What does 2o3 mean?
2o3 stands for two or three people and refers to the words of Jesus in Matt 18:19, 20 “Truly I tell you, if two of you on earth agree about any matter that you pray for, it will be done for you by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there among them.”
There are a few interesting principles that we learn from these verses.
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1 There is great power when 2 people agree in unity about a matter. This means that it is important that it is more than ONE, for the Lord is looking for unity. Do not be the sole prayer warrior on a matter, ask another in your group to join you.
For many years, I considered that if 2 is a powerful number in prayer, then 200 or 2,000 is better. But God does not ask for more…He asks for UNITY and that is unlikely to happen in a large group. So we must understand in God’s economy that small is Big.
Consider the impact of only 12 disciples who took Christianity to the known world. Or remember the story of Gideon’s army in Judges 6-8 that was shrunk from 32,000 to 300 so the battle could be won against a huge enemy force.
- 2 The importance is agreeing together, so we recommend that you first discuss matters and unite so that your prayer is powerful. This may not mean that you agree on the details of every matter, such as who should be elected in a political race. But it does mean that you all desire for God’s purposes to be fulfilled in the election. You may want to share how you can agree and then declare and pray.
- 3 God is doing the work. It is important for us to know that the answers come from the Lord. We cannot only hope but believe that He hears us and will answer. Note that there is no other God who turns His ear towards His children. We do not need to beg but merely ask as a son or daughter who asks something of an earthly father who loves and desires to respond to this children. As we ask according to His will He will do it!
- 4 When two or three gather together, God promises to be in the midst of them. His presence will be in that meeting. WOW! His glory, His love, His mercy, His wisdom, His abundant life will be with us in those small gatherings. We can expect Him to join us because He said He would.
- 5 Of course, most people consider these verses for prayer. But actually they refer to asking and agreeing. So if your group is not experienced in prayer, start with what you can agree on and move forward to more prayer in asking and seeking the Lord. See the notes on Prayer.