Binding and Loosing

"Whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, 'I am there in their midst'."   Matthew 18:18-20

Since last week's Sunday School lesson, I have been going over my notes and thinking on the meaning of these verses. Lee was talking about that when the church gathered for prayer, as it says in Acts 2, they were "of one mind" or "in one accord."

He said that, in this gathering, someone sees  what God is wanting to do  - what He wants to be bound on earth as it is being bound in heaven. In the prayer meeting that person speaks. Here in the seeing and the speaking we see the gifts of the Spirit operating in the body.  Then immediately, we go to God in prayer and bind it on earth.

We may not  realize it or call it "gifts of the Spirit" or "binding and loosing", but I believe we see this in operation at times in our little group. 

I have a long way to go in understanding all this , but, Ralph and I had an opportunity to grow in understanding this week. We were leaving our son's house where we babysat his four children. One of them had told us about the fear he experiences when he goes to bed at night. I  shared with him 2 Timothy 1:7 "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind." I wrote it down for him on a card for him to keep. He began to quote back to me his school memory verse that he said was "for his heart".  Joshua 1:9 "Have not I commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."  We talked and prayed for him.

In the car on the way home, I remembered the Sunday School lesson.  I saw what the need was - what God was wanting to bind on earth, as it is bound in heaven. I spoke it to Ralph and talked about how I was beginning to understand some of the things Lee taught.  So we joined hands in the car and bound the spirit of fear in our grandson's life.

I do believe the "seeing" -the "discerning" - is a vital step. It is the same as what Lee has recently talked about  - having a "thought of God." Actually, before this, the "of one mind" --the unity-- is crucial. Then we speak out. Too often, we only consider certain "manifestations" to be gifts of the Spirit -- prophecies spoken out in church or words prefaced with "I have a word", but this is the operation of the gifts as well!  Then, we respond in prayer. Let's continue to allow the Lord to teach us , use us and to grow us into operating as the body of Christ was meant to operate!