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Scripture Reading: Psa. 27:4; 84:4, 10; 55:17; 119:164; Dan. 6:10; Acts 10:2-3, 9-11, 30; Gen. 18:16-17, 22-23, 33
God is Spirit, and the most appropriate way for us to absorb and enjoy Him is to turn to our spirit. Turning to our spirit is as necessary as breathing in air. We will now consider how to enjoy God from a different perspective. Although God as the Spirit is available everywhere on earth, and although we can now receive Him anywhere and at any time, those who are experienced know that we need set times to devote ourselves to absorbing God. This can be compared to breathing. There is no need to concentrate on breathing — we breathe spontaneously at any time and in any place. But everyone who is conscious of their health knows that we need to set aside time every day to breathe deeply. We should find a quiet and open space and spend some time to breathe deeply. Deep breathing is beneficial to our health. If we only breathe normally, we cannot remove more than a certain amount of carbon dioxide. In order to remove more than this amount, we must breathe deeply. It is also through breathing deeply that a fresh supply of oxygen is able to fill more of our lungs. A good exercise in deep breathing thoroughly cleanses our lungs. Similarly, our drawing near to God and breathing Him at any time is general and common. If we want to touch Him in a deep way, and if we want to breathe out our sins and absorb God so that our entire being is renewed, we need a definite time to come to God. We need spiritual deep breathing. In other words, we need a set time to come to God to pray.
We should all be clear that prayer is to breathe in God. It is to breathe out everything that belongs to us and to breathe in God and everything of Him. Prayer is a kind of breathing. Although we mention many things in prayer, our goal is to breathe. We breathe out everything that is within us through prayer. At the same time, we breathe in everything of God through prayer. This is prayer. If we grasp this meaning of prayer, we will be able to pray anywhere and any time. No matter how noisy the environment is or how busy we are, we can breathe in God. Nevertheless, there is still the need for us to set aside some time during the day for prayer. We need such a time for spiritual deep breathing so that we can absorb and enjoy God in an intensified way.
Regrettably, we often spend time on worthless things. We waste precious time on things of no value and neglect the most precious thing — breathing in God. The psalmist says, “A day in Your courts is better than a thousand” (Psa. 84:10). This means that spending time to draw near to God and to breathe in God is most precious. Spending an hour a day to absorb God is of more value than occupying ourselves with other things for a thousand hours. Nothing in this world is more worthwhile than breathing in God.
The most precious time of our day is when we breathe in God, when we pray. Whether our time is well spent depends on what we accomplish during that time. God is the supreme blessing, the ultimate treasure of the universe. Nothing is more precious than God. Even the blessings that God gives cannot be compared with God Himself. We do not pray to receive blessings from God or even to obtain answers to our prayers. We pray to breathe in God. We receive God and enjoy Him in our prayer. Nothing can be more precious than obtaining God through prayer, but we are often foolish in our accounting; we do not know that we must do this most worthwhile thing.
In our Christian life there are two contradicting things. The first is that being filled with God through prayer gives us the most precious reward; the other is that gossip, or loose talk, gives us nothing but loss. We should consider how many hours a day we spend in loose talk. The brothers and especially the sisters often say that they are too busy to pray. But when sisters come together, they gossip a lot; they can even make time to gossip. Gossip or unnecessary talk, which are actually words that spread death, bring nothing but loss to the church. For this reason I say that we often do the most unprofitable things. We neglect the most profitable things and daily engage ourselves in more unprofitable things. If we would use a notebook to record the times that we daily spend in prayer and to record the times that we engage in loose talk, we would be surprised to see that less than one-tenth of the time we spend in loose talk is spent in prayer. We waste our precious time on worthless things.
Prayer is to breathe in God; it is to receive God and to absorb Him. This is priceless. Why are we not attracted to this? Our problem is that we hear many exhortations concerning breathing in God, but we spend only a few minutes breathing. We should ask ourselves of what use this is to us. We need to change our concept. Even though we are busy, we should still set aside some time to receive and absorb God. No matter how busy we are, we should daily devote some time for prayer with the sole purpose of breathing in God.
There are many examples in the Old Testament and the New Testament of ones setting aside time to pray. In the Old Testament David says, “Seven times a day I praise You” (Psa. 119:164). He also says, “Evening and morning and at noontime / I complain and moan” (55:17). This complaining and moaning were actually a kind of sighing before God by which David breathed out his sorrows. He did this in the evening, in the morning, and at noontime because every day begins in the evening and continues to the morning in a Jewish calendar. This verse shows that David breathed in God three times a day.
