LESSONS ON THE GOD-ORDAINED WAY
Lesson Eight
The Life of the God-ordained Way—
The God-Man Living (2) —A Life of Prayer
Scripture Reading:
Eph. 6: 18 By means of all prayer and petition, praying at every time in spirit and watching unto this in all perseverance and petition concerning all the saints.
Matt. 26:41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.
1 Thes. 5:16-18 Always rejoice, unceasingly pray, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Jude 20-21 But you, beloved, building up yourselves upon your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, Keep yourselves in the love of God, awaiting the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
Acts 12:5b, 12 …but prayer was being made fervently by the church to God concerning him…And when he became aware of this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John, who was surnamed Mark, where there was a considerable number assembled together and praying.
Ezek. 36:37 Thus says the Lord Jehovah, Moreover for this I will be inquired of by the house of Israel to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock.
I. The necessity of prayer—Eph. 6:18:
A. Prayer will make us men of God—1 Thes. 5:16-18:
1. Prayer is the very means through which we contact God.
2. We must learn to pray all the time, and keep a praying spirit.
B. Through prayer man’s spirit is constantly exercised—2 Tim. 1:6.
C. A prayer life being a life that revolts and rebels against our natural being—Mark 9:29; Gal. 2:20.
D. Remaining in His crucifixion to be conformed to the mold of His death is the living of a God-man—Phil. 3:10; Gal. 2:20.
II. Becoming vital through prayer—Phil. 1:19-20:
A. There is no other way to be vital except by prayer—Eph. 6:18; 1 Cor. 6:17.
B. In this prayer life we pray ourselves into the spirit. We then learn how to follow this spirit. In this way we are really vital.
C. The way to be vitalized:
1. Being stirred up in the first love for the Lord through repenting prayers—Rev. 2:4-5.
2. Making a thorough confession to the Lord—1 John 1:9.
3. Having close, intimate, and thorough fellowship with the Lord and with the seeking saints—1 John 1:3; Dan. 1:6.
4. Reconsecrating yourself to the Lord—Rom. 12:1.
III. Building up a prayer life—Jude 20-21:
A. Praying in a new way to meet the new need—Rom. 1:9:
1. We should not repeat our old prayers.
2. We should simply tell the Lord directly what we want.
B. Continuing steadfastly in prayer—Acts 2:42, 6:4.
C. Watching unto prayer—Matt. 26:41; Eph. 6:18.
D. Budgeting three times each day for prayer—Dan. 6:10b.
E. Exercising our spirit to pray unceasingly—1 Thes. 5:16-17.
IV. Endeavoring to attend the prayer meeting of the church—Acts 12:5b, 12:
A. In the 1960s in Elden Hall in Los Angeles, at least seventy to eighty percent of those who attended the Lord’s day morning meeting also attended the prayer meeting.
B. Not praying by ourselves or in a habitual way—Matt. 6:7.
C. Praying short prayers that are full of revelation.
D. Releasing our spirit in our prayer—1 Cor. 2:4 and note 1.
E. Praying for the increase—1 Tim. 2:4; Ezek. 36:37-38:
1. We need to claim the promise in Ezekiel chapter thirty-six by praying definitely and specifically for the increase of numbers.
2. We need to make a list of our acquaintances, pray for them, and go to visit them:
a. To review all of our acquaintances—relatives, neighbors, friends, and schoolmates—and make a list of them.
b. To pray over the name list and seek the Lord’s leading concerning who should be the first for us to take care of.
c. To keep ourselves open to the Lord for His leading to visit people other than our acquaintances.
Excerpts from the ministry:
THE NECESSITY OF PRAYER
Prayer Will Make Us Men of God
We must learn to pray all the time. We need to call on the name of the Lord throughout the day and talk to the Lord. We can talk to the Lord by using short sentences as part of our unceasing prayer. We can pray, “O Lord Jesus, be with me,” or “O Lord Jesus, help me.” At least we need to keep a praying spirit all the time. During every occupation we can pray, and we have to pray. This prayer will make us men of God. Prayer is the very means through which we contact God.
