Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth AGREE about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in My name, there am I with them. (Matthew 18:19-20)
The word for agree has an interesting definition. It literally means to be in harmonious agreement. If you’ve ever listened to a piece of music, I’m sure you know the difference between melody and harmony. Melody is typically the notes you sing along to; harmony is made by the accompanying notes which fill in the musical number.
So Jesus doesn’t tell us to simply pray the same words as someone else, but to be in harmony with them… fill in their prayer with complimenting notes.
But the Greek word itself is very suggestive too. The Greek word translated agree is symphōneō, from which we get our word for symphony.
Again, you probably know that one person is not a symphony, but a solo artist. But when other instruments are added, the music swells and builds and becomes a masterful piece of art!
So too with our prayers. How beautiful it is when we pray together. It is literally a symphony in God’s ears! And not only that, but He says “There I am with them.” God Himself stops to hear this beautiful sound.
I hope you have a prayer partner with whom you can harmonize and make beautiful music together.
What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer. (Joseph M. Scriven, 1855)
He’s the Friend that sticks closer than a brother.
He’s the Friend that’s always there.
He’s the Friend who knows what you need.
He’s the Friend who can provide what you need.
What a Friend!
How much we miss out when we don’t talk to our Best Friend!
I love music. Good music, that is. Music that is both pleasing to the ear, challenging to the mind, and encouraging to the heart. It is rare to find musical artists that compose in all of these categories, but Dilip definitely does.
His debut CD is being released today. I encourage you to buy it on iTunes. You will not be disappointed with the quality of his work, nor the content of his message.
The songs on The Great Reversal point to the transforming power of God’s grace. Dilip sings of the beauty of a Savior, the lavish love of a Heavenly Father, and the power of a Church changed by God’s grace.
His music is anointed!
If I didn’t say it clearly enough already: Buy This CD!
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
Just a couple of hours before He would be arrested and so cruelly mistreated, Jesus had one last meal with His disciples. The meal began after Jesus had assumed the lowest of all positions, and washed all of His disciples’ feet.
Then He took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you.” (Matthew 26:27)
Do you realize that this “all of you” included Judas the traitor?
Judas, the betrayer of Jesus, was there. He ate the bread and drank the wine of the first Communion. Jesus washed Judas’ feet. The traitor was right there when Jesus said, “This is My Body broken for you. This is My blood spilled for you.”
But it’s even heavier to think that He also said to me, “Drink of this cup, Craig.”
For Jesus surely saw my sin and my betrayal before He went to the Cross. I was the traitor, and He washed my feet. I betrayed Him by my sin, and He told me to eat and drink the reminders of His suffering for me.
How can I ignore such wondrous love?
How could I ever treat lightly such a sacrifice?
How could I ever hang on to my betraying sins in light of the forgiveness He purchased for me?
Jesus loved me—the traitor, the betrayer—and died for me. What a beautiful Savior!
My friend Dilip has released his debut album The Great Reversal (I hope you will buy this amazing CD), but I love the words of his song Beautiful Jesus:
All my words cannot describe just how beautiful You areEarthly love cannot compare to the Perfect Love that bled and diedBeautiful Jesus, I stand in awe of YouBeautiful Jesus, I’m captivated by Your wondrous loveSo I bow my knee, humbled by this mysteryHow can it be? King of Majesty, You rescued meYou gave it all for meMore than I could ask forAll I ever need is You, Jesus, Lover of my soul
►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? ◀︎◀︎
Have I mentioned lately that I ♥ Cedar Springs? I do love my city! So I’m thrilled whenever I can be involved in things happening around our town. I hope you can join me in some of these great events.
Night Of Worship / CD Release Party—I’m so happy to introduce Dilip to our community! This anointed musician is truly gifted. We get to share his amazing music with our community on Friday, October 28, in a FREE concert at Calvary Assembly of God.
Light The Night / Spooktacular—This is the fifth year that the businesses on Main Street have provided a great night for families on Halloween. This will be the second year that Calvary has joined in to help light the night. If you would like to help us be salt and light on October 31, we are still in need of smiling volunteers in our carnival, those who will cover us in prayer, and those who can donate some candy for us to pass out to the kids.
Courageous—I am so thankful to Dan at the Kent Theatre who is going to hold Courageous over for an extra day! On Monday, November 7, there will be a special showing of the amazing movie Courageous for our area churches. And tickets are only $3 each!
Veteran’s Day Ceremony—Thanks to the tireless efforts of my neighbor Jack Price, we have a huge twin-rotor Chinook helicopter flying into town at 11am on November 11. Then we will have a Veteran’s Day memorial in our memorial park at 1pm. I am honored to have been asked to close this ceremony in prayer.
I am so excited to invite you to a special night of worship. Dilip is a great friend of mine, and an incredibly gifted musician and song writer. His debut CD The Great Reversal will be released soon, and you are going to have a chance to hear these songs live!
Dilip will be presenting music from his album, and other worship songs, as we join together for a night of worship.
Friday, October 28 at 7pm
You will love his music, but you will especially appreciate his heart for worship. This is going to be an incredible night! Friday, October 28, at 7pm at Calvary Assembly of God.
On Sunday I was answering questions that our congregation submitted, but we ran out of time. So I’m attempting to answer all of the questions. I thought this one might be worthy of some further conversation.
Another question that we didn’t get to in Sunday’s Q Series: Does it matter the genre of Christian music to be considered glorifying God?
I think music has been one of the most dividing factors in our churches. I think this is so because satan knows the power of music. (I believe that lucifer may have been the “worship leader” in Heaven before he rebelled and was cast out, but that’s a topic to cover another time.)
We don’t really know what the music in the Bible sounded like. We don’t have any of David’s musical scores, but we do have his lyrics preserved for us in the Psalms. And what heart-moving, God-focusing lyrics they are!
The bottom line is that musical notes or musical instruments are not “Christian” or “non-Christian.” They are tools. And those tools can be used to either glorify God or detract from God. The lyrics, on the other hand, are easy to hold up to a biblical standard. So although a style/genre of music may not be my favorite, I need to look through that to two things: (1) the lyrics—do they glorify God? and (2) the attitude of the singers/musicians—are they merely performing or are they exalting God?
I can speak personally for the worship team at Calvary Assembly of God. These talented musicians and singers truly have a heart for God. They only want Jesus to be seen every single time they are on the platform. So we carefully pick our music with the goal of only exalting our King. Sometimes they are modern choruses, sometimes they are traditional hymns, sometimes they are hymns slightly rearranged with a more modern feel. Whatever the genre, we only want God to be seen and heard and exalted in our musical selections.
If you are familiar with the popular musician/songwriter TobyMac, you may recognize the title of this book from the song with the same name: City On Our Knees. And if you like the message of the song, you will find the book an excellent way to see the message in action.
The overriding message in the song is one of choice:
If you gotta start somewhere why not here If you gotta start sometime why not now If we gotta start somewhere I say here If we gotta start sometime I say now
You and I can choose to start something that will make a difference. This book is a collection of short stories that show people who did just that: they made a choice that made a difference.
They are stories set in the present, and stores from a couple of hundred years ago; they are stories of the educated and the illiterate; the young and the old; the trained and the untrained; men and women. Everyone can find a story that will energize them and help them to choose to act… to choose to make a positive difference.
I can imagine these short stories being especially impactful around a family dinner table, in a Sunday School class, or maybe in a youth group. Wherever you read these stories, let them be the catalyst to help you start now!
Craig T. Owens 