"Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven" (Matt. 18:19).
Surely this precious promise contains a gracious invitation to a minister, to bring his wife with him when he comes to the altar to offer his sacrifice of intercession for his people!
"If two of you. . . ." The promise provides for any two. They can be brethren in service. They can be friends. They can be fellow church members. They can be husband and wife. Indeed, what better prayer partnership could possibly exist than that of partners in marriage? . . . shall agree." What stronger tie of agreement exists on earth than the bond of agreement between husband and wife? They share mutually the burdens of home responsibility, of child training, of making "ends meet," and of life together in general. What person, whether he be bosom pal or lifelong ministerial colleague, could enter as fully into the stresses and strains of a minister's experience as does his wife? His successes are her successes; his failures, her failures; his disappointments, her disappointments; his joys, her joys. What can ever happen to a minister that does not affect his wife? What experience can he possibly pass through that does not touch her life? Here indeed is a relationship that forms the perfect field for fulfillment of the Saviour's promise.
". . . touching any thing that they shall ask." What two persons could ever come together on bended knee who have more of mutual interest to pray for than a minister and his wife? The list is inexhaustible. The scope is unlimited. Here is room for an unending exploration of divine depths and heavenly heights!
Why then are we so slow to seize this, the greatest of all opportunities that thrusts itself in our very faces, of really praying together as yokefellows in marriage and service? Why are we so reticent to tap the spiritual resources that are to be found by sinking the shaft of united prayer right in our own living room or bedroom? We travel hundreds of miles and spend vast sums of money to attend workers' meetings and to experience the power that results from praying with fellow ministers. These seasons of spiritual refreshing are not to be decried. Yet the treasure that we go in search of is no farther from us than the loyal little woman who sits opposite us at our breakfast table! How strange that we hesitate to take our wives with us into the holy of holies, when we enjoy together every other kind of pleasure that marriage makes possible. Together we engage in social and cultural pursuits. We exult in our mutual intellectual activities. We participate together in many adventures of the spirit. Yet when it comes to those appointments with God that concern the eternal destiny of the souls for whom we are working, we feel that we must go to the throne room alone!
By now it has become obvious to the reader that we are not here speaking of family worship. We accept the fact that every worker has family worship. That goes without saying. Nor are we here speaking of the private devotions that a father and mother have on their own, when they present their family circle to the Lord. That is good and necessary and greatly to be commended among both ministry and laity, but in the life of a worker it is not enough. What we are here discussing is the role of the worker and his wife as a priest and priestess of their congregation. Our theme is the ministry of intercession. Our burden is that as husbands and wives we need to participate in this phase of our ministry together, as we do many other phases of service as shepherds and shepherdesses of God's flock. Alas, too few of our workers have tasted the joy of mingling their tears with those of their wife in prayer for the souls on behalf of whom they labor! This is a blessedness of which only those who know it can speak.
This priestly office of a ministerial couple is not discharged by kneeling together at the bedside for five minutes and "remembering" all God's people before Him in a general way. Those who would enter into this experience must be unhurried. Nor can they be satisfied with vague requests. The ministry of intercession is specific. As priest, a minister speaks to God about specific people and their specific needs; as prophet, he speaks to people about a specific God and His specific provision for their needs. The reason why so much of our preaching is vague and general is because our praying is vague and general. If we did more specific praying we would do more specific preaching.
To a pastor and his wife this united ministry of intercession means laying before the Lord every member of the congregation, name by name and home by home. (And this is not impossible in large churches, for there are usually several ministers on the staff.) It means talking to God about the material needs of Sister Brown, the widow; the physical needs of Brother Green, the invalid; the spiritual needs of Brother Grouse, the critic; of Sister Gray, the gossip; of the world-loving Brother and Sister Black. The partners in such a prayer ministry will present to their heavenly Father all the boys and girls of their church individually, pleading with God for their salvation, even as they do for their own. They will intercede for the young people of their flock and refuse to be turned aside until every one has taken his stand on the side of Christ. Blessed are the people who have such a pastor and his wife to minister to them!
