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Power of United Prayer

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Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D.C. · Jan 8, 1914

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 91, No. 2.

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Power of United Prayer

By J. Frank Tolson

J. FRANK TOLSON
“I SAY unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Matt. 18: 19, 20. A careful study of this scripture will reveal wonderful possibilities for the children of God in united prayer. In fact, the possibilities are simply unlimited. “If two of you.” Two is the human unit, as three is the divine unit. The man is not complete without the woman, nor the woman without the man. The two together make the human unit, as the three persons of the Godhead form the divine unit. But the prayer unit is not limited to two. The number is unlimited above two, but it takes at least two to form the unit.
“If two [or more] . . . shall agree.” Agree is a music word. If there is perfect symphony in their hearts, if two or more shall make music in their hearts as touching anything, it touches a responsive chord in the Lord’s heart. Is there any limit to that word anything? Have we any right to say it does not include this, or that, or the other thing? The only limit to the “anything” is the “I”—“where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Is anything impossible with Christ? Listen! “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away.” He who has all power in heaven and earth is behind that promise.
Do we realize what that promise vouchsafes to us? Do we not realize that Omnipotence is behind that word? “There am I in the midst of them.” If we shall “agree,” if our hearts beat in unison with one another and with his great heart of love, it will make sweet music in his ears, and “it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.” What possibilities! What power is here vouchsafed to parents seeking the salvation of a wayward son or daughter! Infinite power is at their disposal; all heaven will vibrate in harmony with the music that is in their hearts, and mighty agencies will be set to work to reclaim the lost one.
But is there anything we can desire more than the triumph of the everlasting gospel, the finishing of God’s work on earth, and the ushering in of the glorious kingdom where there will be no more sin, suffering, or sorrow? And do we not yearn for that fullness of the Spirit and power that will enable us to finish the work quickly and thus bring in the glorious day? And shall we not, with hearts beating in perfect unison, get together and claim, yes, and obtain, the fulfillment to the utmost of that glorious promise? Shall we not lay hold on the arm of Omnipotence, and thus be enabled to accomplish a mighty work in the earth? There is wonderful power in individual prayer. “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much;” but there is simply unlimited power in corporate prayer: “If two [or more] of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For . . . there am I in the midst of them.”
Salem, Oregon.