Man cannot increase God’s power, but he can block His power. We cannot ask God to do what He does not want to do, but we can limit what He wants to do. We cannot ask God to do something that He is not willing to do, yet we can stop Him from doing something He wants to do. Brothers and sisters, have you seen this? There is a power in the church which puts God’s power under its control. It can allow God to do what He wants to do, and it can stop God from doing what He wants to do. Our eyes have to be opened to see the future. One day God will expand the church to become the New Jerusalem. God’s glory will be manifested from the church without any hindrance. Today He wants the church to first loose on earth before He looses in heaven. He wants the church to first bind on earth before He binds in heaven. Heaven will not take the initiative to work; it follows the earth’s work. God will not take the initiative to work; He follows the church’s work. Brothers and sisters, since this is the case, how great is the responsibility of the church!
We have seen that Matthew 18:15-17 speaks of a particular case and that the great principle is given in the following verses. When a brother sins against another, he may not confess his sins or mistakes. When the church reproves him, he still may not listen. If this happens, the church will consider him as the Gentile and the tax collector. The sinning brother may say, “Who are you? How can you make me as the Gentile and the tax collector? I will just stop coming to your meeting. If I cannot come to this place, there are many other places I can go to.” However, what does the Lord Jesus say after this? “Truly I say to you, Whatever you bind on the earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on the earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” Hence, if the church decides to consider a man a Gentile, God in heaven will consider him a Gentile also. If the church considers a man a tax collector, God in heaven will consider him a tax collector also. In other words, God will do in heaven what the church does on earth. If the church considers a brother a Gentile and a tax collector, God in heaven will consider the same brother a Gentile and a tax collector. Not only does this case follow the principle, a thousand other matters follow the same principle. This case is only an example. It shows us how much the church can do. Then it shows us the greatness of the principle.
The church is God’s chosen vessel. God has placed His will in this vessel so that it will declare God’s will on earth. When the earth wants something, heaven also wants it. When the church wants something, God also wants it. Hence, if God’s demand is rejected in the church, God will not be able to accomplish what He wants to accomplish in heaven.
Many brothers and sisters are bearing a burden day and night. They are bearing the burden because they have not prayed. Once the tap is turned on, water flows out. Once it is turned off, the water is blocked. Is the water pressure strong when water is released or when it is blocked? We all know that when water is released, the pressure decreases. When water is blocked, the pressure increases. When the church prays, it is like turning on the tap; the more the tap is turned, the less the pressure becomes. If the church does not pray, it is like a tap being turned off with pressure building up. When God wants to accomplish something, He puts a burden in a brother, sister, or the whole church. If the church prays and fulfills its duty, it will feel relieved. The more the church prays, the more relieved it will feel. As it prays once, twice, five times, ten times, or twenty times, it feels more and more relieved. If the church does not pray, it will feel stuffed and burdened. If the church continues to not pray, it will suffocate to death. Brothers and sisters, if you feel heavy and pressed within, you have not fulfilled your ministry before God; God’s pressure is upon you. Try to pray for half an hour or an hour; the pressure will be released, and you will feel relieved.
What then is the prayer ministry of the church? It is God telling the church what He wants to do and the church praying on earth what God wants to do. This prayer is not asking God to accomplish what we want Him to do, but asking God to accomplish what He Himself wants to do. Brothers and sisters, the church’s responsibility is to declare God’s will on earth. On earth the church declares for God, “This is what I want.” If the church fails in this matter, it will not be of much use in God’s hand. Even if everything else is good, it will not be of much use if it fails in this matter. The greatest use of the church lies in the fact that it stands for God’s will to be done on earth.
The Harmony in the Holy Spirit
We have seen that the church should bind what God wants to bind and loose what God wants to loose. How does the church bind and loose? The Lord tells us in verse 19, “Again, truly I say to you that if two of you are in harmony on earth concerning any matter, any matter that they ask will be done for them from My Father who is in the heavens” (alternate translation). Verse 18 concerns earth and heaven. Verse 19 also concerns earth and heaven. In verse 18, when the earth binds, heaven binds, and when the earth looses, heaven looses. Verse 19 says that whatever one asks on earth will be fulfilled by the Father in heaven. The emphasis of the Lord Jesus here is not on asking in harmony, but on being in harmony concerning any matter and then asking concerning such matters. According to the original language, “any matter” belongs to both “in harmony” and “that they ask.” The Lord’s intention is not to tell men to pray for a certain matter in harmony, but to be in harmony concerning any matter. If we are in harmony concerning any matter, then our Father in heaven will accomplish whatever we ask concerning a particular matter. This is the oneness of the Body, the oneness in the Holy Spirit.
