We need to remain in an atmosphere of prayer by continually exercising our spirit so that we may live Christ; as we are ruled by the peace of Christ and inhabited by the word of Christ through persevering in prayer, we become the new man in reality and have the living of the new man.
The goal of the Lord’s recovery is to bring forth the new man, a corporate and universal man for the fulfillment of God’s purpose.
The key to the practical existence of the one new man is in being renewed in the spirit of our mind; the key to putting off the old man and putting on the new man is being renewed in the spirit of our mind.
For the corporate living of the one new man we all need to take Christ as our person, grow up into Christ in all things, and learn Christ as the reality is in Jesus.
The Lord did already create the one new man on the cross in His Body, but the renewing of the new man and the practical existence of the new man has to take place continually.
As we are ruled by the peace of Christ and inhabited by the word of Christ through persevering in prayer, He permeates and replaces us with Himself until all our natural distinctions have been eliminated, and we become the one new man in reality.
On the cross Christ did not only terminate all the negative things in the universe but also created the one new man.
Christ Himself is the life, person, and head of the one new man, and we as the many members of the Body of Christ need to let the peace of Christ arbitrate in our hearts and let the word of Christ dwell in us richly.
The best way we can let the peace of Christ arbitrate in our hearts and let the word of Christ dwell in us richly is by persevering in prayer, that is, by having a daily living in an atmosphere of prayer.
The whole world and the trend of this world is against our prayer life; the enemy may allow us to do good things and even to seek spirituality, but when we want to pray, he will work both from within us and from outside of us to stop our prayer life.
We need to give ourselves to the Lord to have a life of prayer and live in an atmosphere of prayer, daily communicating with the Lord and bringing all things to Him.
We need to stand on God’s side and against Satan by persevering in prayer; when we pray, we join ourselves to the Lord and His desire, and we set our mind on the things which are above.
Yes, the whole universe and the whole world is against our prayer life, and resistance of prayer lies not only outside of us but also within us; however, we still need to pray and fight for our prayer life to be fully one with the Lord as the one new man.
We need to Remain in an Atmosphere of Prayer by Continually Exercising our Spirit
As believers in Christ who have been shown mercy by the Lord to see something concerning God’s heart’s desire to gain the one new man, we need to remain in an atmosphere of prayer by continually exercising our spirit (Eph. 6:18; 1 Tim. 4:7; 2 Tim. 1:7; Col. 1:3, 9).
This doesn’t mean that we need to kneel down or bow our head as we pray throughout the day, but, as we do this and that, we need to remain in an atmosphere of prayer by calling on the name of the Lord and bringing all things to Him.
It is when we remain in such an atmosphere of prayer that we can be watchful and ready, and we can be one with the Lord for the practical living of the new man.
Practically speaking, if we have a set time of prayer, we need to remove the distractions outside of us and inside of us so that we may remain before the Lord in prayer.
We may have to put our mobile phone on “Airplane Mode”, and we may have to turn off any other screen that would distract us. We need to learn to turn to our spirit and persevere in prayer.
We all have to admit that most of our experiences regarding prayer is failure, for the enemy opposes us from outside, there’s distractions around us, and there are hindrances and disputes in our being. Because prayer is a battle, a fight, we must persevere in it.
When we pray, we enter into the Holy of Holies and approach the throne of grace; grace and mercy flow from the throne to supply us, and such a supply and nourishment is what we need, and many times it is more important than having our prayers being answered.
We can all testify that, when we really touch the Lord in our spirit, we are brought into oneness with Him, we touch His sweetness, and we would not like such a time to end…however, when our prayer time is over, we may go back to our daily living, we may still struggle to be spiritual and do the right thing…
We need to turn from trying and struggling to remaining in an atmosphere of prayer. We need to be turned from trying to be holy, spiritual, and victorious, to living a daily life in an atmosphere of prayer.
For us to experience Christ and live Him we need to remain in an atmosphere of prayer.
How can we live Christ if we don’t practically live one spirit with Him, being constantly connected to the divine transmission and living a heavenly life on earth?
We just need to contact this living Person in prayer, and remain in this sweet contact with Him all throughout the day.
We shouldn’t even “try to live Christ” but simply remain in an atmosphere of prayer by continually exercising our spirit. The key to living Christ is remaining in an atmosphere of prayer by continually exercising our spirit, that is, by praying unceasingly.
Paul encouraged us that, first of all, we would offer petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving on behalf of all men (1 Tim. 2:1). Also, we need to pray for one another, giving thanks to the Lord for the saints (Col. 1:3), and when we hear of certain situations, we need to not cease praying and asking on the saints’ behalf (Col. 1:9).
