Lesson 4

Practicing Persevering Prayer for Shepherding

Scripture Reading: Rom. 1:9; Eph. 6:18; Col. 1:3, 9; 4:2, 12; 1 Thes. 1:2; 1 Tim. 2:1; Rom. 12:12; Luke 18:1, 8

I. We must see that we should do only one work, which is to make God’s chosen people beings of the New Jerusalem—Rev. 21:2, 9-10:

A. God proceeds step by step to make a chosen one of God a person who is regenerated, sanctified, renewed, transformed, conformed to the image of the firstborn Son of God, and even glorified by God—John 3:3, 5-6; Rom. 6:19, 22; Eph. 4:23; Rom. 12:2; 8:29-30.

B. In this way we go up level by level until we reach the highest point, where we become the same; there is no more flesh and no more natural being; all are in the spirit; all are in the kingdom of the heavens, and all are beings of the New Jerusalem—Rev. 21:2, 9-10.

C. We should know the kind of work that we should do, and what goal we should attain; we should no longer do our own work but should only do the work of the New Jerusalem—v. 9.

II. The incense altar signifies Christ as the Intercessor to maintain the relationship between God and His people—Exo. 30:1-10; Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:25; Rev. 8:3:

A. If it were not for Christ’s intercession, no one would accept His death, experience His resurrection, or be one with Him in His ascension; all these experiences are dependent on the motivation that comes from the interceding Christ and the interceding church; this is the significance of the incense altar—Exo. 30:1-10; Heb. 7:25.

B. As those who are seeking the Lord, we in the recovery both individually and corporately must learn one thing—to pray; we need a praying life, a life of interceding—1 Sam. 12:23; 1 Tim. 2:1; Eph. 1:16; 1 Thes. 1:2; Philem. 4:

1. The proper prayer life is a life of praying for others, of interceding for them—1 Sam. 12:23.

2. We need to pray for the older ones, the younger ones, and the opposers; day by day we need to pray not mainly for ourselves, but for others; the intercession offered at the incense altar should be daily increasing—1 Tim. 2:1.

C. If we consider the tabernacle and the outer court, we shall see that the incense altar is the center; the executing center of God’s administration is not the ark but the incense altar—Exo. 30:1, note 1:

1. If we do not have the center, the incense altar, none of the aspects of the tabernacle and the outer court will be effective in our experience—v. 1.

2. The incense altar can be compared to a motor which causes everything to operate; when the motor stops, everything else stops also; when the motor operates, everything else operates—cf. Rom. 1:9; 8:16; Col. 1:17-18.

3. It is the incense altar that motivates sinners to come to the altar of burnt offering in repentance, to plunge into the laver and be immersed in the Spirit, to come to the table in the Holy Place to enjoy Christ as their life supply, to come to the lampstand to be enlightened, and to come into the Holy of Holies to touch God’s testimony—Heb. 7:25.

4. When we study the incense altar, we are studying the greatest matter in the universe, for the incense altar may be regarded as our heavenly White House; this means that everything is executed, motivated, and carried out from this divine center; Christ’s interceding life, His prayer life, is the center of God’s administration—Rev. 8:3-5.

D. We need to respond to Christ’s intercession in His heavenly ministry—Heb. 7:25-26, 34; Rom. 8:34; Acts 12:5; Col. 1:9-11; 4:12:

1. Christ’s intercession requires our response; we need to participate in Christ’s interceding life and become on earth the reflection of Christ’s intercession in His heavenly ministry, praying the prayers of the interceding Christ—Rom. 8:26-27, 34; 1 Tim. 2:1; Col. 4:3; 1 Thes. 5:25; 2 Thes. 3:1; Heb. 13:18.

2. Through our prayer Christ, the Head, is given a way to carry out His administration through His Body—Rev. 5:6; 8:3-5; Eph. 1:10, 17-23.

