"Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them" (Matthew 18:18-20).
Question:
I am interested in the power of prayer and the metaphysical interpretation of this quote as a Unity prayer chaplain. I know that the Christ presence is always within me and within anyone that I pray with. Does this Bible quote mean that or because Jesus says "gathering in my name," it means that prayer is intensified by invoking Jesus’ name in the prayer-shared experience? Thank you.
Comment:
In the 18th Chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus is instructing his disciples on how they are to carry his message forward. He is speaking not simply as Jesus of Nazareth, but as Jesus Christ—the full embodiment of the Christ, the Presence of God that he is realizing and expressing through his mortal limitations, and that he calls us to realize and express from within ourselves, by following his example and allowing his example to teach and empower us all.What’s interesting about this passage, I think, is the practical, three-stage instruction on how to express our innate Christ energy, which is the creative Power of God. When we are expressing from our own Christ awareness, our choices will have full creative power. "Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." By "earth" Jesus is describing this mortal experience, and by "heaven" he is naming the innate spiritual Power that is our true identity. When we are centered in Christ awareness, our choices have the creative Power of God.That Power is absolute and infinite; it can’t be said to get stronger, because it is already an expression of the absolute strength of the divine. But it can be easier for us to express that infinite Power if—stage two—we join our own energy with that of someone else. It is easier for each of us to recognize the Christ Energy in another than it is to see it in ourselves. Together we can support each other through the process of bringing the Christ into expression. And if we take it to the next stage—"where two or three are gathered" (or "two or more" in the KJV translation)—we are clearly and firmly linked to our shared creative power. "I AM" is the name of God given to Moses through the burning bush in Exodus 3. "I AM" is the statement with which we claim and express our own Christ Power. When we gather for that purpose, and when we commit our shared Christ energy toward a creative intention, then the infinite energy and love of Jesus Christ is present to augment our own intentions.Yes, this is the very essence of prayer, I think. There is infinite Power even in our most personal, intimate prayer intentions. But that Power increases exponentially when we come together—not to beseech a distant God, but to share a creative intention—to combine our personal I AM intentions to bring a healing, empowering expression of divine love into expression in this life experience.Blessings!
Rev. Ed
