As believers in Christ, we need to learn to pray by faith, that is, pray for executing God’s will according to His economy by faith; for this, we need to be fully mingled with God and pray with God as our faith. Amen!
In Matt. 21:18-22 and Mark 11:20-24 we see that the Lord Jesus taught His disciples to pray by faith, and the context was the cursing of the fig tree.
One day, after the Lord left Bethany and went to Jerusalem, He saw a fig tree with only leaves and no fruit – He found no fruit in the fig tree, only leaves.
So He cursed the fig tree saying, May no one eat food from you forever. The disciples heard this and remembered it.
Then, the next day, as they were outside the city, they passed by that fig tree and there it was, completely withered from its roots.
So Peter remembered this and said, Rabbi, behold, the fig tree which You cursed, is now withered.
And the Lord taught the disciples the matter of prayer through this matter of cursing of the fig tree.
If we have faith in God, if we pray by faith, we can do even greater things than causing a fig tree to wither; we can even command a mountain to be lifted up and be moved into the sea, and it will happen. Wow.
We need to be those who pray by faith in God; our faith is not anywhere else but in God.
Faith is not in us; we don’t generate our own faith, we don’t “muster it up” nor do we “cook it” – faith is in God.
Christ is the Author and Perfecter of our faith; He generates faith in us, and we need to spend time with Him in His word to be under the hearing of faith and be infused with faith.
God becomes our faith. The very God who is the Author of faith becomes our faith by which we pray, and today we are learning to pray by faith.
In this faith and by this faith, in the organic union with the Lord, we will realize that, even though we may command a big mountain in front of us to get up and be cast into the sea, it will happen.
If we have no doubt in our hearts but believe that what we say will happen, we will have it; we will have this because what we pray is in oneness with the Lord, and He wants the mountain to be gone, so we pray according to His will.
All things that we pray and ask for, we need to believe that we have received them, and we will have them.
This is such great and powerful teaching of the Lord on the matter of praying by faith; we need to learn to pray by faith not in a strange way or in a daring way but in the way revealed in the word of God.
May we allow the word of God to shine on us and bring us up-to-date with the Lord; may the divine revelation in God’s word become our reality and experience even in the matter of praying by faith.
Learning to Pray by Faith for Executing God’s Will according to His Economy by Faith
In cursing the fig tree so that it dried up, the Lord Jesus taught His disciples to pray by faith (Matt. 21:18-22; Mark 11:20-24).
The fig tree is a symbol of the nation of Israel, and the fact that the Lord didn’t find fruits in the fig tree shows that they have rejected the Lord in His ministry and did not bear fruit, so the Lord put them aside.
When He was on earth carrying out His earthly ministry, the Lord Jesus was rejected by the priests, by the elders, and by the nation of Israel; they were not bearing fruit but rather, they rejected the Lord.
Eventually, they killed the Lord of life, and they put themselves under a curse, being unable to bear fruit.
On one hand, the cursing of the fig tree has a dispensational significance, for God temporarily put aside His earthly people Israel who had rejected Him.
On the other hand, this shows us the principle of praying by faith.
![Now in the morning as He returned to the city, He became hungry. And seeing a fig tree on the way, He came to it and found nothing on it except leaves only. And He said to it, May there no longer be fruit from you forever! And the fig tree was instantly dried up. And when the disciples saw [this,] they marveled, saying, How did the fig tree instantly dry up? And Jesus answered and said to them, Truly I say to you, If you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what [was done] to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, Be taken up and cast into the sea, it will happen. And all that you ask in prayer, if you believe, you will receive. Matt. 21:18-22](https://i0.wp.com/www.agodman.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Now-in-the-morning-as-He-returned-to-the-city-He-became-hungry-683x1024.jpg?resize=450%2C675&ssl=1 "Now in the morning as He returned to the city, He became hungry. And seeing a fig tree on the way, He came to it and found nothing on it except leaves only. And He said to it, May there no longer be fruit from you forever! And the fig tree was instantly dried up. And when the disciples saw [this,] they marveled, saying, How did the fig tree instantly dry up? And Jesus answered and said to them, Truly I say to you, If you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what [was done] to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, Be taken up and cast into the sea, it will happen. And all that you ask in prayer, if you believe, you will receive. Matt. 21:18-22")
The Lord Jesus, who is right in the eyes of God, knows God’s heart; therefore, His cursing of the fig tree was according to His knowledge of God’s will in the fulfilment of His economy to give up the rotten Israel (Matt. 21:19).
