Prayer Contracts

“Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven.”

Matthew 18:18

More than a decade ago, I walked by a crack house on Capitol Hill, and God gave me a vision for a coffeehouse. It was a ridiculous prayer at that point because we had hardly any money and hardly any people. So we just kept walking around it the way the Israelites circled Jericho. Over the course of five years, we must have laid hands on it, stood on it, and circled it ten thousand times!

The owner’s original asking price was $1 million, but the more we prayed, the more the price dropped. By the time we purchased it, we got it for $325,000. The amazing thing, however, is that four different parties offered more money for it than we did, including two real estate developers.

So how did we get it? My only explanation is Matthew 18:18: “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven.” Our prayers were hyperlinked to that promise. We genuinely believed that our vision was given by God. Just as Jesus hung out at wells — a natural gathering place in the ancient world — we wanted to create a postmodern well where the church and community could cross paths. And this piece of property — one block from Union Station, kitty-corner to the Securities and Exchange Commission, and right in the heart of historic Capitol Hill — was our Promised Land.

The word bind has a legal connotation. It means “to place a contract on something.” This is precisely what happens when we pray in the will of God. Our prayers place a contract in the spiritual realm. So while February 7, 2002, is the date we put signatures on a piece of paper and took ownership of the property in the eyes of the government, the spiritual contract predates it by several years. The deal dates back to the first prayer circle we drew around the property.

Full Authority

I’ve emphasized a simple truth throughout this book, and I’d like to say it one more time for good measure: the purpose of prayer is not to get what you want; the goal of prayer is to discern what God wants, what God wills. But if your prayer is in the will of God, then it is backed by the full authority of the King and His kingdom.

A. W. Tozer wrote, “What comes into our minds^a when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” So let me ask the question: When you think about God, what images come into your mind? The image that comes into my mind is a picture of Jesus with a lamb draped around his shoulders, because that is the painting that hung in my grandparents’ house. For most people, I suspect the dominant image is Jesus hanging on a cross. That gruesome cross is the most beautiful picture of what true love looks like. But let me make an observation that may sound a bit sacrilegious. You aren’t praying to a God who is hanging on a cross; Jesus is seated on the throne, and the earth is His footstool. All authority is His. And if you are His, then His authority is yours.

We grossly underestimate the authority that is ours because we are children of God. And we desperately need a vision like the one Isaiah had,^b who saw the Lord high and lifted up.

I think Tozer was right when he stated that a low view of God^c is the cause of a hundred lesser evils and a high view of God is the solution to ten thousand problems. Our biggest problem is our small view of God. God is so much bigger than our biggest problems. God is so much better than our best thoughts. He is infinitely wiser and more gracious and powerful than anything we can imagine.

Negotiate

In retrospect, I’m glad it took as long as it did to purchase our piece of our Promised Land. And I’m glad it was as hard as it was. Why? Because we learned to dream big, pray hard, and think long. It may sound redundant, but if it hadn’t taken a miracle, it wouldn’t be a miracle.

That experience didn’t just teach us how to negotiate on a human plane; it taught us how to negotiate with God through intercession. It pushed our limits and stretched our faith. And now we’re stewarding the miracle by believing God for even bigger and better miracles.

We tend to view the goal as the goal, but in God’s economy, the process is the goal. It’s not about what we’re doing at all; it’s about who we’re becoming in the process.

It’s not about doing great things for God; it’s about God doing great things in us.

After explaining the binding nature of our prayers, Jesus explains the power of prayer circles.

The concept of prayer circles is a double entendre. It refers to specific things we are circling in prayer, like the crack house that we turned into our coffeehouse. But when two or three agree in prayer, they are forming a prayer circle around the prayer circle. It’s like double or triple circling!

The word bind means “to tie together.” It’s the same word used to describe marriage vows. Just as the two become one flesh, when we agree in prayer, the two become one spirit.

Something powerful happens when we agree in prayer. Our faith isn’t just added together; it’s multiplied. It doesn’t mean we can walk down to our local car dealership and circle our favorite model with some friends. But if we are praying in the will of God and for the glory of God, then agreeing with someone in prayer is like getting our prayer contract notarized.

Finally, the word bind means “to chain.” There are more than three thousand promises in Scripture, and according to the apostle Paul, all of them “are ‘Yes’ in Christ.”^e Our most powerful prayers are chained to the promises of God. Don’t just pray your words all the time; pray the Word of God because His word does not return to Him empty.^f

In the Old Testament, the idea of binding yourself to the Word of God was taken literally. The Word of God was kept in visible places and attached to body parts as a constant reminder. The Lord commanded the Israelites, “Thou shalt bind them^g for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.”

Chain it to your mind through memorization. Chain it to your heart through meditation. Chain it to your past, present, and future through prayer.

Agreeing with someone in prayer is like getting your prayer notarized.