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.
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