This Promise Isn't About Your Small Group.

Matthew 18:15

Jesus said this to His disciples while teaching them what to do when a brother sins against them (Matthew 18:1, 15-20).

Lord, I have quoted this promise in rooms where it was easy, and I have used it to avoid the one conversation You actually asked me to have. You said go. You said You would be there. Give me the words, and give me the nerve to get up. Go with me to that door. Amen.

Jesus said this to His disciples while teaching them what to do when a brother sins against them (Matthew 18:1, 15-20).

The Scripture

“If your brother sins against you, go and confront him privately. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.”
— Matthew 18:15

Prayer points from Matthew 18:15

Name the conversation you have been avoiding, and the person it is with.
Confess where you have talked about the wrong to others instead of going to the person privately.
Ask for the words to say and the nerve to actually go.
Ask that your aim would be winning your brother or sister back, not winning the argument.
Thank Jesus that He promises to be with those who gather together in His name.
Pray by name for the person you need to speak with, that their heart would be ready to listen.

About this verse

"Where two or three gather together in My name" is often quoted as a comfort for small prayer meetings, but in Matthew 18 the promise comes at the end of instructions for a hard conversation. Jesus begins with one person and one wrong: "If your brother sins against you, go and confront him privately. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over." Only if that fails do you take one or two others along, and only after that does it go before the church. The two or three in verse 20 echo the two or three witnesses of verse 16. Right after this, Peter asks how many times he must forgive, and Jesus answers, seventy-seven times. So the presence of Jesus is promised to the people who actually walk to the door, keep the matter private, and aim at winning the brother back rather than winning the argument. If you have been avoiding a conversation you know you need to have, this passage begins with a short word that is hard to obey: go.

When to pray this prayer

Before a hard conversation with someone who has hurt you
When you've been talking about someone instead of talking to them
When you're working up the nerve to confront a friend or family member
When a conflict at church is spreading and no one has gone to the person directly
When you want to repair a friendship, not just win the argument
When you need to forgive someone again and don't know how

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