III. Prayer is an essential, basic element of proper shepherding—Col. 1:7; 4:12:

A. We need to see the two aspects of prayer—fellowship and inquiring—S. S. 1:1-4; Phil. 1:4, 19:

1. The first function of prayer is to use our spirit to fellowship with God, that is, to contact and absorb God with our spirit; when we enter into God’s presence, we must consider fellowshipping with Him to be of primary importance; this is the foundation of prayer—Psa. 42:1-2; cf. Jer. 17:7-8; Col. 2:7.

2. The second aspect of prayer is prayer for inquiring; this aspect of prayer includes inquiring concerning the Lord’s work and concerning our personal needs—Phil. 1:4, 19; 1 Tim. 2:1.

3. During the first segment of our prayer we enter into the presence of God and fellowship with Him; at this time God will anoint us with His burden for the work and reveal His intention to us; we can then petition according to God’s will and His burden for the work; this aspect of prayer is initiated by God; it is not initiated by us—Isa. 62:6-7; 45:11; Ezek. 22:30; Dan. 9:2-4; 1 Sam. 12:23; 1 Cor. 3:9; 2 Cor. 6:1a.

B. We need to pray specifically and persistently—Rom. 12:12; Col. 4:2:

1. We must learn to be specific with our prayer; we should know when God has answered our prayers and when He has not answered our prayers—Luke 1:53.

2. God wants to know what you specifically want and what you are specifically asking for; only then can He give it to you—cf. Mark 10:46-52.

3. We must persevere in prayer and never stop praying; we must have the faith to pray to the Lord persistently until one day He is compelled to answer our prayer—Luke 18:1, 8.

4. Many time, the one being prayed for will not change unless the praying one is first changed; if the situation on their side remains unchanged, we need to seek after God concerning our side; we need to ask if there are sins that need to be dealt with, etc.—cf. Isa. 59:2.

C. Every Christian should have a prayer-book, one a year; he should record his prayers as one keeps books in accounting—Rom. 12:12:

1. Each page should be divided into four columns:

a. The first column should the date he begins to pray for something.

b. The second column should record the prayer item.

c. The third column should record the date the prayer is answered

d. The fourth column should record how God answered the prayer.

2. The advantage of writing things down in a prayer-book is that it shows us whether or not God is answering our prayers—v. 12.

3. Write down the items you are praying for one by one and the items that God has answered; any item that has been recorded in book, but has not been answered, should be followed up by persistent prayer—v. 12.

D. Our prayers should be aimed at the holy land, the holy city, and the holy temple; this means that our prayers should be aimed at the interest of God, that is, at Christ and the church as God’s interest on earth—1 Kings 8:48, and note 1; cf. Dan. 6:10:

1. This indicates that no matter for whom we are praying, our prayer must be aimed at Christ as God’s interest—v. 10.

2. We need to pray for the saints, but we should not aim our prayers at them; if in our prayer we aim at the one for whom we pray, this will bring in the enemy’s attack; this is a spiritual strategy in the spiritual warfare—Col. 4:12; Eph. 6:18-20.

Excerpts from the Ministry:

THE NEED FOR INTERCESSION

If it were not for Christ’s intercession, no one would accept His death, experience His resurrection, or be one with Him in His ascension. In order for people to be motivated to experience Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension, His intercession is necessary. Without the interceding of Christ and the church, sinners will not receive the death of Christ. Moreover, those who have received Christ’s death will not go on to experience His resurrection, much less know what it means to be with Christ in ascension, sitting with Him in the heavenlies. All these experiences are dependent on the motivation that comes from the interceding Christ and the interceding church. This is the significance of the incense altar.

The Bible first shows us the altar, the cross of Christ, and then the laver, the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. Following this, we have Christ as the life supply, as the light, and in the Holy of Holies as the ark. Finally, in the book of Revelation, a book of God’s executing, we see that the divine administration, the divine executing, is always carried out by the incense altar.

As those who are seeking the Lord, we in the recovery both individually and corporately must learn one thing—to pray. We need a praying life. The real praying life is always a life of interceding. Genuine prayer is not mainly to pray for ourselves; it is continually to pray for others. Praying for ourselves is not intercession. But to pray for others is to intercede for them. Thus, prayer for others is intercession.