God created us in a marvelous way, He created us with two ears for us to listen. He created us with two eyes for us to see. We need to eat, so God created us with a mouth. We need to speak, so God created us with a tongue and with vocal cords. We need to digest our food, so God created us with a stomach. We need to breathe, so God created us with lungs. God created everything with a purpose. He created us with a spirit for us to pray. Even unbelievers will pray at certain times, especially when they are in distress or trouble. The Chinese may say, “O heaven help me!” This is their prayer. The Lord Jesus used heaven as a symbol of the highest authority, the almighty God (Luke 15:18). At certain times, unbelievers will pray, “O God, help me!” We do have a praying organ within us, and we do have a praying intent, a praying desire within us. Many of us can testify that the most enjoyable time is the time of prayer. (The God-ordained Way to Practice the New Testament Economy, pp. 85-86)
Through Prayer Man’s Spirit Is Constantly Exercised
Everyone who exercises his spirit prays. Only prayer makes a person exercised in his spirit, in the same way that only moving the feet enables a person to walk. If we want to walk, we must move our feet. Similarly, if we would exercise our spirit, we must pray. Prayer is not merely asking God for strength to accomplish what we are doing. Rather, prayer causes us to exercise our spirit to contact God. If you are a man of prayer, your word will come out of your spirit when you go out to contact people. Your attitude will be grave, and your tone will be weighty. Therefore, before going out to preach the gospel, you must first have an extended time of prayer to build up your spirit. (Messages in Preparation for the Spread of the Gospel, p. 36)
A Prayer Life Being a Life that Revolts and Rebels against Our Natural Being
A prayer life is a life that revolts and rebels against our natural being. If we are naturally nice, this may prevent us from crying out by the inspiration of the Spirit. According to our natural being, we may pray too much and too long, not caring for others but only for our own feeling. Others are naturally silent. We have to rebel against our natural being. A prayer life is a rebellion. Some who were born so bold have to rebel against themselves to be silent for a period of time. The real prayer life stops our natural being.
Prayer is the release of the spirit. If you do not release your spirit, you can never receive the Spirit. This may be likened to a water hose. When water is coming out of the hose, this means that water is coming into it. Thus, to release our spirit is to receive the Spirit. But a number of us would not care for the release of the spirit but only for our habitual prayer. Some bold and talkative ones should not pray in the prayer meetings for a period of time. This is what it means to rebel against our natural life. (Fellowship Concerning the Urgent Need of the Vital Groups, p. 101)
Remaining in His Crucifixion to Be Conformed to the Mold of His Death—
This Is the Living of a God-man
Our practice should be to live the life of a God-man by realizing the power of the resurrection of Christ to take His cross as He did, to be crucified, to be conformed to His death, every day to live another One’s life (Phil. 3:10; 1:21; Gal. 2:20). Our life, our self, our flesh, our natural man, and our everything were already brought to the cross by Him. Now we are living Him, so we should remain in His crucifixion to be conformed to the mold of His death every moment in every part of our life. That will cause us to spontaneously live Him as the resurrection (John 11:25). This is the living of a God-man. (Living a Life According to the High Peak of God’s Revelation, p. 39-40)
BECOMING VITAL THROUGH PRAYER
There Is No Other Way to Be Vital except by Prayer
Now we have to start our action for the increase. Recently I visited a group of saints, and I made a very positive discovery. I found out that they were not vital and that they do not pray much. They have not gotten into the prayer life. The only way that we can touch the Spirit is by prayer. In the Bible the Spirit is linked with our prayer. Praying and the Spirit are one. If we are without prayer, we will be without the Spirit. Of course, we can also say that without the Spirit, there can be no prayer. This is why we are told that we have to pray in spirit (Eph. 6:18). Since we are regenerated believers in Christ, our human spirit and the Holy Spirit are mingled together as one spirit (1 Cor. 6:17).