A man would feel quite extraordinary if his flesh had not been dealt with because even heaven listens to him. If you are not in the oneness of the Holy Spirit and not praying in the harmony of the Holy Spirit, do you think heaven will listen to you? If you pray this way, heaven will not bind what you bind and loose what you loose. To have heaven loose and bind is not something you can do by yourself. To think that you can do this by yourself is very foolish. The Lord says, “If two of you are in harmony on earth concerning any matter, any matter that they ask will be done for them from My Father who is in the heavens.” This means that if two persons are in harmony concerning any matter, as harmonious as music, then whatever they ask will be done for them from the heavenly Father. This kind of prayer requires the constitution of the Holy Spirit in the praying ones. God has to take you to the point where you deny what you want and want only what God wants, and another brother has to be brought by God to the point where he denies what he wants and wants only what God wants. When both you and the brother are brought to this point and are as harmonious as music, whatever you ask will be done for you from the heavenly Father. Brothers and sisters, do not think that as long as you agree in your opinions that your prayers will be answered. Those who have the same opinions often have friction between them. A sameness in goal does not guarantee that there will be no friction. Perhaps two people are trying to preach the gospel. But while they are preaching, they argue about it. Perhaps two people are trying to help others, but while they are helping others, they have friction between themselves. Sameness in goal does not guarantee that there will be harmony. We have to realize that it is impossible to have harmony in the flesh. When our natural life is dealt with by the Lord, when one is living in the Holy Spirit and the other is also living in the Holy Spirit and both are living in Christ, there is harmony, the same views, and the prayer in one accord.
There are two aspects to this truth. On the one hand, there is the harmony concerning any matter. On the other hand, there is the prayer concerning any matter. God must bring us to this point. Christian harmony can be found only in the Body of Christ; it cannot be found anywhere else. Harmony is something found in the Body of Christ. Only in the Body of Christ is there no striving, and only in the Body of Christ is there harmony. When our natural life is dealt with by the Lord, and we are brought to the point where we truly know the Body of Christ, we will be in harmony. Then when we come together to pray, our prayer will be in harmony. When we stand on a harmonious ground, the things we do will be in harmony. When we are in harmony in the things we see, we can be the mouthpiece of God’s will. Brothers and sisters, when you are about to pray for certain things, and you hold a different view, you have to be careful; you may make mistakes. But if the whole church gathers together and is in harmony concerning a certain matter, that matter must be what heaven intends to accomplish. We have to trust the church.
We must remember that prayer is not the first thing. Prayer is something that comes after harmony. If the church is to have this kind of ministerial prayer on earth, every brother and sister must learn before the Lord to deny the fleshly life. Otherwise, nothing will avail. The Lord’s word is very significant. He does not say that the Father will answer if we pray in His name. Neither does He say that the Father will answer if He prays for us. He says, “If two of you are in harmony on earth concerning any matter, any matter that they ask will be done for them from My Father who is in the heavens.” If we are in harmony, the heavens will be open to us! If a brother offends another brother, and the church has not yet come in to deal with the offending brother, the offended brother should reprove him with one or two others. Before the church comes in to deal with the offending brother, two brothers should come. This does not mean that the two brothers see things differently from the church. It means that the two brothers have seen it first, and afterward the church sees the same thing. In other words, the two brothers are standing on the ground of the church. The Lord meant that for two of us to be on the earth is for the church to be on the earth. What the church sees is the same as what the two brothers see. This is the result of ministerial prayer. Before they have the same view, they must first be in harmony concerning any matter and must have prayed concerning a certain matter.
The prayer ministry of the church is a prayer on earth that results in a move in heaven. Brothers and sisters, we must remember that the prayer in Matthew 18 can never be covered by prayers that are in the nature of spiritual edification. It can never be covered by personal prayers. We often can ask God for what we lack, and God answers our prayer. There is a place for personal prayers. We often feel that God is near to us. Thank the Lord, He hears prayers that are for spiritual edification. We should not despise this kind of prayer. We admit that it is wrong for a brother or a sister not to receive an answer for his or her prayer, and it is wrong for us not to feel the presence of God. We should pay attention to personal prayers and prayers for our own spiritual edification. This is particularly true for young brothers and sisters. If they do not have these kinds of prayers, they cannot go on properly. However, we must also see that prayers are not just for individuals and for spiritual edification. Prayer is for ministry and work. This prayer is the ministry of the church on earth; it is the work of the church. It is the responsibility that the church bears before God. The prayer of the church is the outlet of heaven. The prayer of the church means that when God wants to do something, the church prays about that matter first so that it can be fulfilled and God’s goal can be accomplished.
