In Matt. 6:9-13 the Lord teaches us how to pray, and He says, You then pray in this way: Our Father who is in the heavens, Your name be sanctified; Your kingdom come; Your will be done, as in heaven, so also on earth. … For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen!
When we pray, we don’t pray for our needs first – we pray firstly for God’s need. We pray for His name to be sanctified. We pray that His will be done and His kingdom would come on the earth. Will you pray in this way? Will you be one with the Lord in His desire to recover and regain the earth?
As in the heaven, so also on earth
There is no problem with the heaven – God’s kingdom is there, and God’s will is being done there. The problem is with the earth. After the rebellion of Satan (see Ezek. 28:17 and Isa. 14:13-15) the earth is under his usurping hand and God’s will is not being done on the earth.
But God created man for this – to recover the earth, subdue the earth, and have dominion over all the earth for God (see Gen. 1:26-28). After man fell, Christ came in to bring the kingdom of God on earth so that the earth may be recovered back to God for His interest and His will may be done on the earth as it is already being done in the heaven.
The church’s commission is to deal with Satan, God’s enemy. The prayer of the age is the prayer which deals with the problem of problems, the source of all problems, Satan. The earth was so wonderful when God created it, but it was spoiled by Satan. God recovered it once by His own word, and the second time He will recover it through His agents, His representatives!
The church’s commission on the earth is to cause Satan to suffer loss! When we preach the gospel in the pagan lands and on the highest campuses in the Western Europe we cause the enemy to suffer loss! Lord, may Your kingdom come on earth! May Your will be done on earth!
Man is to recover the earth from the hand of Satan
This is what God created man for, and this is what is the church’s commission today – to recover the earth for God from the usurping hand of God’s enemy, Satan. The Lord Jesus did this when He came on the earth – He cast out demons and He healed the sick (Matt. 4:24).
Today wherever we go to preach the gospel we need to cast out the demons! The demons are very active today in the philosophy on the campuses, in society, and in the western world.
Man is the recovery team, the clean-up team, to recover the earth from the hand of Satan. The demons can see this – it is very real – and they are afraid of the church! We are here to recover the earth!
In Matt. 11:25 after the Lord Jesus was rejected by some cities “At that time Jesus answered and said, I extol You, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth”. The Lord extolled the Father – the Lord of heaven and of earth. Whenever there is a man on earth standing for God’s interest, God is the Lord of heaven and earth!
In the time of David the King there were his mighty men who, when David desired Zion, they stormed it and took it and David made it his city. God desires the overcomers today, those who stand on the earth for Him and His interest, who would be willing to pay the price to be one with Him and recover the earth from Satan to God’s kingdom!
Will you pray for this?
Will you pray? Will you pray for so many people in the world that have not yet heard the high gospel? Will you pray for the muslim nations? Will you pray for North Korea, Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and so many other nations? Will you pray for the dark campuses all around Western Europe, Canada, USA, and in the “developed world”?
Who prays for God’s interest? Who prays for God’s kingdom to come in? Who joins the praying Christ to pray the prayer of the age, the age-turning prayer, to bring in the kingdom on the earth? When will we look up from our needs to God’s need and stand on earth for Him to pray for His need?
M. E Barber was once walking with brother Watchman Nee on the street, and she had such a deep sense of the Lord’s imminent return that she lovingly said, Lord, will You come back in the next 5 minutes? If we turn the corner, will we find out that You have returned? We need to also have such a sense in us – everything that happens is a sign that the Lord wants to return quickly.
Man as a whole failed God, and the church is far from accomplishing its commission to recover the earth. But will we pray? Will we wait for His coming? When the Lord returns, will He still find faith on the earth? Who is eagerly waiting for Him and hastening His return?
Lord, we want to be those who pray not only for our need but for Your need first! May Your kingdom come! Lord, may Your will be done on the earth as it is being done in the heaven! Recover the earth through the church for Your kingdom. Hasten Your return, Lord Jesus! Lord, turn this age from the age of the church to the age of the kingdom! Come, Lord Jesus! O, Lord Jesus, come quickly! We desire Your return, Your kingdom!
References and Further Reading
- Sharing inspired from, The Collected Works of Watchman Nee (vol. 8), and brother Andrew Yu’s sharing in the message, as partially quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on the Crystallization-Study of Psalms (2), week 23.
- Hymns on this topic:
# Lord, Your return… / How long must it be, dear Lord? / The ages have come…
# As we become the same as Christ / … our prayer is, Come, Lord Jesus!
# Lord, how long, dear Bridegroom, / ‘Til You come, Lord, how soon?
# Lo, the kingdom of the world is now the kingdom of the Lord!
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Amen
Lord may Your Kingdom come, may Your will be done! Amen.
Lord make our will be your Will, and our heart burn with Your heart desire to own this earth!
Our heart desire, for the Lord to come back quickly, will help us to seek Him, pursue Him, walk and live Him until we are built together into a bridal body for Him to marry! Lets long for that an imaginable wedding feast when the bride has made herself ready! Halleluia!
we pray for the man child who will come out from the church will be completed to overcome the evil one by the blood of the lamb ,amen come lord JESUS
The Name of Jesus Being above Every Name
The name of Jesus is also good for casting out demons (Acts 16:18). To know the power of the name of Jesus, use it to cast out demons. Demons know the power of the name of Jesus better than we do. Demons are subtle. From our experience in China, where there were many cases of demon possession, we have learned that when we cast out demons, we must tell them that this Jesus is not the ordinary, common Jesus, but that He is the designated Jesus. We must say, “Demon, I come in the very name of Jesus, the Son of God, who was incarnated to be a man, who was born of a virgin in Bethlehem, who was raised in Nazareth, who died on the cross for my sins and for the sins of this person that is possessed, who was resurrected from the dead, and who has ascended to the heavens. I come in the name of this Jesus, and I command you to leave!” Immediately, the demon will depart. However, if you say, “I cast you out in the name of Jesus,” the demon will not listen. Demons know the power of the name of Jesus. When you cast out a demon, there is no need to pray that much. Simply say, “I come in the name of the designated Jesus, and you must go!” When Jesus comes, demons must flee.
The name of Jesus is for us to preach (Acts 9:27). When we preach, we must preach in the name of Jesus. Preaching in the Lord’s name must be done in the Spirit, for the Spirit is the Person of the Lord and the reality of His name. When we preach in His name, we need the Spirit to make it real.
Through all the things that can be done in the name of Jesus, we see that whatever we do and whatever we are must be in the name of Jesus. Never forget the name of Jesus. His name is a sweet name, a rich name, a powerful name, a saving name, a healing name, a comforting name, and an available name. This is the name that is exalted, honored, and respected. And it is the name feared by the enemy. Witness Lee, Life-study of Matthew