If we do not pray even for one day, we have the feeling that we are short of the Spirit. When we pray, even with just a few sentences, we have the feeling that we are touching the Spirit. We all need to have a time with the Lord every morning in prayer. If you do not pray in the morning for one week, you will be dead spiritually. There is no other way to be vital except by prayer. We have to pray and get into a prayer life. (Fellowship Concerning the Urgent Need of the Vital Groups, p. 205)
In This Prayer Life We Pray Ourselves into the Spirit
In order to be vital, we first must have a thorough fellowship with the Lord. Then that fellowship will bring us into a kind of realization that we are totally sinful. Then we will be brought into a thorough confession of our sins. Spontaneously, we will re-consecrate ourselves. We will pray, “Lord, now I would like to consecrate myself to You anew.” Then that will bring us into a prayer life. No one can pray unceasingly without reaching this stage. When we pass through the stages of fellowship, confession, and consecration, we enter into a prayer life. It is in this prayer life that we pray ourselves into the Spirit—the essential Spirit, the economical Spirit, the all-inclusive Spirit. Then we learn how to follow this Spirit by exercising our spirit. If this is the case with us, we are really vital. Actually, this is all revealed, unveiled, in the New Testament, especially in Paul’s Epistles. (Fellowship Concerning the Urgent Need of the Vital Groups, p. 231)
The Way to Be Vitalized
Being Stirred Up in the First Love for the Lord through Repenting Prayers
Although we were unclean and evil sinners, God had compassion on us and chose us. As we consider God’s compassions to us and meditate on the Lord’s love in saving us, we will be stirred up in the best love for the Lord through repenting prayers. This will cause us to be vitalized.
Making a Thorough Confession to the Lord
In our repenting prayers, we need to make a thorough confession of all our failures, mistakes, wrongdoings, transgressions, trespasses, etc.
Having Close, Intimate, and Thorough Fellowship with the Lord
and with the Seeking Saints
We need to have close, intimate, and thorough fellowship with the Lord and with the seeking saints. To fellowship only with the Lord is inadequate. We must also be in fellowship with the saints. We need to get companions with whom we can labor. According to the example in the Bible, Daniel had three companions (Dan. 1:6). I would encourage you to get three companions. Do not ask the elders to give them to you. Ask the Lord to lead you to someone, making this one your companion in fellowship. Then you can get a few others. Spontaneously, you and your companions will be a very good small group.
Reconsecrating Yourself to the Lord
After you get your companions in fellowship, you must learn to take the lead to reconsecrate yourself to the Lord. You may have consecrated yourself already, but you need to be consecrated afresh.
To present your body means to give your body to the Lord as a living sacrifice. You have to sacrifice your body to the Lord. This is what Paul taught in Romans 12:1. You need to reconsecrate yourself in presenting your body. (The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups, pp. 30-32)
BUILDING UP A PRAYER LIFE
Praying in a New Way to Meet the New Need
For the vital groups, the first thing is our prayer. Thus, the first matter in this training will be to train the vital group members concerning how to pray in the new way to meet the new need. First, we should not repeat our old prayers. Our way of prayer has become a form; week after week we pray in a habitual way, repeating the same prayers to the Lord. Such prayers are not genuine prayers. When we pray, we should simply tell the Lord directly what we want: “Lord, we want to be revived. We are dead and cold. We want to be burning.” To say this much is good enough.
