Do you believe in the power of prayer? I was recently in a situation that served as a beautiful reminder of what happens when “two or more are gathered in my name.” Take a look at how Eugene Peterson translates Jesus’ words from Matthew:

Matthew 20 (The Message)

^18-20 “Take this most seriously: A yes on earth is yes in heaven; a no on earth is no in heaven. What you say to one another is eternal. I mean this. When two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my Father in heaven goes into action. And when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I’ll be there.”

I got to see this first hand a few months ago when I witnessed a man literally come back to life in the parking lot of a strip shopping center where I get my hair cut. It was a horrible, shocking, and miraculous moment. I was pulling into the parking lot and scanning for places to park, looking right and left, when I spotted an open place to my right. As I slowed down to pull into it, I was horrified to see an elderly man lying on the asphalt being given CPR by a young woman and a young man. He looked dead. His skin was a sickening ashen gray, and I could see no movement in his face or body other than the pump, pump, pump of the bystanders’ hands on his chest.

Along the sidewalk I spotted two women who were crying as they watched. I assumed that one was his wife, so I parked my car and approached her. I am a volunteer chaplain for the Southern Shores Fire Department and our role in moments of crisis is to offer prayer and comfort to the family.

I approached the woman and asked her if she was okay. She was surprised at my question and responded “no” in a shaky voice. I asked her if the man was a family member and was surprised when she said no again. It turned out that the two women worked in the store where the man had just been shopping and watched him as he fell out of the open door of his truck onto the pavement. 911 had been called but the two people who were rendering CPR were just passersby who had sprung into action. I was amazed at how well coordinated their movements were, counting loudly and switching off with ease. It turned out that one of them had been an OBX lifeguard for many years. Her incredible training kicked right in. The other had taken CPR classes at his workplace.

I began to pray and watched and waited. Because I had arrived early on the scene, I stood on the sidewalk near the man’s head and prayed loud enough for him to hear me, if he could.

As the fire department, police, and ambulance pulled into the small lot, the two people stepped aside and the first responders took over with the practiced ballet of well-rehearsed movements and calm urgency. Every time they stopped to check for a heartbeat, the results were the same: Unresponsive. They continued their efforts doing manual CPR and then switched to a CPR machine called a Lund University Cardiopulmonary Assist System (LUCAS) that was extremely powerful and absolutely frightening to watch. A metal bracket of sorts was placed over the man’s chest and a metal arm that ended in what looked like a large suction cup pushed down from the center and pumped the chest forcefully and rhythmically, encouraging the heart to restart.

I felt a strong urge to minister to those standing by watching this tragic scene, so I went around and told people I was a fire department chaplain and asked if they would like to join me in prayer. To my surprise, everyone said yes, so I formed us into a circle where we held hands and prayed aloud. The paramedics continued to work aggressively as they tried to get his heart restarted, and a timeline was established. At this point he had been down for close to 20 minutes.

Finally he was transferred to a gurney, and a covering was placed over his head while CPR was continued. The machine was removed, and a pulse and breathing check was performed while an EMT continued with manual CPR. I honestly don’t think anyone thought that he would pull through at this point.

And then it happened. He had a pulse and was breathing again. The relief and jubilation of the crowd was palpable. One of the store owners had gone back into her shop to sit down because she was so upset. I found her crying in the back of the store and we laughed and hugged when I shared the good news that the man was breathing. She told me that she was sure it was all that praying that did it, and I did not disagree.

Yesterday I got my hair cut and my hairdresser, who had been there that day, told me that the man and his wife recently returned to the store where he collapsed and, other than broken ribs from the CPR, he has made a full recovery.

That’s what prayer can do. A yes on earth can move the soul and the heart of God to give a yes in heaven, especially when two or three gather in the name of Jesus to intercede for the life of a dead stranger. Our prayers were loud and unceasing, like the pump, pump, pump of the CPR machine.

There is exponential power in the prayer of agreement. God is pleased to see his children praying in concert with and for one another, aligning their hearts and petitions in harmonious oneness that conveys their trust, faith, and hope that God will hear and respond.

Do you regularly pray with others? Do you have a prayer partner, belong to a prayer group, or attend prayer gatherings? Remember that when even as few as two pray together, God is there.

You wouldn’t want to miss that, would you?

Radiant Life by Rebecca Ziegler