The ministry of the church is the ministry of the Body of Christ, and the ministry of the Body of Christ is prayer. This prayer is not just for spiritual edification and personal needs but for “heaven.” This prayer, for example, tells others that a person has lost his fellowship with God, that he has not listened to the reproof of one brother or even two or three brothers, and that he does not take the judgment of the church. God has to consider him a Gentile and a tax collector. But He will not do this immediately; He has to wait for the church to do it first. God has to wait for the church to judge this brother as a Gentile and a tax collector in its prayer before He will do the same thing in heaven. If the church takes up this responsibility to pray, it will see that from that day forward his life and spiritual walk will dry up. From that day forward, he will appear to have no part in God. God wants to do this, but He has to wait for the church to pray. God has many things stacked up in heaven. He cannot accomplish any of them because there is no outlet for Him on earth. There are numerous things stacked up in heaven. Yet God cannot resolve them because the church has not exercised its free will to stand on God’s side and fulfill God’s goal. Brothers and sisters, you have to remember that the highest and greatest work of the church is to be the outlet of God’s will. The church becomes the outlet of God’s will through prayer. This prayer is not a fragmentary prayer but a prayer that is in the nature of a ministry, a prayer that is in the nature of a work. God gives man vision and opens man’s eyes to see His will. When this happens, man takes his place to pray.
The Lord also shows us in these verses that individual prayers do not work. There must be at least two persons. If you do not see this point, you will not understand why the Lord says what He says. All the prayers in the Gospel of John are individual prayers. When John 15:16 records, “Whatever you ask the Father in My name, He may give you,” the number of people is not a condition. But in Matthew 18 the number is a condition; there must be at least two persons. The Lord says, “If two of you are in harmony on earth.” There must be at least two because this is a question of fellowship. One person cannot accomplish this. One person cannot be God’s outlet; there must be two. The principle of two is the principle of the church, the principle of the Body of Christ. Although there are only two in this kind of prayer, the “harmony” is indispensable. The two must be in harmony, and they must stand on the ground of the Body. They must know the Body life. There is only one goal with them, which is to tell God, “We want Your will to be done, in heaven and on earth.” When the church prays in this position, whatever it asks will be done for it from the Father who is in the heavens.
Brothers and sisters, when we truly stand on the ground of the church and take up the responsibility of such a ministry of prayer before God, we will see God’s will carried out in the church where we are. Otherwise, everything will be in vain. There can be many prayers or few prayers, but the main thing is to have strong prayers. What God does today is measured by the amount of prayer that the church offers. God’s power cannot exceed the prayer of the church. The power of God today can at most be as great as the prayer of the church. This does not mean that God’s power is limited in heaven. In heaven, God’s power is unlimited. But on earth, God’s power is manifested to the degree that the church prays. The amount that the church prays will be the measure of the amount that God’s power is manifested. Consequently, the church has to learn to pray big prayers and make big requests. The prayer of the church is often very small; it prays only for ordinary problems. This is not enough. The church needs to have big prayers and make big requests. Since the church is coming to such a rich God, there must not be small prayers and small requests. Since the church is coming to such a rich God, there must be great things happening. If the capacity of the church before God is small, it will restrict the power of God from being manifested. We know that the question of the overcomers is not quite resolved, and Satan is not yet thrown into the abyss. God must gain a vessel for His testimony before He can accomplish what He has set out to accomplish. The church must have big prayers to manifest our God. This is the ministry of the church. Brothers and sisters, I do not know whether God can say to us that this church has a ministry of prayer when He passes by our prayer meeting. It is not a question of how often we pray. It is a question of the weight of our prayer. If we see the church’s responsibility of prayer, we will see that our prayers are not big enough; we are limiting God and frustrating His work. The church has forsaken its duty! What a sad situation this is!
The issue at stake is this: Can God gain a church that is faithful to its ministry? This depends on whether we are those destined to be disqualified, or whether we are the real vessels of God who will fulfill God’s goal. Brothers and sisters, we have to cry out loudly that God is watching to see whether the church is faithful to its ministry. The ministry of the church is prayer—not small prayers, but prayers that pioneer the way for God. God is accomplishing His work. But the church first prays and prepares the way before God finds the way. The church must have big prayers, serious prayers, and strong prayers. Prayer cannot be small before God. If prayers are centered around ourselves, our personal difficulties, and our small losses and gains, it will be difficult to open a way for God’s eternal will. Many things should drive us to dig deep. But above all, prayer should drive us to the utmost depth.
