Source: https://www.bertha-dudde.org/en/proclamation/2107

2107 ‘Where two or three are gathered together in My name....’

October 10, 1941: Book 30

‘Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there Am I in the midst of them....’ What promise lies within these Words of the Lord! He announces His presence to those who meet in the name of Jesus. Thus it is His will that people should come together and remember the Lord.... It is His will that they should encourage each other to believe, that they help each other and speak about Him, that they therefore carry Him in their hearts and always mention His name. Then He will want to be with them, if only invisibly.... He wants them to be aware of His presence although they cannot see Him.... And therefore it is divine will that people should congregate in small circles in order to hear the divine Word. Yet He adds to this.... two or three.... People should consider that the Lord did not accidentally speak these Words.... they should consider that even in these Words rests a profound meaning. Communal prayers with many people cannot be God’s will, for something that should be a deeply inner experience turns into a mechanical action. For no formalities take place where only a few people are gathered, and these penetrate the divine Word ever deeper because they discuss each other’s points of view and also make a serious effort to live according to this Word. And this good will already draws God to them; this is why He gladdens the believers with His presence. But during large communal prayer meetings an exchange of thoughts is impossible. Each person is involved with his own thoughts and they don’t always relate to the spiritual kingdom. People don’t always deal with questions of eternity; often they are also very earthly-minded.... God will therefore never be amongst these for He is only present where He is most sincerely aspired to. And there will only be a few in such a community who have the earnest will to be good and therefore appeal to God for the strength to be able to live up to their will. These will be gladdened by the Lord. But there are not many of them.... Most people merely fulfil a duty and their belief is more a formality and the divine promise can never be granted to them. This is why people should abide by the divine Word, they should meet in small circles and draw strength from God’s Word, but they should never ever believe that it is pleasing to God when such gatherings are demanded as a matter of duty, since this excludes the profoundly heartfelt bond with the Lord unless his will is so exceptionally strong that the human being disregards all external impressions affecting him. Then the Lord will be with him too. Yet someone who complies with mere formalities has no living faith, thus he will not assign to these Words the significance which are actually inherent in these Words....

Amen

Translated by Heidi Hanna