We need to pray without ceasing, persevering in prayer, keeping ourselves intimately connected to the Lord (1 Thes. 5:17; Matt. 26:41; Col. 2:19). Even in the smallest details we need to inquire of the Lord; to do this is to persevere in prayer and thereby to live Christ (cf. Josh. 9:14; Phil. 4:7-8).
It is impossible to live Christ without prayer; for us to live Christ for the practical living of the new man, we need to remain in an atmosphere of prayer to keep our being in an intimate contact with the Lord.
It is in such an atmosphere and situation that we spontaneously live Christ; we will not speak our own opinion or viewpoint, we will not argue or debate, but we will simply live Christ.
Lord Jesus, we want to remain in an atmosphere of prayer by continually exercising our spirit so that we may live Christ for the practical expression of the new man. We want to pray without ceasing, persevere in prayer, keeping ourselves intimately connected to the Lord. May we inquire of You in all things, bringing all things to Your knowledge in prayer, so that we may persevere in prayer. Keep us calling on Your name, breathing You in, opening to You about all things, so that day by day our living may be in an atmosphere of prayer and thereby live Christ!
Christ Permeates us and Replaces us with Himself until We Become the New Man in Reality
There are many benefits to persevering in prayer. It is by persevering in prayer that we set our mind on the things above.
When we set our mind on the things above during our times of prayer, we become one with the Lord, and our prayer will reflect Christ’s ministry in the heavens.
Through persevering in prayer we can allow the peace of Christ to arbitrate in our hearts and let the word of Christ dwell in us richly. When we persevere in prayer, Christ as the Head of the Body has a way to carry out His administration through His Body.
Persevering in prayer is the key to the practical existence and living of the new man, for it is by our daily living in an atmosphere of prayer that we are being renewed in the spirit of our mind.
Though it is not easy for us to remain in an atmosphere of prayer, we need to practice this; if we practice for a long period of time, it will get easier and easier to have a proper prayer life, and we will enjoy the rewards of praying.
It is through persevering in prayer that we can set our mind on the things above, we are renewed in the spirit of our mind, we have the peace of Christ arbitrating in us, and we allow the word of Christ to inhabit us richly.
It is through persevering in prayer that we become and live out the one new man.
As we are ruled by the peace of Christ and are inhabited by the word of Christ through persevering in prayer, He permeates us and He replaces us with Himself until all our natural distinctions have been eliminated, and we become the new man in reality (see Col. 3:15-17; 4:2-3; 3:10-11).
As we daily practice to live in an atmosphere of prayer, we will live Christ by taking Him as our person, we will grow in life and learn Christ as the reality is in Jesus, we will be renewed in the spirit of our mind, we allow the peace of Christ to arbitrate in our hearts, we let the word of Christ dwell in us richly, and we live out the new man in reality.
As we practice this, that is, as we are ruled by the peace of Christ and inhabited by the word of Christ through persevering in prayer, Christ is gradually replacing us with Himself until all our natural distinctions are eliminated – and we become the new man in reality.
Lord Jesus, may we be ruled by Your peace and inhabited by Your word through persevering in prayer so that we may be permeated and replaced with Christ and become in reality the one new man. Oh Lord, we give You our daily living. May we practice setting our mind on the things above, being renewed in the spirit of our mind, learning Christ as the reality is in Jesus, letting the peace of Christ arbitrate in our heart, and allowing the word of Christ dwell in us richly by remaining in an atmosphere of prayer all throughout the day. Oh Lord, may we have a habit of prayer and a life of prayer for the living of the new man!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message given by Minoru Chen for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Colossians, msgs. 35, 39, 65 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Goal of the Lord’s Recovery – to Bring Forth the One New Man (2018 ICSC), week 5, Allowing the Peace of Christ to Arbitrate in Our Hearts, Letting the Word of Christ Dwell in Us Richly, and Persevering in Prayer for the One New Man.
- Hymns on this topic:
# Let us open to the Lord Himself through prayer, / Breathe Him deeply as the living air. / Gain the life supply by praying into Him, / ’Till our being’s filled up to the brim. (Song on, Let us work together with the Lord through prayer)
# Thru Thy Word and by my prayer / In the spirit touching Thee, / Lifted high my spirit is, / Strengthened shall my spirit be. (Hymns #782)
# Each time when I dream of the goodness of life, / I pray Thee, dear Lord, that Thou in it may be; / O do not allow me to choose by myself, / Nor seek any pleasure that’s other than Thee. (Hymns #389)
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