July 18

“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”   —MATTHEW 16:19

Prayer is a mystery for many of us. We reason this way: if God knows everything, what is the point of telling Him anything? If God is sovereign, as He is, and has good plans, as He does, what is the point of making suggestions? His own plans cannot be improved upon, so why should we not simply pray, “Your will be done,” and leave the details to Him? To understand why conveying our thoughts to God is necessary, we need to go back to the Garden of Eden.

In the beginning, God gave man dominion over the earth and all life within it. His intention was that man would rule the earth, but in dependence on Him. Adam and Eve acted independently of God, and the consequence was that God withdrew His Spirit from humankind. A spiritual change took place in which we are separated from the life of God, and cease to possess the resources designed to enable us to function as God intended. However, the responsibility of dominion over the earth was not withdrawn, and that is why prayer is so essential. We may keep God out or we can bring Him in. God is not reluctant to give, and prayer is bringing God into the situation, not to get Him to serve us, but that His will may be done and His agenda fulfilled. 

The principle contained in the verse above is that all God’s plans from heaven implemented on earth are accomplished through His church. As the church binds and looses, heaven binds and looses. The Greek structure of this statement is presented in perfect future tense; that is literally whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will have been loosed in heaven; binding being negative aspects and loosening, the positive. The church does not dictate or create the agenda for heaven, but the will and intentions of heaven are fulfilled through the church. 

We cannot make God do what He does not wish to do, but we can prevent Him from doing what He would do by grieving the Holy Spirit. Scripture speaks of God’s people who ‘vexed or limited the Holy One of Israel’ (Psalm 78:41). It is the activity of the church that is the vehicle for the activity of heaven on earth, and we grieve the Holy Spirit by acting in independence of God. As Christians, we are the church, and therefore, the means by which God is brought in is through prayer, so that His purpose may be accomplished both in us and through us.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, thank You for the incredible privilege of talking directly with You. You know the desires of my heart, and I pray they will always be in line with your will.

TO REFLECT UPON: Is my praying in line with the will of God?