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.
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