To the evangelist and his wife such a prayer ministry will mean knocking together at heaven's door on behalf of the precious people attending the meetings, pleading with God for each one in turn, until they have taken their stand on the side of Bible truth. Such a spirit of intercession will result not merely in souls being added to the church books but in souls being born into the kingdom of God. What is it that leads us to expect that there shall be less agonizing when souls are newly born into the kingdom of God than when babes are born into the natural world? More earnest, intercessory prayer on the part of those engaged in public ministry will result in more genuine conversions in our evangelistic endeavors.
To the departmental secretary and his wife such a prayer partnership also has tremendous significance. If his field of endeavor is the MV department, he and his partner can take to the Lord all the MV and JMV leaders in their conference, praying for each in turn. If the conference is not a large one, they may even be able to pray for all the young people in their field. Likewise, the home missionary secretary and his wife can intercede for all the home missionary officers of their conference. What a mighty tide of lay witness would result from such a volume of intercession on the part of our home missionary secretaries all over the world! In the case of the publishing secretary, there are all the literature evangelists and their families who can become the subjects of this blessed prayer partnership. And think of the blessings that will flow earthward when all our secretary-treasurers and their wives can be found on bended knee praying regularly for all the treasurers and church clerks of their respective conferences!
To the Adventist academy teacher and his wife or college professor and his wife this prayer ministry will be interpreted in terms of intercession for all their students. And the principal, in turn, will kneel with his wife to pray for all the members of their staff. Vhat matchless scenes of revival will be witnessed on every campus when such a program becomes a living reality!
Finally, the conference president has the priceless privilege of uniting his heart with that of his wife in earnest entreaty for every worker in their conference team. In the course of several months they may even be able to pray for every member and family making up their constituency. In the case of a large conference this would probably be practically impossible, but at least they should have on their list all the isolated members, for whose spiritual welfare they are, of course, responsible.
Thus this covenant of prayer between workers and their wives can be interpreted into every phase of our denominational program and its principles applied to every level of our organizational structure.
"It shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven." We stand overwhelmed when we try to scan the horizon of possibility that this promise opens up to our view! "It shall be done for them." A special measure of blessing is promised when two disciples pray. And when those two disciples are husband and wife, Heaven surely draws especially near to seal a blessing to the praying pair and to grant the desires of their hearts in fulfillment of Christ's own promise.
Here is the key that will unlock to the discouraged and unfruitful worker the door to productiveness and success. Here is the highway on which the successful worker may travel to the heights of abundant success. Here is the secret of spiritual power. Here is the source of spiritual plenty. Here is the fountain of spiritual blessing. Here is a program that will lift any worker who is dissatisfied with being bogged down in the marsh of the-brethrenare - pleased - with - my- records mediocrity to the realms of spiritual excellence. Here is the blueprint that will transform ministerial dwarfs into mighty men of valor.
We are not suggesting that such a program of united prayer is to be considered as a kind of magic formula which will compensate for slothfulness or neglect of duty. Prayer is never a substitute for work. Work is never a substitute for prayer. The results enjoyed by a ministerial couple who pray together will be in direct proportion to the measure in which they work together.
Nor are we suggesting that such a prayer partnership should replace those seasons when a minister goes aside to plead with God for his people on his own. There ever must be regular times when a man must be alone with God. Not even his wife must be permitted to intrude within the precincts of this sacred circle. Likewise a minister's wife must have her private audiences with the King, not merely as the wife and mother of her home, but as the shepherdess of the flock. The prayer partnership of which we are speaking is something apart. It stands aloof from any other important phase of divine worship or religious devotion. It is special. It is sacredly different. It is the richest human realization of the most sublime divine promise—the promise of Matthew 18:19. It is the partnership of power.