The proper prayer life is a life of praying for others, of interceding for them. We need to pray for the churches throughout the earth and for all the saints. We need to pray for the older ones, the younger ones, and the opposers. Day by day we need to pray not mainly for ourselves, but for others. We need such an interceding life. The intercession offered at the incense altar should daily be increasing…

We may have much knowledge about the furniture in the tabernacle. We may know what is in the Holy Place and in the Holy of Holies. Nevertheless, we may not have any of these aspects of the tabernacle in our experience. Rather, we may be like a machine without a motor. Do you know what is the “motor” in our being, the motor in our body, soul, and spirit? The motor is the prayer life. Christ is not only the bread, the light, and the ark—He is also the incense altar. This means that He is the motivator and even the motor. Therefore, we need to enjoy Him as our prayer. We need to let Him pray in us, let Him guide us into prayer and into the enjoyment of Him as our prayer. I hope that we all shall see this.

In our experience we need to come to the altar, the laver, the table, the lampstand, and the ark. According to my study of the Bible, after we come to the ark in the Holy of Holies, we need to come back to the incense altar. The incense altar is not one item on the passageway through the tabernacle. On the contrary, it can be compared to a motor which causes everything to operate. Hence, the incense altar stands by itself as a turning point. Again and again we must come back to this turning point. This means that in order to experience any aspect of the outer court or the tabernacle, we need to pray. When we pray, everything works. When we pray, in our experience the altar, the laver, the table, the lampstand, and the ark are all effective. However, when the motor stops, everything else stops also. When the motor operates, everything else operates. This is the reason that we need to have a motor—the interceding Christ—operating within us. We need to have a prayer life, a life of prayer. (Life-Study of Exodus, msg. 148, pp. 1601-1604)

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE INCENSE ALTAR

If it were not for the incense altar, no one would come to the altar of burnt offering. No one would repent and come to the altar to confess his sins. It is the prayer at the incense altar that motivates sinners to come to the altar of burnt offering. Because of this prayer, one day we repented. Do you know the reason you repented? You repented because the incense altar, the heavenly White House, sent forth a message urging you to repent. Thus, without the incense altar, the altar of burnt offering cannot function, and no one can repent.

Some may have the experience of repentance, but they may not yet be regenerated. Thus, there is the need of more prayer at the incense altar. Either Christ Himself as the Head or the church as the Body needs to pray, “O Father, look at these people. They have repented, but they have not yet been regenerated. Father, forgive their sins and regenerate them.” As a result of further prayers from the incense altar, others will be motivated to come to the laver. They will want to plunge into the laver and be immersed in the Spirit.

Today many saints are starving spiritually. In Anaheim we have the burden to pray that these hungry ones will come to the showbread table to feed on Christ. Although many are starving, they are not willing to come to Christ to enjoy Him as their life supply. Of the millions of Christians on earth today, how many are feeding on Christ at the table? The vast majority do not even have a small basket of food, much less a table. By this we see there is the need of much more prayer at the incense altar so that the believers will be motivated to come to the table in the Holy Place to enjoy Christ as their life supply…

Prayer is going on in the heavenly White House not only that the believers will be nourished through the Word, but also that they will be enlightened. Light always comes after the showbread table. In the Holy Place first we come to the table to be nourished and then to the lampstand to be enlightened. The sequence is the same in the Gospel of John. In John 6 we have the feeding, and in John 8 we have the light. When we are fed, we shall receive light. However, if the saints are to be fed and enlightened, there must be prayer for this offered at the incense altar.

After we experience the feeding and the enlightening in the Holy Place, we need to enter into the Holy of Holies to touch God’s testimony. In the Lord’s recovery we do not care merely to carry out a work; we are here for the carrying out of God’s testimony. In a very real sense we are not in a field laboring; rather, we are in the Holy of Holies touching the testimony. However, some of the churches have not yet come into the Holy of Holies to contact God’s testimony. Instead, they are still in the Holy Place at the showbread table. These churches need more prayer. I am concerned for those of us who are still at the table and who have not yet come into the Holy of Holies to touch the central point of the tabernacle, God’s testimony. There is the need of more prayer concerning this. I believe that this prayer is being offered at the incense altar. (Life-Study of Exodus, msg. 147, pp. 1597-1598)

