For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them (Matthew 18:20)

This is a powerful assurance from Jesus to those who come together in prayer.  Jesus is truth, He does not lie. So we can’t doubt his word. When he says he is present, He is truly there. Let us reflect more on this powerful verse. 

First, all types of prayer are good. We need both prayer alone with the Lord and prayer with a group, with family, with the church community. The first actually prepares us for second. The first enriches the second. We need to have a healthy personal prayer with the Lord to participate effectively in any group prayer. Without personal prayer, our group prayer could be dry and empty. But when people unite their collective prayer can be very powerful. There is power in group prayer.

Second, this verse also mentions two or three people who are gathered together. Now, two or three is a small group and is best represented by a small family, where there is the father, the mother and a child. So we can say that this is message for the family to gather together to pray. It can also be a message for CFC household, where we have small group of couples gathering together. Furthermore, it can also be a message for the entire CFC community, the entire Christmas community in the world, to unite in prayer. Again, there is power in group prayer.

​Third, it emphasizes that gathering together should be made in Jesus' name or in God's name. What is the meaning of this? His name means love. God is love. We need to gather out of our love for God, not out of duty or obligation to do this prayer everyday, then get it over with.  We also need to gather out of love with one another because how can we truly pray to God if we hate the one we pray together with. So true family prayer or group prayer is an expression of love with God and with one another. It reflects the unifying effects of love. 

And finally, Jesus promised that he will be in the midst of us when we gather our family to pray. When God is in the midst, it means he is the centre of our prayers. All our energy, all our cries, all our praises, all our intentions are directly to him who promises us to be present in our midst.  

When Jesus is in the centre of our prayer, he is waiting to hear everything we say and even not say. He is eager to receive our songs of praise, comfort us with his promises of help and bless us with His Spirit. Let us praise God who invites us to gather together in his name and who promises his presence in our midst. Amen.