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Some have asked whether we should first pray or first sing a hymn to begin the worship of the Father after breaking the bread at the table meeting. In practice, it is easier to begin with singing and more difficult to begin with prayer. If we are able to have a good beginning with prayer, it is best to begin with prayer. If the prayer is strong enough to touch the spirit of the meeting, even to touch this particular section of the meeting, then prayer is the best and the sweetest way to begin this section of the meeting. We should remember that this is the beginning of a section and not the beginning of a meeting. Thus, for the sake of spiritual elegance and height, it is best to begin with prayer.
It is best to use a hymn, not prayer, at the beginning of a meeting, because at the beginning the spirit is relatively low, and it is difficult to pray. In principle, however, prayer is the best way to begin, because a hymn is not as high as a prayer. But when we are unable to offer suitable prayer, we must use a hymn. After the breaking of bread, if the attendants are high in their spirit and able to follow the Lord Jesus to come before God, then it is not so good to start the worship of the Father with a hymn. We should have a prayer of continuity, a prayer that continues the flavor of the preceding section, that follows the Lord Jesus to come before God and to offer up praises to Him. Such praise turns the entire meeting from the first section to the second section, from remembering the Lord to worshipping the Father. It would be very elegant and beautiful for us to sing a hymn after such praise and continue with two more prayers.
The most precious point concerning a meeting is that we learn to touch the atmosphere, the feeling, of the meeting. Suppose the atmosphere of the meeting has already brought us to the point where we want to follow the Lord to take the way of the cross before us. This means that we have seen the Lord on the throne in glory, and we want to follow Him to take the way of the cross. In such an atmosphere, it would not be so appropriate for us to turn the meeting to enter into the worship of the Father by simply calling a hymn; this would not be elegant. However, if we can use a prayer to turn the feeling of following the Lord to an atmosphere of worshipping the Father, the praising spirit will be stronger, and we can then choose a hymn to express the spirit of praise and worship.
In such an exercise we still need to pay attention to the spirit and pay attention to praying with continuity. It is difficult to have the proper utterance for prayers in this section. For example, it is not proper for us to begin a prayer by saying, “O Lord.” A prayer that begins with “Lord” is addressing the Lord, not the Father. Therefore, such a turn is not adequate. It is very difficult to make a turn after we have used the title Lord. If we call on the Lord’s name in the section on the worship of the Father, the flavor will be weakened. Although God is both the Lord and the Father, when we speak of the Lord, we sense the aspect of His being the Lord; we do not sense the aspect of His being the Father. Thus, when we are worshipping the Father, it is best to call Him Father.
Our prayer should contain more revelation and fewer doctrines. Prayer is not preaching; rather, prayer is speaking forth a spiritual matter we have seen. Prayer is related to revelation, not doctrine. It is doctrine when someone tells us that the meeting hall is in such and such a condition. But it is revelation when he takes us to the meeting hall and shows us the glass windows and the planters.
How should we pray in the table meeting? If we firmly grasp a few principles, we will be able to offer proper prayers. First, there is “initiating” prayer, which means that the meeting does not have a particular subject, but we feel something in our spirit and express it with a prayer. For example, no one may have expressed a feeling concerning God’s love, but one may have an inward, spiritual inspiration concerning God’s love, a feeling that is as strong as an atomic bomb. If he expresses this feeling with a prayer, everyone will have a feeling concerning God’s love.
Second, there is “expressive” prayer, which means that all the brothers and sisters have a certain feeling, such as the love of God; however, there is the need for someone to express this feeling with a prayer. This kind of prayer needs expressive utterance in order to speak forth this feeling. For instance, while sitting in the meeting, one may clearly sense that everyone has a feeling concerning God’s love; therefore, he offers a prayer to speak forth, to express, this feeling. Whereas initiating prayer is for revelation, expressive prayer is a speaking forth, to pray forth the sense that is within everyone.
Third, there is “motivating” prayer. If we are in an atmosphere of remembering the Lord, but it is time to begin worshipping the Father, we need to be motivated in order to turn the atmosphere to the worship of the Father. Our spirit of worship cannot make a proper turn if we are not properly motivated; therefore, there is a need for motivating and strengthening. Previously the saints were in a spirit of remembering the Lord; now we should use a prayer to motivate, to draw out, the spirit of worship and strengthen it. Then we can go on to worship the Father. Thus, in the table meeting there are prayers for initiating, for expressing, for motivating, and for strengthening.
I hope that we would all apply ourselves in these matters. If we have a personal reserve, we will be able to draw from it and use it in the meetings. Many times we cannot open our mouths and pray, because on the one hand, we do not have the inspiration, and on the other hand, we do not have enough reserve. It is not that we lack a burden in our spirit to pray; rather, it is that we do not have the utterance for prayer or a reserve for prayer. For example, it may not be as easy for the Chinese to speak in English as it is for them to speak in Chinese. When they converse in English, they may not have enough vocabulary to express the many feelings within them; thus, there are many things that they cannot express.
In our daily living we must practice to gain the utterance for prayer; we also need a reserve of prayer. We do not merely need to exercise our praying spirit; much more, we must seize each opportunity to exercise out of our reserve of prayer. In this way we will gain the key to prayer.
Some have asked what utterance and vocabulary are needed to pray in continuity. In the atmosphere of a meeting we may sense that we are before the Lord and that the Lord is among us; we also may sense that He is leading us and that we are following Him to the Father. At this time someone needs to create a feeling of praise to the Father and motivate and draw out the worship of the Father. After a motivating prayer another brother should offer a prayer for strengthening. Then we need a prayer to express, not to initiate. To initiate something is to bring in something that was not present. However, when the spirit of the meeting is strong, and we all have the sense that the Lord of glory is among us and leading us to worship the Father, there is no need for an initiating prayer. There is only a need for an expressive prayer to continue the previous section.
Some of the prayers in the table meeting are initiating prayers; they speak forth a feeling that was not previously present in the meeting. Other prayers are expressive prayers to speak forth and express the feeling that is presently in the meeting. Still other prayers are motivating prayers to cause the meeting to turn from one atmosphere to another. Finally, there are strengthening prayers. Regarding the words we use in our prayers, we should not speak doctrine; we should express the reality.
With the literature work in Shanghai we had a principle in writing our articles: we always considered that we were speaking a message instead of being shut up in a room alone. We would not have been able to write our articles if we considered ourselves as being shut up in a room. Even though we were writing in a room, we always considered ourselves to be speaking to an audience. Only in this way could our writing be living and real. Even though no one was with us, we considered that the brothers and sisters were before our eyes and that we were speaking to them.
Our prayer should be in this principle; we should direct our prayer. We know that the Lord Jesus is within us and among us; we are not simply praying to the air with our eyes closed. In this way we can be delivered from doctrinal prayers. I believe that our prayers will be greatly improved if we can firmly grasp these crucial points.
If we are willing to apply ourselves in these matters in the church life, we will be able to touch some definite, spiritual matters in the meetings. Our meetings are not rich or enjoyable because we do not know how to meet. For this reason we must carefully exercise how to meet; we should never consider this as a small matter. All who serve the Lord and all the responsible brothers in the churches must be diligent in this kind of exercise; we must not despise this matter.
