Search
In this chapter we will look at the matter of the prayer of warfare. If we have seen that the prayers of greatest wroth are prayers in ascension, then we can easily understand that prayer is a warfare, and we will utter prayers of warfare. Such is the nature of the prayer spoken of in Ephesians 6. It is not the ordinary, common, general prayer. It is very high, being uttered from the realm of the heavens.
God’s kingdom is the sphere of God’s rule. The Bible shows that God’s plan, on the positive side, is to have Himself expressed in His Son. On the negative side, God’s plan is to have His authority carried out in the whole universe so that the entire universe may become His kingdom, the sphere of His rule. In reading the Scripture, we should always keep in mind the two aspects of God’s plan.
From the outset, Genesis 1 shows God’s image and God’s dominion. God’s intention in the universe is that He might be expressed and that His kingdom might not suffer any restriction. So the Lord Jesus began His prayer by saying, “Your name be sanctified” (Matt. 6:9), which is a matter of God being expressed. Then He said, “Your kingdom come; Your will be done, as in heaven, so also on earth” (v. 10). This is a matter of God’s kingdom and God’s dominion, two aspects of God’s plan. Throughout the centuries, almost all who are in Christianity have paid much attention to the Lord’s prayer. Every day there are people who recite it, but unfortunately, the words of this prayer seem to be closed to them. May the Lord grant us mercy and show us that His prayer is for the unlimited spread of the kingdom of God on the earth and in the whole universe. Of course, in order to carry out such a plan of God, there is the need for God’s people to pray sufficiently. The true prayers of God’s people are for His kingdom. You and I may pray for numerous things, but unless the ultimate purpose is for God’s kingdom, those prayers are of no value before God. We admit that in the Lord’s prayer there is the matter of dealing with sins and the matter of the daily living, but its beginning and ending are entirely for the kingdom of God. In the beginning it says, “Your kingdom come; Your will be done...on earth.” At the end it says, “Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.” Therefore, this prayer shows that He wants our prayer to be wholly for God’s kingdom.
The situation in Revelation 12 depicts the true prayers of the saints. There we are shown the woman bringing forth a man-child. The woman signifies the totality of the redeemed ones. The man-child signifies the stronger part of the redeemed people, that is, the overcomers in the church. We need to realize that the woman and the man-child whom she brought forth did pray. Their voices reached God, so following the rapture of the man-child, there was war in heaven. Consequently, God’s enemy was cast out from heaven to the earth. Then there was a loud voice in heaven saying, “Now has come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ” (v. 10). Hence, once God’s people utter real prayers, the result is always the ushering in of God’s kingdom. On the other hand, without the prayers of God’s people, there is no way for God’s kingdom to come. The coming of the kingdom is absolutely related to our prayers.
The examples in the Old Testament also confirm this. When the children of Israel were in captivity, Jerusalem was destroyed, the temple was burnt, and the nation of Israel was in complete collapse. At that time God raised up several men of prayer in Babylon. Daniel and three of his friends were competent in prayer. Their prayers brought in the kingdom. God’s kingdom had come to the earth through David, but after Solomon’s time it was defeated again. In Babylon, Daniel was praying precisely for this matter, so that God’s kingdom might be brought back once more to the earth. It was completely due to Daniel’s prayer that God was able to build the temple, restore Jerusalem, and have the dominion. Therefore, we must be clear that whether or not God’s kingdom can come and whether or not He can rule on earth depend on whether or not God’s people will pray. The ultimate purpose of prayer is for bringing in God’s kingdom.
Prayer is categorically related to God’s enemy. God’s authority is under attack in the universe because of the existence of God’s enemy. In the Bible the kingdom of God is of great significance. The enemy of God is also a very crucial issue in the Scripture. God’s authority suffers frustration and limitation in the universe because there is a rebellious Satan in the universe.
There is a very great conflict in the universe between God and His enemy Satan. You may say that the Bible is a book of life, and you may also say that the Bible is a book of warfare. There is a line in the Scripture that is the line of warfare. Satan first rose to revolt and to rebel. Then God came out to deal with him, and the universal warfare began. Today’s worldly statesmen and military experts are searching for ways to eliminate war and promote peace. They do not understand that the happenings on the earth are entirely tied to the warfare between God and Satan. When will peace come to the human race? That will have to wait until the day when God’s enemy will be bound and cast into the bottomless pit. Then in the whole universe there will be no more war between God and Satan, and likewise, wars among the human race will cease. Human warfare stems entirely from the universal warfare between God and the devil. When the universal warfare is settled, there will be no more wars among men. Hence, we should utter prayers of warfare, on one hand, to bring in God’s kingdom and, on the other hand, to drive out God’s enemy. Prayer indicates that man is standing on God’s side and that man is opposed to God’s enemy.
