The Church should Pray to Bring in the Kingdom and Subdue Satan’s Power of Darkness

The church is the kingdom of God on earth today, and the church has a great responsibility: the church needs to subdue the power of darkness and bring God’s will to the earth. Amen!

The kingdom of God is very much related to the church today; the kingdom and the church are closely interrelated.

In the aspect of life, the kingdom of God is the realm of the divine life, for the kingdom of God is God and His life in all the believers in Christ.

In the aspect of administration, the kingdom of God is the increase of Christ in administration; the kingdom is the ruling of God over man.

In the New Testament, we see that the kingdom is first presented and then the church comes in.

The presence of the kingdom produces the church, for when the gospel of the kingdom is preached and some believe into the Lord Jesus, they are regenerated with God’s life to be part of the kingdom of God and together they are the church.

The kingdom produces the church, and the church brings in the kingdom.

The kingdom of God is the reality of the church, for apart from living the kingdom life, we cannot live the church life.

The church life is not just our living together as believers in Christ in a certain locality; the church life is the kingdom life.

When we live by the divine life by living in the mingled spirit and according to the Spirit, we live in the reality of the kingdom of God in the church, and the reality of the kingdom of the heavens as seen in Matt. 5-7 is the content of the church life.

Without the kingdom as the reality of the church, however, the church cannot be built up.

May we see that the genuine church is the kingdom of God in this age, and we believers in Christ need to live the kingdom life in the church.

We believers are fellow citizens of the kingdom of God and we should live the kingdom life in reality so that we may have a proper church life.

At the same time, we are both in the kingdom and the church. Amen!

As we live in the church as the kingdom of God, we are under the kingdom’s rule, government, discipline, and exercise.

This means that the heavens rule in our being and over us. On the positive side, we remain under the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity; on the negative side, any rebellion in us is subdued, and we not only express Christ but also represent Him to bring in the kingdom on the earth.

Amen, the church is here to bring in the kingdom of God on the earth!

The church stands in the victory of Christ to perpetuate His victory and bring in the kingdom!

As we remain under the rule of the heaven and submit to the heavenly rule, we as the church can deal with God’s enemy and bring in God’s kingdom!

The Church should Pray to Bring in the Kingdom of God and Conquer Satan

According to the divine revelation in God’s word, the church is here not only to be filled with the riches of Christ so that all the saints may grow to maturity and become a full grown man for the corporate expression of the Triune God, but also to deal with God’s enemy.

The Lord Jesus told us in Matt. 6:10 that we need to pray to bring in the kingdom of God.

The church should pray to bring in the kingdom of God.

Although the kingdom is here among us in the church life today, for we exercise our spirit to live in the reality of the kingdom as we live the church life, the manifestation of the kingdom is yet to come.

Yes, in the church life, we are practicing living in the mingled spirit and being under the rule of the heavens, but outside of the proper church life, the enemy has his kingdom.

John 12-16 tells us three times that Satan is the ruler of this world (12:31; 14:30; 16:11).

He is presently the ruler of this world, and the nations of this world are his domain.

In the millennium, after this age, Satan will be bound and cast into the abyss.

But before that time, the church is here on earth to curb the activities of Satan and to bring in the kingdom of God.

The coming of the kingdom of God is not automatic; if there is no prayer, the kingdom cannot come!

If we do not pray, even though the Lord wants to bring in the kingdom, He is delayed from doing this. God wants to gain our cooperation; He wants to gain the cooperation of the church in order for the kingdom of God to come in.

As the church, we need to curb the activities of Satan and bring in the kingdom of God.

The best way to do this is through prayer.

The prayer of the church is the most effective means of curbing Satan, limiting his activities, and bringing in the kingdom of God.

As we live the church life by living the kingdom life, we need to pray binding prayers and loosing prayers, prayers that bind the enemy and release God’s will on the earth (Matt. 18:18).

How can the church prevail against the gates of Hades and bring in the kingdom of God (Matt. 16:19)? It is by prayer.

The church must be the outlet of heaven, allowing the heavens’ authority to be expressed on the earth (16:18-19; 18:17-18).

When we exercise to be one with the Lord, under His authority, and one in the Body, we can pray to release God’s will on the earth, limit the enemy’s activities, and bring in the kingdom of God.

Genuine prayer is a joint labour with God to bring in the kingdom of God to the earth and to carry out His will on the earth.

The genuine and prevailing prayer of the church is a spiritual battle (Matt. 6:10; 2 Cor. 10:4; Eph. 6:12).

