Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.  Matthew 18:19, NKJV

"Just a couple more minutes with the iPad," I signaled to our youngest who was enjoying a digital coloring activity while home sick from school.  Without looking up, she nodded in agreement...or so I thought.  When screen time was done, my little one was not.  I thought we were on the same page about wrapping up, but apparently she didn't hear me with all the congestion stopping up her ears.  It's hard to agree with someone when you're not really able to hear them.  Agreement, being on the same page, aligning our values with another's -- all of this requires that we're actually listening to the other.  In Matthew 18, Jesus opens up a dimension about prayer that we often overlook.  Our thoughts about prayer often revolve around whether or not we feel like GOD hears us.  But by inserting the concept of agreeing with others in prayer, Jesus is inviting us to a prayer experience that requires us to hear each other.  No matter what your comfort level may be about praying in groups or praying out loud for others to hear, I believe there are two powerful assurances -- beyond the promise of answered prayer -- that God wants us to receive by uniting with others in prayer.

CAN YOU HEAR ME?

One of my earliest experiences of praying in a group was at a prayer conference I attended as a freshman in high school.  It was a "popcorn" style of prayer -- no particular order to who prayed when, and each person was encouraged to use short phrases or a single word to summarize the sentiment of what they wanted to say to God.  It was a way for self-conscious teenagers to express private things without requiring too much vulnerability.  At first, it felt random and disjointed.  Without context, the one-word prayers had little meaning to anyone except God.  But eventually, things shifted.  Instead of just focusing on what I personally wanted to say next, I started to listen to what others were praying, imagining what that word or phrase might mean to them, and adding my own expression of resonance.  Others did the same, and by the end of that season of prayer, we felt like we were truly praying with and for each other, not just next to each other.  

I wouldn't be surprised if my written description falls short of what that group experience was really like, but what's really of note is that it moved me toward a different kind of focus when approaching group prayer.  Praying with others can be anxiety-producing when we're self-focused and constantly asking ourselves, "What am I going to say when it's my turn?"  Instead, praying with others can be outward-focused, acknowledging the needs of others and joining them in bringing those requests to God's throne.  

When Jesus talks about agreeing with others on earth about things we ask (Mt. 18:19), He's inviting us to experience what it's like to hear each other's hearts.

He wants us to enjoy community with others that is marked with love through listening.  When we agree with each other in prayer, we're communicating a simple, but significant message to our group:  I hear you.  And what's important to you is important to me.  That message may not be right on the surface of Matthew 18:19, but I would submit that's the first assurance Jesus wants us to receive in uniting with others in prayer.  He wants us to experience the assurance of being heard, understood, and supported by the one, two, or more we're praying with.  

CAN GOD HEAR ME?

The second assurance in Matthew 18:19 is a little more overt, and it's just as impactful.  When we experience that kind of agreement, the kind of unity that happens when our brothers and sisters in Christ pray in harmony with our own, we can be certain that our prayers are not only heard by our friends here on earth but also by our Father in heaven!   The empathy we experience on a human level when others agree with us in prayer is supposed to be a reflection of the empathy we can count on from God Himself.  When we agree with each other in prayer, God's Spirit wants to communicate a simple, but significant message to our hearts:  I hear you.  And what's important to you is important to Me.  How incredible is it that our voices are heard in heaven!  When we pray, and especially when we pray in agreement with others, we can be full of faith and free of fear like the psalmist because we know the Lord hears us:

I sought the LORD, and He heard me,

And delivered me from all my fears.  Psalm 34:4, NKJV

Friends, we can be certain that God gets us (Ps. 139:2), sympathizes with us (Heb. 4:15), experiences our pain and affliction right along with us (Isa. 63:9), especially so when we agree with others in prayer.  

So who will you unite with in prayer?  Is there someone in your home, your office, your classroom, your church pew that you can assure that they're heard -- both by you and by God?  Let's cultivate a steadfast devotion to praying WITH one another in addition to praying FOR one another.  Like the early church who persisted "with one accord in prayer" (Acts 1:14) and continued steadfastly "in prayers" (Acts 2:42), let's prioritize and avail ourselves of opportunities to press together in prayer as much as we're able, not just because our agreement may leverage results but because our agreement strengthens our connection with God and others.