The Prayer of Agreement has been a stalwart of the Christian faith. The power of two people agreeing together to petition God for the desires of their hearts has always offered a satisfaction to the questing Saints. (Matt. 18:19) To rest in the assurance that God is influenced by the kindred spirits of His people has brought both spiritual and mental contentment to the body of Christ. These horizontal agreements have rendered countless answers to prayer. But what about the prayer of agreement between man and God? It is in this area that Christians have failed to see the endless possibilities of the fulfillment of “…thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.” (Luke 11:2) Many Christians fail to realize there are vertical prayers of agreement. They begin with God initiating His desire and then man praying it into fulfillment. It is basically praying His Word.
Elijah exemplified the vertical prayer of agreement in his dealing with King Ahab. Ahab did more to anger God then all the Kings before him. (I Kings 16:33) God sent Elijah to Ahab telling him that it would not rain until He said so. Some people mistakenly believe that Elijah took the initiative of declaring the drought and that God agreed to his petition. A prophet was one that stood before God (I Kings 18:1) to receive his orders and then to deliver them in God’s timing. James 5: 17 states that Elijah “prayed earnestly that it might not rain…” He was implementing the Prayer of Agreement with God. God revealed there would be no rain and Elijah brought it into existence by the offering of his prayer. Prayer is laying the tracks on which God’s power moves. Prayer releases God’s power. Prayer ushers in God’s will.
After three and a half years, God once again revealed His will to Elijah by telling him to go to Ahab and announce that God would send rain upon the earth. (I Kings 18: 1) Elijah announced to the King that rain was on the way. He then went to the top of Mt. Carmel and prayed. As Elijah offered his prayer, a cloud began to form as a man’s hand and quickly grew into a “great rain.” (I Kings 18:41, 42) Here again is the Vertical Prayer of Agreement. God spoke it and Elijah prayed it into fulfillment. James 5:17 and 18 emphasize Elijah’s part of the agreement. God wants to do so much in this world, yet we do not “earnestly” pray so as to release His power. God wants to send His Word, knowing that it will accomplish what He wants it to do. (Isaiah 55:11) The problem is the Believer doesn’t understand his responsibility to pray it into existence.
God reveals His will mostly through the preaching and teaching of His Word. The problem with this methodology is the recipients must “hear” the Word and “act” on it. If Christians are more spectator then participant, the Word will progress at a snail’s pace. To understand the Vertical Prayer of Agreement one must first take the following steps pertaining to God’s Word: 1. God’s Word must be accepted - God said it, I believe it, and that settles it; 2. God’s Word must be experienced - faith and works join together to achieve fulfillment; 3. God’s Word must be released - exhibiting the Word to our surroundings. When we take these steps, we will learn the dynamics of praying God’s Word into fulfillment. Agreeing with God releases His power. The next time your knee hits the ground, discover His immediate will and pray the Vertical Prayer of Agreement.
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