Based upon this background of cursing the fig tree, the Lord Jesus taught His disciples – and He is teaching us also today – to pray for the executing of God’s will according to His economy by faith; this is to pray by faith.
The Lord’s teaching here was according to God’s will, which is to be accomplished for the fulfilment of His economy (Rev. 4:11; Eph. 1:5, 9; 5:17).
The boldness that we have the Lord toward the Lord (1 John 5:14-15) is our faith.
This boldness doesn’t refer to us praying for a new car or a new house; no, this boldness is that we ask according to His will, so He will hear us and do what we ask.
We do have to bring our needs and problems before the Lord, and we do need to pour out our hearts to Him, and we definitely need to seek His will concerning where to live, what to do, who to marry, what job to take, etc.
All these things seem so important for our human life, but the most important thing is God’s will, His great will concerning the fulfilment of His economy.
All the small things related to our human life and existence have to be in line with the great will of God in order for our prayers to be effectual.
We need to learn to pray by faith for executing God’s will according to his economy by faith.
Not many see that the Lord’s teaching on prayer is related to God’s economy, which is to be accomplished by His faithful people doing His will.
For us to pray such a prayer, we need to be the right persons – we need to be those doing God’s will, His great will for the accomplishment of His economy.
We need to realize that we need to pray by faith, and for this we need to be the proper persons, the right persons, doing God’s will.
We should be those who are carrying out God’s will to accomplish His economy, which is to produce an organism for His good pleasure (see Eph. 1:5, 9, 22-23).
![Making known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Himself. Eph. 1:9 And He subjected all things under His feet and gave Him [to be] Head over all things to the church, Which is His Body, the fullness of the One who fills all in all. Eph. 1:22-23 And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Rev. 21:2](https://i0.wp.com/www.agodman.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Making-known-to-us-the-mystery-of-His-will-according-to-His-good-pleasure-which-He-purposed-in-Himself-683x1024.jpg?resize=450%2C675&ssl=1 "Making known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Himself. Eph. 1:9 And He subjected all things under His feet and gave Him [to be] Head over all things to the church, Which is His Body, the fullness of the One who fills all in all. Eph. 1:22-23 And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Rev. 21:2")
God has a good pleasure, a will, and a heart’s desire, which are to obtain an organism, the Body of Christ; He purposed this in Himself and He revealed His heart’s desire to His holy apostles and prophets in spirit.
We must be the people on earth who are the children of God, the Lord’s believers, who are consumed with God’s will.
We must pray that His will be done and His kingdom come, His name be sanctified and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
The Lord Jesus was a pattern to us; He was a person right in God’s eyes, the real God-man, who knew God’s heart.
His cursing of the fig tree was according to the will of God, and His teaching on prayer is according to God’s desire.
May we be such ones, those who are fully one with the Lord and who care for the accomplishment of His economy on earth so that we pray by faith.
When we pray by faith in this way, our prayer will carry out God’s will to have the Body of Christ, which will consummate the New Jerusalem (Eph. 1:9, 22-23; Rev. 21:2).
When we come together to pray, either in the vital groups, our home meeting, the prayer meetings of the church, and the whole church coming to pray, we need to learn to execute God’s will according to His economy by faith.
Lord Jesus, teach us how to pray; we want to learn to pray by faith according to how You have taught us. Make us the right persons, the proper persons who do God’s will for the accomplishment of His economy. Save us for caring only for ourselves, our needs, and our interests; grant us to have a heart for God and His need, His interest, and His purpose. Amen, Lord, we want to be those who are carrying out God’s will to accomplish His economy to produce an organism for His good pleasure! May our prayer be by faith so that our prayer would carry out God’s will to have the Body of Christ which consummates in the New Jerusalem! Amen, Lord, may Your will be done! May Your kingdom come!