We do not fight against flesh and blood nor do we use fleshly weapons; rather, we use spiritual weapons which are powerful before God for the overthrowing of strongholds, and our wrestling is against Satan and his authorities of darkness.

Our wrestling in spiritual warfare as the church is not against blood and flesh; it is against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenlies. Amen!

Every time we come together as the church to pray, especially in the prayer meetings of the church, we come together to labour together with God and fight the spiritual warfare.

In the church life as a miniature of the kingdom we submit to God’s rule and authority and we realize the kingdom of God (Matt. 12:28).

Furthermore, we pray one with the Lord to release His will on the earth, bind the enemy and his activities, and bring in the kingdom of God on the earth.

This should be our experience in the church life.

Wherever the church is in reality with the saints living in the reality of the kingdom of God, Satan’s authority will retreat, for the church is on earth to perpetuate and manifest Christ’s victorious stand over Satan.

Lord Jesus, we stand one with You on earth to be the church as the kingdom of God! Amen, Lord, we submit ourselves to the heavenly rule and take You as our unique authority. We want to enjoy the kingdom life in the church life today. Oh Lord, we pray for Your kingdom to come! May Your kingdom come into our personal life, our work life, our family life, and our church life! May Your kingdom come into our neighbourhood and our locality. May Your kingdom come into our country and on the whole earth! Amen, Lord, release the prayer of the church under the rule of heavens for the activities of Satan to be limited and for the kingdom to come! We pray one with You and one with the church: May Your Kingdom Come! May Satan be limited in his activities in us, in the saints, and in those around us! Amen, Lord, may the church be the outlet of heaven, allowing the heavens’ authority to be expressed on the earth! We want to labour together with You to bring Your kingdom to the earth and to carry out Your will on the earth!

The Church’s Responsibility is to Subdue Satan’s Power of Darkness and Bring God’s Will to the Earth

The church today has a great responsibility before God.

On the positive side, the church needs to seek to increase the kingdom of God by preaching the gospel so that rebellious sinners may become fellow citizens of God’s kingdom with the saints.

On the negative side, the church needs to subdue the power of darkness and continue the warfare that Christ waged against Satan.

When the Lord Jesus mentioned that He would build His church, He immediately said that the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.

The gates of Hades are right there, where the church is, ready to prevail against the church, but the church is under the authority of heaven and can exercise the heavenly rule to defeat Satan. Amen!

On the positive side, the church brings God’s will to the earth. On the negative side, the church’s responsibility is to subdue Satan.

Wherever we are, wherever the Lord placed us, we need to stand firm, one with the Lord.

When we read the daily news, we can see how the enemy is working; we need to pray prayers before God to oppose him and bind him.

Our prayer is not against people or groups of people; our prayer is one with the Lord to bind on earth what has been bound in heaven and release on earth what has been released in heaven.

Our prayer must be powerful before God in order to oppose the power of darkness.

As the church, we need to reign in life today both personally (Rom. 5:17) and corporately as the church.

Before we can reign with the Lord in the coming kingdom, we need to rule over the thrones on earth today by the throne in heaven.

So many times we believers fail because we have not exercised our authority.

We hear of political events, wars, and all kinds of things happening in society, but we do not exercise our authority.

We need to exercise our authority as the church to subdue the power of darkness and limit the enemy’s activities to usurp the saints and the people in the society.

As soon as we see the devil’s power or work, we should stand one with the Lord to exercise our authority as the church to pray.

The reason many things happen in society today is that we Christians do not stand on the Lord’s side to continue the warfare Christ waged against Satan, and we do not pray for the kingdom of God to come in.

May we learn to exercise the overcoming authority of Christ to rule over the power of darkness.

As we preach the gospel, we bear in mind that God’s desire is for all men to be saved and to come to the full knowledge of the truth (1 Tim. 2:4).

The people around us are Satan’s captives, being actively usurped by him.

We need to recapture the captives through the gospel and win them back to God’s side.

Even if we win one person, Satan has one less person to usurp and ruin.

May we join in the labour with God to pray for His kingdom to come and for Satan to be put to shame and defeated.

We need to pray that God delivers many to such an extent that God’s authority will be fully manifested through them! Amen!

Our mouth shut up defeats us and wins the devil’s smile, so why not praise the Lord and bind the enemy, to chase him away! Amen!

We don’t belong to this world (John 17:16), for God delivered us out of this world unto Himself and His will (Gal. 6:14).