For two to be in harmony is not an empty word; it is not a slogan. If we do not know what the Body of Christ is and have not taken this ground, it will be useless even if two hundred people are praying together. If we know the Body of Christ and stand on the proper ground of this Body to deny the flesh, if we do not ask things for ourselves but ask for God’s will to be done on earth, we will see that our prayer is in harmony. When this happens, God in heaven will fulfill our prayer on earth.
Please note the precious word in verse 18, “whatever.” There is also a precious phrase in verse 19, “concerning any matter.” The Lord says, “Whatever you bind on the earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on the earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” This means that heaven binds as much as earth binds, and looses as much as earth looses. The capacity in heaven is controlled by the capacity on earth. We should not be afraid that the capacity on earth is too large, because the capacity in heaven is always larger. The capacity on earth can never match the capacity in heaven. Heaven always wants to bind more than the earth binds, and heaven always wants to loose more than the earth looses. The Lord says that whatever we bind on the earth shall have been bound in heaven and whatever we loose on the earth shall have been loosed in heaven. This kind of binding and loosing is not done by individuals; it is done when “two of you are in harmony on earth concerning any matter.” Any matter that they ask will be done for them from the Father who is in the heavens. Brothers and sisters, God’s power will be forever greater than our power. The water in the reservoir is forever greater than the water in our tap. The water in the well is forever greater than the water in our bucket. The power in heaven can never be measured by one’s view on earth.
Being Gathered Together
In verse 20 the Lord says, “For where there are two or three gathered into My name, there am I in their midst.” This is the third principle, the deepest principle. Verse 18 is a principle, verse 19 is another principle, and verse 20 is a third principle. The principle in verse 20 is broader than the principle in verse 19. Verse 19 says, “If two of you are in harmony on earth concerning any matter, any matter that they ask will be done for them from My Father who is in the heavens.” Why? “For where there are two or three gathered into My name, there am I in their midst.” Why is there such a great power on earth? Why is prayer in harmony so powerful? Why is prayer in harmony of two or three persons so powerful? It is powerful because whenever we are gathered together into the Lord’s name, the Lord is there! This is the reason for our harmony. Verse 18 describes the relationship between the earth and heaven. Verse 19 mentions the prayer in harmony on earth, and verse 20 tells us how we can have this harmony.
We are gathered together. We do not choose to meet together; we are gathered together. There is a difference between meeting together and being gathered together. Being gathered together is being gathered by the Lord. We do not come by ourselves; the Lord has gathered us. Many people come to the meeting for the sake of observing or spectating; this will surely not result in anything. But for others, the Lord is speaking within them, telling them that if they do not come that day, they will miss something. Those whom the Lord has gathered this way are gathered together into the Lord’s name; they come for the sake of the Lord’s name. Whenever these brothers and sisters come together, they can say, “I am here for the Lord’s name and for glorifying the Son. I am not here for myself.” When all the brothers and sisters are gathered together for the Lord’s name’s sake, there will be oneness and harmony. Thank the Lord. If you come to a meeting for your own sake, there will not be harmony. If you want something, not because you want it but because the Lord wants it, and if you reject something, not because you reject it, but because the Lord rejects it, there will be harmony. God’s children are gathered by the Lord into His name. The Lord says, “There am I in their midst.” The Lord is leading them in their midst. Since the Lord is leading and enlightening them, and since the Lord is speaking and giving revelation, whatever is bound on the earth is bound in heaven and whatever is loosed on the earth is loosed in heaven. This is because the Lord is doing the binding and the loosing together with the church.
Therefore, we have to learn to deny ourselves before the Lord. Every time He gathers us together in a meeting, we have to learn to seek His glory. Our hearts have to be turned toward His name and desire that His name be exalted above every name and that every idol be cast down. If we do this, He will lead us. Brothers and sisters, this is not a feeling. This is not a theory. This is a fact. If the church is normal, at the end of every meeting, the church will know whether the Lord has been in its midst. When the Lord is in the midst of the church, the church will be rich and strong. During these times, the church can bind and loose. If the Lord is not in its midst, nothing can be done. Only the church can be so strong; individuals can never do this.
May God grant us deeper understanding and deeper lessons in prayer. It is not enough to just have personal prayers and prayers for spiritual edification. There must be prayers that are for the ministry and the work. May the Lord sustain us with power so that every time we gather together we can work in our prayer and fulfill the ministry of the church with our prayer. In this way, the Lord can accomplish what He wants to accomplish.