Being Mingled with God and One with God to have God as our Faith and Pray by Faith for the Executing of God’s Will
![And as they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. And Peter remembered and said to Him, Rabbi, behold, the fig tree which You cursed has withered. And Jesus answered and said to them, Have faith in God. Truly I say to you that whoever says to this mountain, Be taken up and cast into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says happens, he will have it. For this [reason] I say to you, All things that you pray and ask, believe that you have received [them,] and you will have them. Mark 11:20-24](https://i0.wp.com/www.agodman.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/And-as-they-passed-by-in-the-morning-they-saw-the-fig-tree-withered-from-the-roots-683x1024.jpg?resize=450%2C675&ssl=1 "And as they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. And Peter remembered and said to Him, Rabbi, behold, the fig tree which You cursed has withered. And Jesus answered and said to them, Have faith in God. Truly I say to you that whoever says to this mountain, Be taken up and cast into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says happens, he will have it. For this [reason] I say to you, All things that you pray and ask, believe that you have received [them,] and you will have them. Mark 11:20-24")
Mark 11:20-24 shows us that we need to pray with God as our faith; in this portion, the Lord Jesus taught His disciples to pray by faith for executing God’s will.
We need to be those who learn to pray by faith, even having God as our faith.
When we as praying ones are mingled with God and are one with God, God Himself becomes our faith; this is what it means to have faith in God.
Our faith is in God, not in ourselves; our faith is of God, not of ourselves.
More and more these days, with all the things happening around us, with all the things happening not only in the society and in our nation but even in our personal universe and in our being, we realize our need for God.
We need God as our faith; we need more of God to be infused into us to be our faith.
When we come to the Lord to contact Him and enjoy Him, it is amazing to realize that God is there for us, He is available, and He is everything to us to meet all our needs.
If we just open to Him, contact Him, and turn our hearts to Him, opening to Him concerning our needs, we will see that God will give us whatever we need, including the faith that we need to pray.
We just need to pray ourselves into God; we need to pray ourselves out of ourselves and into God so that we may absorb God.
The more we contact Him, enjoy Him, and pray to absorb Him, the more we are mingled with Him.
He simply infuses Himself into us in our contact with Him; He fills us with Himself, and He makes us one with Him.
In this oneness with Him in spirit, we are filled with faith in a spontaneous way.
Faith is flowing in the organic union with the Lord, and faith is abundant in us and to us in the organic union with our dear Lord Jesus in spirit.
In this way we have faith in God; faith in God.
We are men who are in God, in the spirit, and we live by faith, for faith is our portion to partake of in our contact with the Lord.
When we are in our mind, we are filled with doubts, but when we turn to our spirit, we have faith; faith is in our spirit but doubts are in our unrenewed mind.
As praying ones, we can have faith in God without doubting but believing that we have received what we have asked for, and we will receive it! Hallelujah!
If we are in our mind, we’re outside of God; we simply look at the situations with the natural eyes and there is no faith.
Don’t trust your feelings and your thoughts; trust in the Lord and turn to Him, for faith is in your spirit.
Faith is not in our mind, for our mind is still unrenewed; faith is in our spirit.
When we’re in our mingled spirit, we have no doubts but only faith, and we simply believe that we have received what we have asked for. Hallelujah!
May we be those who learn to pray by faith, praying in the organic union with the Lord.
May we be the right persons, those who are absolutely one with God, having God as our faith.
It is in this union with God, in the organic union with the Lord in our spirit, that we care for what He cares, we pray for what He prays, and we are one with Him for the executing of God’s will according to His economy in faith.
Lord Jesus, teach us how to pray by faith for executing God’s will on earth. We want to pray ourselves into God by the exercise of our spirit to contact You and abide in You. Amen, Lord, we love to be in You, absorbing You and being mingled with You. Mingle Yourself more with us and make us one with You. We treasure our organic union with You. We want to remain here, in the mingled spirit, to be fully one with You and to pray by faith for the fulfilment of God’s economy. May we be those who have faith in God, not doubting but believing that we have received what we asked for! Hallelujah, if we ask according to God’s will, in oneness with Him, we know that He will do what we asked for! Praise the Lord!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by the brothers, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1959, vol. 4, “Lessons on Prayer,” ch. 2, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, God’s Economy in Faith (2022 spring ITERO), week 3, entitled, Praying with God as our Faith.