THE TWO ASPECTS OF PRAYER

BEING FELLOWSHIP AND INQUIRING

A person who is used by the Lord must be a person of prayer. The apostles said that they would “continue steadfastly in prayer and in the ministry of the word” (Acts 6:4). To carry out the ministry of the word is to work for the Lord and to be used by Him. Prayer enables a person to work for the Lord and to be used by Him. The apostles could be used by the Lord because they continued steadfastly in prayer. A person who neglects prayer cannot be used by the Lord. In terms of function, the two aspects of prayer are fellowship and inquiring.

Prayer for Fellowship with God

The first function of prayer is to use our spirit to fellowship with God, that is, to contact and absorb God with our spirit. Our fellowship with God gives Him the opportunity to reveal Himself in us and to transfuse Himself into us so that our mind, emotion, and will are gradually mingled with Him. In this way God can reveal His intention to us so that we may understand His will. Furthermore, while God operates within us, He exposes and deals with our weaknesses, mistakes, and shortcomings. Hence, the first aspect of prayer is to fellowship with God by contacting Him and by letting Him mingle with us and clear up our problems.

When we enter into God’s presence, we must consider fellowshipping with Him to be of primary importance. We should not begin with petitioning. Rather, we should first turn to our spirit, behold the shining of the Lord’s face, and wait for His operating, enlightening, revealing, anointing, infusing, mingling, filling, and saturating. We should also let the Lord expose our weaknesses, mistakes, and shortcomings. If we are willing to thoroughly confess these problems, our conscience will be at peace and without condemnation, and our spirit will be filled with His presence. At this time we can mention to the Lord the things that we want to pray for…

Prayer for Inquiring

The above points are concerning prayer to fellowship with God. This is the foundation of prayer. After a good foundation has been laid, we can enter into the second aspect of prayer—prayer for inquiring. This aspect of prayer includes inquiring concerning the Lord’s work and concerning our personal needs. We will speak concerning inquiring for the Lord’s work.

Initiated by God

The foundation of our prayer is to enter into fellowship with God, that is, to enter into God. Then our prayer is initiated by God, not by us. He gives us the burdens to pray. It is not that we ask God to accomplish something; rather, it is God asking us to petition on His behalf concerning the matter. Matthew 6 shows that genuine prayer is to pray on behalf of God. During the first segment of our prayer We enter into the presence of God and fellowship with Him. At this time God will anoint us with His burden for the work and reveal His intention to us. We can then petition according to God’s will and His burden for the work. These matters are not concerning ourselves but concerning God. Therefore, we are praying on behalf of God, not on behalf of ourselves. This aspect of prayer is initiated by God; it is not initiated by us. Genuine prayer is not for ourselves. Genuine prayer is for God and is initiated by God. When the Lord taught the disciples how to pray, He said, “You then pray in this way” (v. 9). This is the Lord’s initiating and proposing. (CWWL, 1961-1962, vol. 3, “Fellowshipping with the Lord for the Mingling of God and Man,” ch. 1, pp. 339-340, 343).

Asking

The Lord says, “Knock and it shall be opened to you” (Matt. 7:7). If what you are knocking on is just the wall, the Lord will not open the wall to you. But if you indeed are knocking on the door, the Lord will surely open the door to you. If you ask to go in as well, the Lord will surely let you in. The Lord said, “Seek and you shall find” (v. 7). Suppose that there are many things here. Which one do you want? You must ask for at least one thing. You cannot say that anything will do. God wants to know what you specifically want and what you specifically are asking for. Only then can He give it to you. Hence, to ask means to demand something specific. We have to ask. This is what it means to seek and to knock. Suppose you want something from your father today. You have to ask for the specific thing you want. If you go to a pharmacy for medicine, you must say exactly what medicine you want. If you go to a market to purchase vegetables, you must say what vegetables you want. It is strange that people can come to the Lord without saying what they want. This is why the Lord says that we need to ask and ask specifically. The problem with us is that we do not ask. The hindrance is on our side. In our prayers we need to speak what we need and what we want. Do not pray an all-inclusive prayer in a frivolous way, caring little whether or not it is answered…

You must learn to be specific with your prayer. You should know when God has answered your prayers and when He has not answered your prayers. If it makes no difference to you whether or not God answers your prayers, it will be hard for you to effectively pray to Him if you come across a difficulty in the future. Empty prayers will not be effectual in times of need. If prayers are empty when needs are specific, one cannot expect any solution for the problem. Only specific prayers can deal with specific problems.

