Our prayer in the church as the house of prayer should be for the fulfillment of God’s economy; the prayer that is pleasing to God is the prayer in the name of the Lord Jesus that asks for the accomplishment of God’s will and for the fulfillment of is interest on earth.
The church as the Body of Christ is a house of prayer, and in the church life, we are learning to offer God the prayer of the age for Him to accomplish what is in His heart and carry out His desire.
All worthwhile prayer has its source in God; He initiates the prayer by revealing His need to us, His people, and we utter His need back to Him for Him to do it in us.
For example, when we read the Bible and see something of what God desires to do or something that we should be or do for God, we can utter that back in prayer to the Lord; such a prayer is according to what He desires, and He will fulfill it.
For us to pray the prayer of the age, however, there are some prerequisites; we can’t just come together and pray the prayer of the age – there are at least four main prerequisites, four requirements.
First, we need to know the age we live in; we need to know where we are in world history, in church history, and in the history of the Lord’s recovery.
If we know the age we are in, then we will pray the prayer that God needs for Him to accomplish what is in His heart.
According to the prophecy in Daniel 2, we are in the last age, right before the Lord’s return; if you were born one hundred years ago, you were not in the last age, but according to the prophecies in the Bible, we are right at the feet with the toes of the great human image in Daniel 2.
In church history, we are more than two thousand years after it started; we are right at the end. in the history of the Lord’s recovery, we are more than one hundred years into it – we’re not at the beginning, but at the point where all the truth has been recovered, the proper practice of the church life has been recovered, and the divine revelation has reached the high peak.
Secondly, we must know what is God’s economy; we need to know what God intends to do, and our prayer must be for God’s economy, for Him to accomplish what He has purposed.
Third, we need to know what has already been accomplished; the Lord has accomplished very much throughout history, and many prophecies have already been fulfilled.
In both human history, church history, and the history of the Lord’s recovery, we can say that the Lord has accomplished very much, and we are right at the end.
Finally, we need to know what is left to accomplish; what else needs to happen in this age so that this age would end?
We are in the age of Revelation, the age of intensification, where God wants to raise up overcomers to be His dispensational instrument to consummate not only the present age but also His entire economy throughout the ages.
When we see all these, when we have a clear realization of the age we live in, what is God’s economy, what has been accomplished, and what is left to be accomplished, we can pray the prayer of the age, and the Lord can do what He intends to do, for there’s a group of people on earth who cooperate with Him in prayer.
In the Church as a House of Prayer, we Pray for the Fulfillment of God’s Desire and the Carrying out of His Will
A very important aspect of the church as the Body of Christ is that the church is a house of prayer (Isa. 56:7; Mark 11:17a; John 2:16-17, 19-21; 14:2; Heb. 3:6).
May we all realize that the church is a house of prayer, and may every local church be a house of prayer in reality!
In the church as the temple of God – a house of prayer – we pray not merely for our needs and situations, but for the fulfillment of God’s desire, the carrying out of God’s will, and the accomplishment of God’s economy (1 Kings 8:48; Dan. 9:1-23; John 15:7; Matt. 6:10; Eph. 3:14-21; 5:27; Rev. 14:1; 21:2).
God has an economy, a heart’s desire, something that He wants to accomplish, and in the church as a house of prayer, we pray for the fulfillment of God’s desire.
We need to know God’s economy, know what God wants to accomplish, and pray for His specific desire at this particular time. In the house of prayer, we live and serve as a man of prayer; we pray to the mysterious God in the divine and mystical realm, even as the Lord Jesus did (Luke 5:16; John 6:57; 14:9-10, 20).
In the matter of prayer, the Lord Jesus as the first God-man is our pattern; He didn’t pray merely as a man on earth to the God in heaven or as a sinner to a righteous Judge; rather, He prayed as a man of prayer, praying to the mysterious God in the divine and mystical realm so that God would accomplish what He has in His heart.
The base of our corporate prayer is our personal prayer; this prayer has to progress in both quantity and quality.
We need to be exercised in our individual life to advance in the matter of prayer so that, when we come together, we could have a corporate prayer in the church as a house of prayer to accomplish God’s desire.
In the church as a house of prayer, we pray not according to what we think we should pray, neither do we merely pray for our needs and the needs of the church; we pray according to God’s desire and His thought, offering God precious and weighty prayers that will shake the gates of Hades and affect Satan (Dan. 9:1-23).
Daniel offered such a prayer to God; he knew what was the age he lived in, he prayed according to God’s desire, and things happened in the spiritual realm!
Satan is terrified of such prayers of warfare because he is terrified of the church as the Body of Christ, a house of prayer! Amen!
The prayer that is pleasing to God is the prayer that asks for the accomplishment of God’s will and for the completion of God’s work; when we pray for His will to be done and for Him to carry out His work in His people and on earth, He will do it (see Matt. 6:10; Col. 1:9; 4:12; Isa. 45:11; 62:6-7; Ezek. 36:37).
In various ages revealed in the Bible – both in the history of the children of Israel and in the history of the church – some here and there knew what is God’s need in that age, and they prayed for the accomplishment of God’s will and for the completion of His work.
What about today: how many knew what is God’s need, how many pray for God’s need, and how many from all the millions of believers pray for God’s will to be done?
God listens to millions and millions of prayers every day, for many of the millions of believers on earth pray daily; how many of these prayers are for the accomplishment of God’s will and for the completion of His work?