Daniel prayed before God three times a day “because he had always done so previously” (Dan. 6:10). Daniel was a man filled with God and full of His presence. The secret to his being filled with God was in his setting aside three definite times a day to absorb God and to enjoy Him.
In the New Testament there are many examples. Cornelius said that he was keeping the ninth hour of prayer in his house (Acts 10:30). This shows that every day he prayed at the ninth hour, which is about three to four o’clock in the afternoon. He kept that time of prayer in the same way that some Christians today keep the morning watch. In the same chapter Peter was praying in the sixth hour, which is at noon: “Peter went up on the housetop to pray around the sixth hour” (v. 9). The Holy Spirit recorded these instances to show that a man who enjoys God keeps specific times for prayer. Peter probably prayed every day at noon, and Cornelius probably prayed every day at about three in the afternoon.
Both the Old Testament and the New Testament show that those who truly receive God and enjoy Him have set times for prayer. We cannot be unrestricted if we expect to enjoy, receive, and breathe in God. Even though there is a side to enjoying God that is very free, there is also a side that is very restricted. In particular, new believers, who have not fully learned to exercise their spirit and are still new in the matter of enjoying and breathing in God, need a specific time for prayer.
The time of prayer should be determined according to a person’s schedule. There is nothing legal related to this time. Peter prayed at noon, and Cornelius prayed at the ninth hour. We know that Daniel prayed three times a day, but we do not know at what times. There is no legal time. Some would rather spend time in the morning before their work to breathe in God. Others are very busy during the day and have time only in the afternoon. For them to devote twenty or thirty minutes during that period of time to absorb God is a good choice. Some sisters work at home, and it is not easy for them to find time early in the morning. They may need to wait until their children and husband leave the house and they finish their morning chores, maybe around ten o’clock in the morning. Because it is too early for them to be occupied with lunch preparation, they spend some time to quietly breathe in God. There may be some who, like Cornelius, set aside time between three and four in the afternoon. A person should determine the time that he sets aside.
However, we should never use the time before we go to bed for prayer, because when we are exhausted, we may fall asleep while praying. Hence, this is the worst time. When George Müller was asked why he devoted his mornings to the Lord, he answered that in offering a sacrifice to God, one must offer the choicest portion of fat. In contacting God, we must offer the choicest part of our time. There is no set rule as to what is the choicest part of our time. With some it is the early morning. With others it is after the noon break. The decision is left to each individual.
If we mean business and set aside a period of time to contact God every day, we will receive many unexpected blessings. God has reserved much grace for us, but we have been too busy. We have never set aside the time for God. Hence, God does not have a way to reach us. If we would set aside some time every day, not merely to pray or to breathe in God but to open ourselves before Him, we will open a door for God to do many things in us. No other time can be compared with our prayer time. The most precious things happen to us when we pray. If we would spend some time before God, not to speak to Him and not to ask Him to do things for us but to give Him the opportunity to speak to us and to do things in us, many wonderful and mysterious things will happen to us during that time. We will see visions, we will know ourselves, and God will unveil mysteries concerning His Word and grant us understanding (2:17). He will even grant us burdens and gifts that we did not possess. We will receive a special portion of grace as a special kind of enlightenment or as a rebuke, cleansing, or dealing. During this period of time God will speak and operate in us.
Therefore, this period of time is indispensable. If we take away this time, we will be deprived of opportunities to receive grace and of opportunities for God to work in us. We need to be impressed that since we know how to enjoy God, we must set aside a specific time to practice. If we fail, we will suffer a great loss in our life. Whether the saints are old or young, brothers or sisters, we will all suffer a great loss if we do not spend some time before the Lord. The wisest thing for us to do is to spend some time before the Lord. We can spend one, three, seven, or even more times a day to absorb God. However, it is better not to set aside too many times a day initially. If we set aside too many times a day, we may be able to maintain it for a few days, but eventually, it will become a legality to us, and we will fail. Some have practiced praising seven times a day. In my youth I also practiced this. But after a while I could not bear the burden any longer, because it became a law to me. It is best not to set too high a standard. However, we need to come before the Lord at least once every day. If we practice this, we will receive much profit.
Even though there is no regulation concerning what we should do during this time of prayer, we should remember the points we considered in chapter 5. Here is a review of those points.
During this time of absorbing God, we should not worry about so many things. There is no need to mention many things in our prayer. The more we pray for different things, the less we touch God, the less we reach Him. Please pay attention to the word reach. When we pray, we must reach God. This can be compared to hitting a person. To hit a person, our hand must reach the person; otherwise, we are hitting in vain. Being concerned about many things when we pray prevents us from reaching God. In order to gain God, we must drop everything. The first point in enjoying God through prayer is to appear before Him, to seek after Him. We do not go to God to pray for things; we go to Him to seek after Him. We look for God, touch Him, and contact Him.