We need to learn to pray in a new way and to pray new prayers. We need the Lord to come and stir us up that we may pray in a new, refreshing, and living way. In our prayer there is no need for us to tell the Lord what to do. If we desire to be revived by the Lord, we should simply ask Him to revive us. We may pray, “Revive me, Lord. I am pitiful. I need You to revive me.” This is good enough. He does not need us to tell Him what to do. Our telling the Lord what to do is not prayer; it is instruction. (Fellowship Concerning the Urgent Need of the Vital Groups, pp. 67-68)
Continuing Steadfastly in Prayer
The three thousand who were gained on the day of Pentecost continued steadfastly in the prayers of the Spirit with a real burden. First, the one hundred twenty continued steadfastly in prayer for ten days. Then the three thousand continued steadfastly in prayer. Acts 6:4 also tells us that the apostles made the decision to continue steadfastly in prayer and the ministry of the word. (Fellowship Concerning the Urgent Need of the Vital Groups, p. 108)
Watching Unto Prayer
In Ephesians 6:18 Paul said that we need to pray at every time in spirit and watch unto this in all perseverance. We need to be watchful, on the alert, for the maintaining of our prayer life. Praying must be followed by watching. We have to add watching to our praying. After we make the decision to pray, many things will rise up to keep us away from praying. This is why we have to watch unto our prayer in all perseverance. To watch means that we are on the battlefield. The battle is raging, and there are enemies around us. (Fellowship Concerning the Urgent Need of the Vital Groups, p. 108)
Budgeting Three Times Each Day for Prayer
If we do not budget our money, we will spend it without any control. Since we budget our money, we should also budget our time. In the budget of our time, we should set up at least two or three times for prayer. In the morning, we could pray for at least fifteen minutes. Then according to our schedule, we could budget another time for prayer in the mid-morning, noon, or afternoon. Then we can budget another time in the evening before going to bed. We should budget these three times for prayer. (Fellowship Concerning the Urgent Need of the Vital Groups, p. 108)
Exercising Our Spirit to Pray Unceasingly
We need to exercise our spirit to pray unceasingly. This means that we should not waste our time. Instead, we need to fill up the gaps in our time with prayer. No one can say that they redeem and use every moment of every day. Today, generally speaking, Americans have much free time. This is why they spend time pursuing entertainment and worldly pleasures. Whenever our time is empty, we should fill it with prayer. This means that we should pray unceasingly. A person who prays unceasingly is a released person.
We have been helped in the Lord’s recovery to realize the daily spiritual practices we should have. We know how to call on the name of the Lord and how to talk to the Lord for the release of our spirit. The only need is for us to fill up our time with these practices. (Fellowship Concerning the Urgent Need of the Vital Groups, pp. 153-154)
ENDEAVORING TO ATTEND THE PRAYER MEETING OF THE CHURCH
The Testimony from Elden Hall—the Church in Los Angeles
Furthermore, all the members of the vital groups should endeavor to attend the prayer meeting of the church. In the 1960s when we were in Elden Hall in Los Angeles, at least seventy to eighty percent of those who attended the Lord’s Day morning meeting also attended the prayer meeting. Why could we have such a highly attended prayer meeting at that time, but not today? Some of the mothers may take their children as an excuse, but I would encourage the mothers to get together for babysitting so they can attend the prayer meeting on a rotating basis. Of course, the mothers need to care for their children, but they should not take this as an excuse for always missing the prayer meeting.
The members of all the vital groups also have to attend the regular church meetings. In particular, all of us have to endeavor to come to the prayer meeting. We have been practicing the church life in the United States for about thirty years. Over this period of time a negative habit has been built up. This negative habit is that most of the church members despise the prayer meeting. (Fellowship Concerning the Urgent Need of the Vital Groups, pp. 116-117, 134)
Not Praying by Ourselves or in a Habitual Way
A number of you who have prayed a lot in the church meetings should learn to stop yourselves from praying. Your natural prayer has been a very strong frustration to the church life. If you desire to pray, you must learn to pray a real prayer that is not initiated by you. You must learn that in the matter of prayer, you need to be crossed out. Not to pray is a defeat, but to pray by yourself is a mistake.
Some of you pray much in a habitual way in the prayer meetings, but in your prayer it is hard to realize any unveiling or revelation. Our prayer should be full of revelation. The Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6 is a simple prayer, but it is full of revelation and without explanation. (Fellowship Concerning the Urgent Need of the Vital Groups, p. 133)
Praying Short Prayers
Also, when we come to the prayer meeting, we are obliged to pray and to pray not just once. Do not pray long prayers. You do not need to compose anything. Simply tell the Lord what you want. Some saints’ prayers have too much composition. Their prayers are not spontaneous. Never forget that it is easier to get an answer to a short prayer. The best prayer is one with short sentences. Some saints have long sentences in their prayer. But we do not need to give the Lord reasons and explanations in our prayer. He already knows these things, so we should simply tell Him what we want. (Fellowship Concerning the Urgent Need of the Vital Groups, pp. 134-135)
Releasing Our Spirit In Our Prayer
Today we need to be blended together by much and thorough prayer. In our prayer we should not merely exercise our spirit but also release our spirit. Praying is the unique way for us to exercise our spirit and even the more to release our spirit. When our spirit is released, we can be blended together in this released spirit. Actually, when our spirit is released, there is no need to talk about blending. The released spirits are a kind of blending.
