Devo: Matthew 18:15-20

15 “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother.

16 But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.‘

17 And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.

18 “Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.“

19 “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.

20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.“

Yes, these verses are about dealing with a sinning brother (or sister), but what stood out to me are verses 19 and 20. I’ve read it many times before and know this by heart but it spoke to me anew this morning.

Maybe because my husband and I pray together every day for us and for the people around us. It’s always a pleasant surprise to hear some of our prayers answered. This morning, however, made me realize that it’s because we both agree on the things we ask God for.

It is true that God is in the midst of people praying together in His name. God honors our individual prayers but when two or more pray together for the same thing, it shows how much we desire for it to happen.

That’s why we ask our church community to pray with and for us for things that are important to us. There is power in fellowship. Even if there are only two people praying together, God is in their midst. God is not looking at the number of people gathering together.

When I was still single, my friend, Anna, and I would pray and fast once a week for different things/people. We would exchange our prayer requests and pray for each others’ list. We were so happy every time we received the answer to our prayers. We both got different things going on in our lives so we aren’t able to continue praying and fasting together but it’s something that I practice to this day.

Even when we don’t exchange our prayer requests anymore, I keep her in my prayers. She does the same thing for me. Last night, we were texting and she said that she always prays for me. It’s a blessing to have people pray for you.

The people who really care about you pray for blessings over your life. They know that best person who can help us is not them but our God in heaven. I’m happy to have prayer partners.