God is Spirit, and He lives in our spirit. When we pray, we must learn to turn inward, to return to our spirit to seek after God. We must turn to our spirit to touch Him. Once we touch Him in our spirit, we pray. This prayer reaches God.
Some brothers and sisters might not understand what it means to reach God. If I want to speak with Brother Hwang, I must go to him. Even though I may shout and yell when I find him, if his eyes are not set on mine, I have not reached him. If I want to reach him, I must either wait until he is looking at me, or I must stand in front of him and look at him. When I see his face, I can speak to him. This is what it means to reach God in our prayer. Many brothers and sisters do not do this when they pray. They are not concerned with touching God or facing Him when they pray. Instead, they pray hurriedly about many things, and when they are finished, they say, “In the name of Jesus, Amen.” They do not know if the Lord is looking at them when they pray. This kind of prayer does not reach God.
When we contact God, we must exercise to turn our whole being to our spirit. We should seek Him in our spirit. We close our eyes when we pray in order to stop from being distracted, turn to our spirit, and touch God. For this reason we also should not be too quick to open our mouth. Rather, we should be calm and have a period of silence. Good prayer does not depend on an abundance of words. It is good to be silent at the beginning of our prayer, and it is also good to have a period of silence during our prayer. Many psalms in the Bible end with selah. This is the equivalent of a rest note in music notation. It tells a person to stop, to halt for a while. Because our words of prayer can distract us from the spirit, there is the need of a halt to bring our entire person back to the spirit. There are times, however, when we cannot stop; a stop may drive away the spirit. What we should do depends on the circumstance. In prayer we need to learn to be silent. There is no need to be in a hurry. We need to be at ease and quiet.
Let me repeat: while we are silent, we should not try to remember many things. Rather, we should learn to praise God and behold His beauty. We are not here to tell Him many things. We are here to absorb Him and to enjoy Him. While we are in His presence, we must learn to behold Him. Some may consider that beholding God will distance us from Him. They may ask, “Since God is in us, why do we need to behold Him?” Our God is wonderful. He is the Son of Man who descended out of heaven but who is still in heaven (John 3:13). Although He has come, He remains in heaven. He lives in us, but at the same time He is in heaven. When beholding Him, there is no need for us to determine if He is in heaven or within us. Actually, when we truly touch Him and experience His countenance, we are not clear where we are. When we are truly in spirit, we have no idea whether we are in heaven or on earth.
When we learn to come to God and behold Him in a quiet spirit, we will spontaneously worship and praise Him. After worshipping and praising God, we must learn to inquire of God. We should ask if He wants us to pray about a certain matter. We should not immediately pray about different matters. Rather, we should first have a discussion with Him, asking Him if we should pray for a certain matter. All prayers should be initiated by God. He should be the one who initiates them within us.
Abraham’s intercession before God in Genesis 18 is a model intercessory prayer. God wanted to destroy Sodom; however, He wanted to save Lot, and He needed a man to intercede for Lot. Everything that God wants to do to man and every grace that He intends to bestow on man can be fulfilled only after man prays. This is an unchanging principle. God intended to save Lot, but He needed a man to pray. Who could He find? He could find only Abraham, a man who lived before God.
There are two precious portions in Genesis 18. The first is “Abraham walked with them [God and the angels] to send them away” (v. 16). This is a sweet word. God came to Abraham’s tent and visited him. Abraham ministered to God and fellowshipped with Him while God ate and drank in his tent. God spoke to Abraham concerning his begetting of Isaac. After that, God finished His business with Abraham and was free to leave. But while He was leaving, Abraham walked with God to send Him away. The Bible says that Abraham was called the friend of God (James 2:23). This is vividly portrayed when Abraham sent God off. On the one hand, God visited Abraham; He ate, drank, and fellowshipped with him as a friend in his tent. On the other hand, Abraham sent God off also like a friend. It was as if God said, “Abraham, goodbye!” Then Abraham seemed to respond, “Let me walk with You a distance to send You off.” They behaved like two intimate friends who were unable to part.