May we never return to the reign of Satan but live the kingdom life in the church life, not allowing Satan to have any ground in us.

When we are one with the Lord, being fully under the rule of heavens, the enemy has no ground in us, and we will be delivered from his reign and kingdom; then, we can pray one with the Lord to carry out His will on the earth and put the enemy to shame.

May the Lord gain this in our experience today.

May the Lord gain the church to such an extent that it will carry out its responsibility on the earth to perpetuate Christ’s victory on the earth, deal with the enemy and his power of darkness, and bring in the kingdom of God.

As we stand one with the Lord to pray effective prayers, the prayers of the kingdom, the scene in Rev. 8 will take place: at the golden incense altar there is the Angel coming with the censer to add incense to the prayers, and our prayers will ascend with Christ to the heavens.

Then, there will be the release of God’s judgement, and the seven trumpets are released.

When that time comes, this kind of prayer will ascend, and the age will close and the kingdom of God will come in.

May we be those who cooperate with God for His enemy to be defeated, God’s will be done on earth, and the kingdom of God to come in.

Those who always put God’s kingdom before them – that which touches God’s will and HIs enemy – are the most useful workers in the hands of God (Matt. 6:33; 7:21; 25:21, 23; Col. 4:11).

This is God’s need today, and we need to care for God’s need above all things.

Lord Jesus, we join ourselves to You and are one with the church to bring the kingdom of God to the earth and carry out His will on earth. Amen, Lord, release the prayer of the church to overturn the power of darkness in us, in our family, in the church life, and on the whole earth. Release the prayer that opens the way for God’s will to be executed on the earth! Amen, Lord, may the church carry out its responsibility to pray one with the Lord to limit the enemy’s activities, put him to shame, and bring in the kingdom of God on earth and carry out His will on earth! Oh Lord, we are not of this world – we have been delivered out of this world and unto God and His will! We stand with You, Lord, and we want Your will to be carried out on the earth! Amen, Lord, may the church be faithful in its position and responsibility so that God’s eternal purpose may be accomplished! May we be those who always put God’s kingdom before us today in our daily living, in our prayer life, in our service, and in our church life!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by brother James Lee in the message for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Watchman Nee, vol. 44, p. 778-791, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Living in the Reality of the Kingdom of God (2024 October ITERO), week 3, The Kingdom and the Church.
• Similar article on this topic:
  – The Kingdom of God and the Marriage of the Lamb, via, New Jerusalem blog.
  – Praying to Bring in the Kingdom of God, via, The Church in Los Angeles.
  – Assailing the Ground of Oneness (1): The Genuine Ground of the Church According to the Teaching and Practice of the New Testament, article via, Shepherding Words.
  – The church being for the kingdom, a portion from, The Kingdom, Chapter 50, by Witness Lee.
  – The three stages of church building, via, Lamb Follower.
  – What is the Kingdom? More via, The Hearing of Faith.
  – Why We Witness for Christ and 6 Practical Points on How to Do It, via, Bibles for America blog.
  – The kingdom in the New Testament, via, Church in Regina Newsletter.
  – The Glorious Church, via, New Jerusalem blog.
  – Fighting against the enemy, a portion from, Collected Works of Watchman Nee, The (Set 1) Vol. 13: The Spiritual Man (2), Chapter 16, by Watchman Nee.
  – What is the Kingdom of God and How Can You Be in It? More, via, Holding to Truth in Love.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – Pray to touch the throne of God, / Touch the throne of power too; / In the name of Jesus Christ / Deal with what you have to do. / Pray to touch the throne of God / By the hand of living faith; / Exercise authority / Over all the pow’r of death. / Pray to touch the throne of God, / Pray to shake the evil pow’r; / Pray with kingship on the throne, / Pray with Christ this very hour. (Hymns #783 stanzas 4-6)
  – Then Christ when He comes with the kingdom from God / Will to us grant His kingship to share as reward; / Thus the Lord will His righteousness thru us maintain / And His wisdom to heavenly powers make plain… / O Lord, give us grace for Thy Kingdom to live, / To be trained that Thou may the reward to us give; / Make the Kingdom’s reality our exercise, / That its manifestation may be our great prize. (Hymns #947 stanzas 5 and 7)
  – Now is come salvation, power, and the kingdom of our God; / The accuser of the brethren underneath our feet is trod! / The authority of Christ is now the church’s ruling rod— / The victory is won! (Hymns #1101 stanza 3)