- Hymns on this topic:
– “Ask in faith,” the Name of Jesus / All your plea before the throne; / As you trust, the Lord will whisper, / “See, my child, the work is done.” / “Ask in faith,” God waits to answer / Each petition, Spirit-wrought; / He will work in wondrous power, / Far beyond your highest thought. (Hymns #776)
– Say to this mountain, “Go, / Be cast into the sea!” / And doubt not in thine heart / That it shall be to thee. / It shall be done, doubt not His Word, / Command thy mountain in the Lord! (Hymns #777)
– It seems Thou art in heaven hearing me, / But right within my spirit Thou dost dwell; / It seems that I am praying unto Thee, / But really from Thyself the prayers do well. / When, Lord, no words my burden can express, / My spirit with Thy Spirit deeply groans; / Not verbally I then my plea address, / But Thou dost pray within with words unknown. (Hymns #764)
About aGodMan
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The fig tree is a symbol of the nation of Israel (Jer. 24:2, 5, 8)… The nation of Israel lost her capacity in fulfilling God’s economy because of her rottenness. In Revelation 2 the Lord’s first epistle to the first church, at Ephesus, says that because the church there lost her capacity to shine forth the testimony of Jesus, the Lord would remove her lampstand (v. 5). The same thing occurred to Israel in the ancient time. Actually, Israel was a lampstand, established by God to stand on the whole earth to shine forth God’s testimony (Zech. 4:2), but she lost this capacity because of her rottenness. Because the people of Israel’s condition of not bearing fruit but having only leaves still remained after the first God-man’s ministry among them, God intended to give them up (Matt. 21:33-43). The Lord ministered among them for three and a half years,… but [His ministry] had no effect on this nation chosen by God, so God intended to give them up. The Lord Jesus, who is right in the eyes of God, knows God’s heart, so His cursing the fig tree was according to His knowledge of God’s will in the fulfillment of God’s economy to give up the rotten Israel (v. 19). Based upon this background, the first God-man taught His disciples to pray for executing God’s will according to His economy by faith (vv. 21-22).
Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1994-1997, vol. 3, “The God-man Living,” pp. 579-580
We need to learn to pray by faith; such prayer is related to God’s economy. For us to pray in this way, we must be right persons doing God’s will, His great will for the accomplishment of His economy.
We need to see that we are not the right persons to pray for God’s good pleasure. Christ is the right person, the One who is absolutely for God’s economy.
Therefore, we must pray ourselves into Christ, gaining Him as our faith and being in union with Him. May we be those who seek to be one with Christ for the executing of God’s will according to His economy by faith. Amen.
Let’s be truly joined to the Lord in our practical daily life brother
Our prayer must be that which matches God’s will for His purpose, His economy.
We cannot expect Him to answer prayers that are for our desire. Instead we need to be the right persons – as Jesus was – being absolutely for God’s will, to fulfil His economy to bring forth the Body of Christ to be consummated in the New Jerusalem.
When we pray we must exercise such faith that we have received it already because it is according to His purpose.
Yes Lord we take more of you in today, that you transform us metabolically, make us the same as you in life and nature, that we may be the right persons, keep us joined to you all day today
Amen Lord, Do in us what’s necessary for the accomplishment of your economy. Make us fully one with you Lord Jesus.
Amen Lord Jesus! Make us the right persons for God economy! Strengthen our spirit of faith to pray in faith and by faith for Your kingdom sake!
Ameeenn.
The cursing of the fig tree is the Lord’s way of teaching His disciples concerning prayer, a prayer that is according to God’s will for the fulfillment of God’s economy. Such a prayer is also a prayer of faith, in faith, and by faith. Why? because it is based on God’s will and according to His economy!
To pray such prayer we need to be those who do and carry out God’s will.