Kenneth Copeland - Prayer That Agrees With The Word
The prayer of agreement is the most versatile prayer. And the 18th chapter of the book of Matthew is, in my opinion, and the way it's ministered to me over the years, so complete. It is a complete teaching compound in that one chapter. And it covers so much ground. So let's turn there. And the prayer of agreement, you use the prayer of agreement in the petition. You use the prayer of agreement in the prayer of faith. The prayer of agreement can be and should be used particularly between a man and his wife, a wife and her husband. That'll stand together as one unit. Glory to God. Then if you have a family like we have. Oh my. And that'll show up here in the Classic Amplified.
So, Matthew chapter 18. Well, you have to back up to the 17th and the 26th verse. "Peter saith unto him of strangers, Jesus said to him, 'Then are the children free, notwithstanding lest we should offend them. Go back to the sea, cast a hook, take up the first fish that comes up. Take up the first fish that comes up. Take up the first fish that comes up. And when you have opened his mouth, you'll find a piece of money. That take and give them for you and me.'" That's a nice way to pay your taxes. Notice what he said? The first fish. Don't quit when you get the money. Keep fishing until they quit biting. You keep the money and you throw dinner back in the lake. The first fish. At the same time, the disciples unto Jesus say, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? Well, now he has... they have asked him a question. "Jesus called a little child unto him and set him in the midst of them". So it was a little boy. "And said, 'Verily I say unto you: Except you be converted and become his little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever'", here we're at whosoever's again. "'Whosoever therefore shall humble himself.'"
All right. Now we've stepped over into the prayer of agreement. It takes a humble spirit, humble as a little child, pliable in the hand of God that will totally, absolutely, irrevocably depend on God through any kind of an agreement that is of God according to his Word. Keep reading. "'Whosoever shall receive one such little child in my name receives me. Whoso shall offend one of these little ones, which believe in me, it would be better for him than a millstone were hanged about his neck and that he were drowned in the depths of the sea.'" Are we dealing with some strife issues here? "Woe unto the world because of offenses, for it must needs that offenses come, but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh. Wherefore, if your hand or foot offends you, cut it off. Cast it from you. It's better for you to enter into life, halt, or maim, rather than having two hands and two feet be cast into everlasting fire. If your eye offends you, pluck it out".
He's talking about the things of the flesh that are so, that seem so hard that it seems like it's been there a long time. It's some habit that is so important and so real, and it's probably something this little child doesn't know anything about. So we're getting into some... we're talking about humility, but we're getting into complications, problems, ideas, and problems that are as tough to deal with as almost like having, almost like cutting your hand off to get rid of a habit and thoughts that are so contrary to the things of God. Verse 10, "Take heed that you despise not one of these little ones, for I say unto you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven".
So we're talking about angelic beings that are here tonight. An entire troop of them are here. And your angel, yeah, your angel was assigned to you the moment that your spirit was released into this atmosphere. You had an angel with you right then. And that's the reason Jesus said, "Don't hinder these little ones". And you cause one of them not to believe, and that little boy and that little girl's angel has been violated without repentance. That person is in deep trouble and doesn't know it. But now we do.
See what an important chapter this is? You don't just start down here on this agreement prayer. All of this must be dealt with in our own consciences and in our own hearts. "For the Son of man has come to save that which was lost. How think ye if a man have a hundred sheep and one of them gone astray? Does he not leave the ninety and nine and go into the mountains and seek that which is lost and gone astray? If so be that he find it. Verily I say unto you, he rejoices more of that sheep than the ninety-nine which went astray". He's still talking about these children and he's still talking about humbling yourself like a little child and how God looks at things. So we should be looking at those things through His eyes. So now we continue then to read. Verse 13, or excuse me, 12. "How think ye? If a man have that hundred sheep" and so forth.
Now verse 14, "Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish. Moreover if your brother shall trespass against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. And if he hear you, you've gained your brother. If he will not hear you, then take two or three more that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. If he shall neglect to hear you, tell it to the church. If he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto you as a heathen and a republican". He didn't say he was one. He just said, get him out of your prayer circle. Just get him out of there. Get that strife spirit out of your prayer business. And sometimes it's not easy to tell where it's coming from. And most of the time, on the kind of agreement prayers that we deal with, most of the time that's not necessary. But there are times that it is. And he shall neglect to hear them and so forth. The heathen man and the republican. "Verily I say unto you, whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven".