There are certain things that God does not reveal until we walk a distance with Him. If Abraham had not walked a distance with God that day, but had instead promptly parted with God, God would not have had a way to save Lot. When God visited Abraham, it seems as if He accomplished only that part of His business that pertained to Abraham; the part that pertained to Lot was still hidden in God’s heart. God’s heart was on Lot. He intended to judge and destroy Sodom, but His child Lot was still in the city of Sodom and needed to be rescued. However, God could not rescue Lot, because He needed someone who was one with Him to pray. In visiting Abraham, He settled the business He had with Abraham and was waiting for Abraham to do something for Him. But He did not say anything. When we visit friends, it is easy for us to tell them what we are doing for them. But it is not easy to ask them to do something for us. This was what happened when God visited Abraham. Although God wanted Abraham to do something for Him, it was not easy for Him to say anything, because He did not know if Abraham was willing to do it. He did not know whether Abraham was one with Him in His inward parts. It was as if God said that He was leaving, but Abraham would not let Him go; he walked with God. Then God stopped and said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?” (Gen. 18:17). The sending away issued in something. God said that He was going down to see the situation of Sodom and that He was going to judge it. This word hinted at God’s intention to save Lot. He did not say this in plain words. Abraham was a man living before God, and he understood God’s heart. He knew that though God did not mention Lot, He cared for Lot. Here we find the second precious word: “Abraham remained standing before Jehovah” (v. 22). In the first precious portion Abraham walked with God to send Him away. In the second precious portion Abraham remained standing before God. While he was standing before Him, he prayed. This prayer was intercessory prayer. Such intercessory prayer is fully initiated by God and motivated by Him. It is conceived out of fellowship with God, out of touching His heart. Abraham began to pray for Lot, but he did not mention Lot’s name. It seems as if both God and Abraham were speaking in a riddle. How do we know that Abraham’s prayer was for Lot? In 19:29 we are told that when God destroyed Sodom, He rescued Lot on account of Abraham. Therefore, the subject of that intimate talk and riddle between God and Abraham was Lot. But God did not say that it was Lot, and Abraham did not expose it either. On the surface both were speaking about Sodom. Actually, they were speaking about Lot’s deliverance. Abraham’s intercession truly touched God’s heart.
I hope that we would see that as we breathe in God, we should learn to touch God’s heart. We should not bring many things to God, nor should we ask for many things. If we do, God will disappear, and we will not touch Him. We must learn to stop our being and touch the burden within God’s heart. The most precious prayers are those that are initiated by God within us. God knows all the matters that concern us. However, we must ask ourselves if we can say, “Lord, I believe You know all the things concerning me. Although I am in a difficult situation, You have not initiated anything within me, and I will not pray for this situation.” If in our prayer we can tell the Lord that we will not pray for any matter, we have learned a great lesson. At least we should pray, “Lord, You know that I am bearing a big burden. Do You think I should pray for any matter that concerns me?” We may then bring the matters to Him one by one. If there is an echo within when we touch a certain matter, we have touched God in that matter and can proceed to pray for that matter. But if God’s presence is not there, and there is no sense of God when we touch a certain matter, we should drop that matter. Whenever we pray, we should stop immediately when we do not touch God or sense His presence. We should no longer pray for that matter. However, as soon as we touch God, we should continue praying. We should pray for the items that bring us into His presence. No matter how many burdens we have or how many difficulties we face, we should never pray according to these difficulties. Rather, we should pray according to God’s initiation and presence. Prayer is fully a matter of man mingling with God. We should never utter a prayer in which we pray, but He does not pray. We cannot enjoy God in such prayers. We must have the confidence to say that He is praying as we pray. We must also have the confidence to say that our prayer follows His prayer and is directed by His prayer. In this way He bears us in His prayer, and He joins us in His prayer. Every word of our prayer touches Him, and we enjoy Him.
Brothers and sisters, no matter what the content is of such prayer, it is initiated by God. It touches God, and it mingles the praying one with God and joins him to God. The more a person prays this way, the more he breathes in God and the more God is added into Him. The result of such prayer is not only the accomplishment of the things prayed for — this is secondary. The main result is that when one prays this way, even in the process of his prayer, he receives God and enjoys God. The primary thing is that man gains God. The secondary thing is that man’s prayers are answered.
Lastly, one must learn the lesson of allowing God to finish speaking. This was what Abraham did. After Jehovah finished speaking, He left. We must learn the lesson of allowing God to finish speaking. We should not be afraid that this will take too much time, and we should not worry that this will delay our affairs. God cares for us more than we care for ourselves. He will not forsake us.
The importance of prayer is not in praying for things. The importance of prayer is in touching and absorbing God. Although we should have the faith that He will accomplish whatever we ask, this is secondary. We must learn to touch Him and enjoy Him. Our prayer should be directed by Him and joined to Him. The most crucial need among God’s children is to learn to pray by absorbing and breathing in God. May the Lord be gracious to us and perfect us in this way.