We all need to be trained by the Lord to pray in the church as a house of prayer by asking for God to accomplish His will and complete His work.
Lord Jesus, we want to live and serve as men of prayer, those praying to the mysterious God in the divine and mystical realm for the fulfillment of His heart’s desire! Amen, Lord, we pray for the fulfillment of God’s desire, the carrying out of God’s will, and the accomplishment of His economy. May Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. May Your heart’s desire in this particular age be carried out. May Your economy be accomplished until it is consummated. We put ourselves aside, dear Lord, and we pray in the church as a house of prayer the prayers that You need for You to accomplish Your will and complete Your work. Amen, Lord, may we advance in our prayer life; may we pray according to God’s desire and thought so that You may carry out what You desire and the gates of Hades would be shaken!
Our Prayer in the House of Prayer should be for the Fulfillment of God’s Economy for Christ and the Church
In 1 Kings 8:48, after Solomon built the temple and dedicated it, he offered a wonderful prayer to Jehovah, and in particular, he asked that, whenever God’s people are taken into captivity due to their sins and rebellion, and they pray toward the land of Israel, the city of Jerusalem, and the temple, God would hear them.
This shows that our prayer in the house of prayer should be for the fulfillment of His economy.
Solomon didn’t pray that, if God’s people are in captivity and they pray toward the land, the city, and the house, that God would bring them back; rather, that God would hear them.
God hears our prayers when we pray toward the Holy Land, the holy city, and the holy temple; these three matters are crucial regarding God’s economy.
The good land is Christ; the holy city is Christ, our kingdom; the temple is Christ, the dwelling place of God.
Christ is the good land, Christ is the kingdom of God, and Christ is the house of God; Christ and the church are the reality of the holy land, the holy city, and the holy temple.
Our prayer in the house of prayer should be for the fulfillment of God’s economy for Christ and the church.
We shouldn’t aim our prayers directly at a person or at a situation, for in doing this we actually draw Satan’s attention to that person or that situation, and things may even get worse.
But when we touch God’s economy concerning Christ and the church, when we touch something of what God is doing to fulfill His economy in and through the church, God can move His hand and accomplish what He desires.
Our prayers should be aimed at the interest of God – at Christ and the church as God’s interest on earth (Eph. 1:16-23; 3:14-21).
We may have elections for president in our country; our prayers shouldn’t be for this or that candidate or for this or that party – our prayers should be aimed at God’s interest.
It is easy to be entangled and embroiled in the news, politics, and debates; we should stay out of that realm and “open our windows” toward the Holy Land, the holy city, and the holy temple, praying for the accomplishment of God’s economy concerning Christ and the church.
Daniel did this; three times a day he would open his windows toward the holy land and the holy city and the holy temple, and he prayed for God’s interest on earth according to His word (Dan. 6:10).
For us to pray properly, we must pray in the name of the Lord Jesus, aiming at the interest of God on earth for His economy.
We need to pray in the name of Jesus by praying for God’s interest on earth, which is Christ as God’s portion to us, as God’s kingdom, and as God’s dwelling place (John 14:13-14; 15:16; Eph. 2:21-22; 3:8; Col. 1:12-13).
Our prayer involves three parties: us, God, and Satan; when we pray for a certain person directly, or when we mention a situation before God, Satan may come in to attack this one or make the situation worse.
If the aim of our prayer is a person or a situation, not God’s economy, we may draw the enemy’s attention to that person or situation.
But if we aim our prayers at God’s economy concerning Christ and the church, our prayer will be for His desire and interest, and He will do it.
Even in such a situation as the one today, with the pandemic raging throughout the world, we need to allow the Lord to train us to pray in a proper way, aiming our prayers not at people or situations but at God’s economy concerning Christ and the church.
Our prayer in the church as a house of prayer should be for the fulfillment of God’s economy, for Christ to be enjoyed and experienced by His people, and for the church to be built up so that the bride would be prepared to bring the Lord back.
Lord Jesus, train us to pray the prayers that You need for You to accomplish Your economy concerning Christ and the church. Save us from aiming our prayers at persons, situations, and things; may we aim our prayers at Christ and the church! Amen, Lord, teach us to pray to God in the name of the Lord Jesus, aiming at God’s interest for His economy on earth. May Christ be enjoyed and experienced by Your people for the building up of the church as the Body of Christ so that the bride may be prepared to bring You back! Amen, Lord, may all Your saints enjoy Christ as God’s portion to us, as God’s kingdom, and as God’s dwelling place! May You gain the prayers that You need in the church as a house of prayer!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by Mark Raabe for this week, and portions from, Life-study of 1 & 2 Kings, msg. 6 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Christian Life, the Church Life, the Consummation of the Age, and the Coming of the Lord (2020 fall ITERO), week 5, The Prayer of the Age Offered to God through the Church as the Body of Christ as a House of Prayer.
- Hymns on this topic:
– Praying always in the spirit, / Thus expressing God’s desire; / Staying with the Lord in spirit, / We’ll be wholly set afire. (Hymns #780)
– I love Thy kingdom, Lord, / The house of Thine abode, / The Church our blest Redeemer bought / With His own precious blood. / For her my tears shall fall, / For her my prayers ascend; / To her my cares and toils be given / Till toils and cares shall end. (Hymns #853)
– Pray with one accord in spirit, / Pray and watch persistently; / For God’s kingdom and His glory, / Pray and watch in harmony. (Hymns #779)
About aGodMan