Now see, most of the time we start right there. But you have to deal with all this other and settle whatever applies to your or my prayer situation. "Whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. Whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven". And again, this is not the first time he taught this to his disciples. Again, "I say unto you, 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". To carry out the agreement. Well, he's in our midst right now. How do we know? He always enters the praises of his people.
So he's here, a troop of angels are here to carry out agreement prayers. Because different ones are... you already have things on your heart and mind, a lot of you, that I need some agreement on this. I like what I heard Jesse say one time. Whatever it is you need, I'll be you too. I'll agree with you. Well, actually, it's the three, because Jesus is in the midst of it. Two or three. People have used that, well, there's more than I met and he's here. Well, yeah, but that's not the subject. This is the subject. Now, we get into what agreement means. "Truly, I tell you, whatever you forbid and declare to be improper and unlawful on earth must be what is already forbidden in heaven".
Now, there's a different, look at that. "And whatever you permit and declare proper and lawful on earth must be what is already permitted in heaven. Again, I tell you, if two of you on earth agree", harmonize together, make a symphony together about whatever, anything, and everything that they may ask, so both have to ask. One can't ask and the other agree. "It will come to pass and be done for them of my Father in heaven, for wherever two or three are gathered, drawn together as my followers into my name, there am I in the midst of them". Wait a minute. Peter came up to him and said, Lord, how many times have you sinned against me and I forgive and let go? As many as up to seven times. Jesus said, I tell you, up to seven times, 70 times. So what is the biggest problem here? Unforgiveness. When you stand praying forgive if you have ought against any.
How many have ever been to a symphony concert where you actually heard a symphony orchestra? You remember when they tuned up? It is absolute chaos. Wow, it is terrible. But, and suddenly it's quiet and harmony happens. If it's one of those big symphony orchestras, I'll tell you, your goose bumps will have goose bumps. But that off-key, tune-up thing never gets recorded. And once the wand is tapped on the desk, it's silent. And the string players are ready. The horn players are ready. And all at once, marvelous music comes out of that chaos. Agreement... chapter 19, "When Jesus finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went into the part of Judea that's beyond the Jordan". He got through and left town. Why? He expected every bit of that to be carried out. He'd finished it. He had said it before.
What was his major problem among his staff members? For three and a half years, strife. You remember Peter, James, and John, and Jesus up on the Mount of Transfiguration? And they came down and here was a man that had a demon-possessed son. And he walked over there to Jesus and he said, "I came down here, your staff and they couldn't cast him out". Well, yes, they could. They'd been given the power to do it. But he didn't correct them out there. He waited until they were in private. And he talked to them about their disagreement about who is the greatest. So strife was involved in that. And here is the answer to it. So you can see, it's all about the harmony. It's all about the heavenly grant. Thank You, Jesus.
"And Jesus replying said unto them, have faith in God constantly. Truly I tell you, whoever says to this mountain, be lifted up and thrown into the sea, and does not doubt at all in his heart, but believes that what he says will take place, it will be done for him. For this reason, I'm telling you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believing, trust, and be confident that is granted to you, you will get it. And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive and let it drop. Let it go in order that your heavenly Father may also forgive you your own failings and short comings and let them drop".
It will be granted you. Amen. And that happened to Gloria and me over $5,000 one time. We came home. My dad was, you know, he kept the mail and everything. His secretary was the secretary, and he just handed me a calculator thing that had a red 5,000. He didn't say anything. He just handed it to me. I said, "So we need this much money, huh"?
Personally, now the ministry has, of course, but personally, Gloria and I had never seen 5,000 at one time. I turned his chair around and got on my knees and put my Amplified up there, and I put the agreement scriptures up there. And I said, "Gloria, you agree with this"? She said, "I absolutely do". I said, "We're harmonizing in this, right"? She said, "Yes, amen". I said, "Okay, let's write us a heavenly grant". We did our best to put the wherefores and the wherehows and all that in there. I'm telling you, that $5,000 seemed like it just had wings. It just came flying in there. And we learned that heaven would grant us if having faith constantly and consistently and forgive and stay in agreement.