Day Twenty-Five
AGREEMENT
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! …For there the Lord commanded the blessing—life forevermore.
—PSALM 133:1,3
There is multiplied power and effectiveness when we come together in the place of agreement. Psalm 133 reminds us that there is actually a blessing commanded upon unity. This is the expression of relational prosperity—a people who gather around their agreements, place their disagreements to the side, and move forward to produce change in the world. Jesus recognized the power of agreement, as He stated: “I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them” (Matt. 18:19-20). Agreement seems to be the starting place for the impossible to come to pass in our lives. Jesus did not add qualifiers. He said that His Father will move on behalf of those who stand in agreement concerning anything.
Even those who were trying to build the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11 exhibited a measure of agreement that caught God’s attention. Though their desire was wrong—believing that a structure formed by human hands could reach God—their agreement was still powerful. In fact, God responded to their efforts by observing, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them” (Gen. 11:6). The key phrase being, the people are one. This encapsulates the essence of agreement.
Agreement is not casual or flippant. For a people to come together with the vision of building a tower into the heavens, there needed to be a strong bond of agreement gluing their efforts together. Undoubtedly, there were days when they questioned their decision. At other times, hands would get weak and legs would grow tired. There had to be the constant temptation to give up and go home on this massive building project. But not so. Though the act was frowned upon by God, the example of unity has much to teach us.
Heaven responds to our agreement on earth. As I described in the book, this demonstration of agreement is the bonding together of two hearts for or against something, issuing a “yes” or “no” on the earth that will resound in the halls of Heaven. It demands tenacity. It requires a relentless spirit. Hard times do not provoke those in agreement to give up; rather, difficulty fuels their resolve to keep pressing on in spite of opposition. The ties that bind in agreement are strong. Intimacy. Genuine concern. Love. Oneness of vision.
Just take the example of Babel and apply it to the Church. Just imagine if the Church of Jesus Christ gathered together, functioning in that dimension of unity. We would be a force on the earth that would be demolishing darkness left and right. Our “yes” and our “no” would literally shift things in the earth realm because we all stood as one in the spirit. The result of this unity is nothing short of transformational.
Relationships bound together by agreement produce change in the earth. Starting from our average, everyday decisions to influencing laws and governmental policy at a national level, agreement is a powerful force fueled by relationship. The stronger our relationships with each other, the more powerful our agreement. The more powerful our agreement, the more impossibilities will turn around and Heaven’s agenda will advance in our midst.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
Why do you think healthy relationships are important to maintaining agreement?
How can our agreement survive, even in the midst of opposition and difficulty, when our relationships are prosperous?
In what ways do you need a greater level of agreement in your current associations?
ACTION STEPS
Can two walk together, except they be agreed?
—AMOS 3:3 KJV
Consider relationships where increased unity and agreement would produce greater transformation. (In your place of work, church, volunteer work, family, etc.) Write down the top three and be intentional about cultivating unity in these contexts.