When we come together to pray, we need to release our spirit by praying short prayers. Our prayers are too long. The long prayer is a prayer of composition. It is not prayer out of a burden. The real burdened prayer would not be a long composed prayer. At one time in the 1960s when we were in Los Angeles in Elden Hall, our prayers were very short. Sometimes we had over two hundred in our prayer meeting. Each saint would pray one sentence, and we were like one person praying together. We coordinated together in our prayer, and there were no long prayers. (Fellowship Concerning the Urgent Need of the Vital Groups, p. 106)
Praying for the Increase
Ezekiel 36:37-38 says, “Thus saith the Lord God; I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock. As the holy flock, as the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts; so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men: and they shall know that I am the Lord.” Here the Lord promised that He would bring in flocks of people. Although He has promised to do this, we still need to inquire of Him. This means that we need to pray for the increase, saying, “O Lord, flock people in. You promised this to us.”
In the past, whenever we prayed for an increase of number, the Lord answered. I feel that we need to pray more. The Lord promised, yet He needs our inquiring. He promised that will increase our number by flocks of men, but we need to pray for this and ask Him to do it. I hope that the saints in all the local churches will pray definitely and specifically for the increase of numbers. We should never be content with our present number. Rather, we should all aspire to be doubled within a period of time. Thus, we need to pray, “Lord, flock people in.”
In 1963 in Los Angeles, we had only twenty to thirty people, but after we prayed for six months, the number was greatly increased. In Elden Hall we also prayed that the Lord would flock people in. We prayed, “Lord, bring flocks of men to us,” and the Lord heard this prayer. I feel that today we need to pray even more, standing upon and claiming Ezekiel 36:37-38 concerning the increase of numbers.
We should not say that numbers do not mean anything and that we do not care for numbers. We should not comfort ourselves with any failure in the matter of increase. We surely need the increase in numbers. We need to pray for the increase, claiming the Lord’s promise in Ezekiel 36. When some hear this, they may say that they care not for quantity but for quality. However, quality comes out of quantity. Therefore, we need to pray that the Lord will give us the increase and that He will bring in flocks of men. (Life-Study of Ezekiel, pp. 196-197)
To Make a List of Our Acquaintances, Pray for Them, and Go to Visit Them
a. To review all of our acquaintances—relatives, neighbors,
friends, and schoolmates—and make a list of them.
We also need to review all of our acquaintances and make a list of them. Our acquaintances include our relatives, neighbors, friends, schoolmates, and colleagues.
b.To pray over the name list and seek the Lord’s leading
concerning who should be the first for us to take care of.
Then you need to pray over the name list and seek the Lord’s leading concerning who should be the first for you to take care of. If you would pray in this way, the Lord will lead you and you will have the burden to contact specific people. You need to take every step of the God-ordained Way by prayer. You should not do anything without adequate prayer.
c.To keep ourselves open to the Lord for His leading
to visit people other than our acquaintances.
You should not limit yourself to your acquaintances. The Lord said to go to disciple the nations, to disciple everyone. So you should keep yourself open to the Lord for His new leading to visit new people other than your acquaintances. (The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups, p. 46)
References: The God-ordained Way to Practice the New Testament Economy, ch. 9; Messages in Preparation for the Spread of the Gospel, ch. 3; The Fellowship Concerning the Urgent Need of the Vital Groups, chs. 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 22, and 24; Living a Life According to the High Peak of God’s Revelation, ch. 5; Life-study of Ezekiel, ch. 17; The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups, chs. 1, 3.