Persevering in Asking

Another point about prayer which requires attention is that we must persevere in prayer and never stop praying. Luke 18:1 says, “They ought always to pray and not lose heart.” Some prayers require perseverance. One has to pray to such an extent that the prayer seems to wear out the Lord and force Him to answer. This is another kind of faith. The Lord said, “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” (v. 8). This faith is different from the faith spoken of earlier, but they are not contradictory. Mark 11 says that we must pray until we have faith. Luke 18 says that we must ask again and again. We must have the faith to pray to the Lord persistently until one day He is compelled to answer our prayer. We should not care whether or not there is a promise. We should just pray until God is compelled to answer.

THE PRACTICE OF PRAYER

Every Christian should have a prayer-book, one a year. He should record his prayers as one keeps books in accounting. Each page should be divided into four columns. The first column should record the date he begins to pray for something. The second column should record the prayer item. The third column should record the date the prayer is answered and the fourth column should record how God answers the prayer. In this way, one will find out how many things he asks God for in a year, how many prayers God answers, and what prayers are still unanswered. New believers should definitely keep such a book. But it is good for those who have been believers for many years to keep a prayer-book also.

The advantage of writing things down in a prayer-bock is that it shows us whether or not God is answering our prayers. Once God’s answers stop, something must be wrong. It is good for Christians to be zealous in serving the Lord but such service is useless if their prayers are not answered. If a man’s way to God is blocked, his way to men is also blocked. If a man has no power before God, he will have no power before men. We must first seek to be a man of power before God before we can be useful before men.

A brother once wrote down the names of one hundred forty persons and prayed for their salvation. Some names were recorded in the morning and the persons were saved in the afternoon. After eighteen months, only two on the list remained unsaved. This is a very good pattern for us. May God gain more Christians who will keep a record of their prayers. I hope you will put this into practice. Write down the items you are praying for one by one and the items that God has answered. Any item that has been recorded in the book, but has not received an answer, should be followed up by persistent prayer. You should only stop if God shows you that a certain prayer is not according to His will. If He has not shown you this, pray persistently until you receive an answer. You should not be careless in any way. You should be strictly trained in this matter from the beginning. You should be this serious before God. Once you pray, do not stop until you receive an answer.

In using the prayer-book, note that some items require daily prayer while others require prayer only once a week. The schedule depends on the number of prayer items you have in your prayer book. If you have little to ask, you can pray daily over every item in the book. If there are many items, you can arrange for certain items to be prayed over on Mondays and others to be prayed over on Tuesdays. Just as men schedule their time to do other things, we should set aside a specific time every day for prayer. If our prayers are not specific, we will not need a prayer-book. If our prayers are specific, we will need a prayer-book. We can place this book in the same place we put our Bible and hymn book. They are to be used daily. After a period of time, count how many prayers have been answered and how many prayers have gone unanswered. It is a blessing to pray in a specific way according to a prayer-book. (CWWN, vol. 48, “Messages for Building Up New Believers (1), ch. 10, pp. 151-152, 161, 162-163)

References and Further Reading:

1. The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1994-1997, vol. 5, “The Highest Point: Doing the Work of the New Jerusalem.”

2. Life-Study of Exodus, msgs. 147-148.

3. The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1961-1962, vol. 3, “Fellowshipping with the Lord for the Mingling of God and Man,” ch. 1, pp. 339-346.

4. The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, vol. 48, “Messages for Building Up New Believers (1), ch. 10.

5. Life-Study of 1 & 2 Kings, msg. 6.

6. The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, vol. 10, “The Present Testimony (3),” Issue No. 27.