There are three main figures in the universe: God, Satan, and man. Never belittle man. God has never belittled man. God, Satan, and man may be considered the three big heads in the universe. Satan’s intention is to overthrow God’s authority. God’s desire is to do away with the rebellious Satan. However, God does not wish to deal with Satan directly, and Satan has no way to destroy God’s authority by his own strength. God needs to work through man to deal with Satan, and Satan also needs to work through man to frustrate God. The solution to the problems existing between God and the devil are tied to man. Man is the critical figure in the universe. If man stands on God’s side, God predominates. If man stands on Satan’s side, then Satan prevails.
There is a line of truth in the Bible that is concerned with the conflict between God and Satan. This line necessarily includes God and Satan’s struggle to gain man. God wants to have man, and Satan also wants to gain man. God wants man to cooperate with Him; Satan also wants man to cooperate with him. God wants to enter into man; Satan also wants to get into man. God wants to be mingled with man; Satan also wants to be mixed with man. In this context, what is prayer? On the one hand, prayer is man expressing to God that he wants God and that he is standing on God’s side. On the other hand, it is man telling Satan that he is standing with God to oppose Satan. Hence, the purpose of prayer is to bring in God’s kingdom and to drive Satan away.
Our ordinary concept in praying for sinners is to pray that their soul would be saved. But the fact is, true prayers for men’s souls are to deal with Satan and to bring in God’s kingdom. When a person does not believe in the Lord Jesus, it is not just a matter of his soul going to hell. Even more, it is a matter of Satan’s ruling over him. His going to hell is a matter bound up with the great matter of Satan’s ruling over him. So, I need to pray for him in order to chase Satan away from him, to deliver him from the power of darkness, and to bring God’s kingdom to him. True prayers will always, on the one hand, bring God’s kingdom to man and, on the other hand, drive away Satan’s power from man. Every time a sinner gets saved, it signifies a partial defeat of Satan’s power and a partial coming of God’s kingdom. This is the prayer of warfare.
In the Bible it is a very great principle that God Himself does not deal with Satan directly. Rather, He uses man. Some may say, “Isn’t God dealing with Satan through His Son? The Scripture says, ‘For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil’” (1 John 3:8). Yes, this is true. But the Son of God came to deal with Satan in the human flesh. He came as a man standing on man’s position and put on man to deal with Satan. To deal with His enemy, God needs to use man. If man does not cooperate with Him, He cannot do anything. Likewise, to bring salvation to man, God also needs man to pray. Without man praying for the souls of sinners, God can never save men. The salvation of any person is the result of someone praying for him. God has no way to save men directly. God’s salvation is indirect; it needs to go through man. Here we see how crucial man’s position is. Man’s prayer indicates whether he is standing on God’s side or on Satan’s. Once you bow your knees before God, you indicate that in the universal conflict you are standing on God’s side, and you are totally opposed to God’s enemy. Your prayer is, positively, bringing in God’s kingdom and, negatively, overthrowing God’s enemy.
Every genuine prayer is a prayer of casting out the demons. Suppose a certain brother’s home has no peace. The husband and wife quarrel. If you really know what prayer is, you will be able to utter fighting prayers for them and cast out the quarreling demon from their home. I really mean it. The husband and wife quarrel because Satan has gained a position between them. When you pray for them, on the one hand, you are bringing in God’s kingdom and, on the other hand, driving away God’s enemy. Then between them there will be God’s authority but no power of Satan. This is true prayer.
This is also true concerning prayer for the church. Disagreements and contentions are in the church because Satan has gained a place. So we pray for the church in order to bring in God’s kingdom and drive out Satan’s power. All genuine prayers are of a twofold purpose: on the positive side, to bring in God’s kingdom, and on the negative side, to cast out Satan’s power. This kind of prayer effects God’s success as well as Satan’s defeat. The more we pray this kind of prayer, the more severe will be Satan’s defeat, and the more God’s kingdom will come.
We will now look at the position of God’s enemy. Speaking of the spiritual warfare, Ephesians 6 says that God’s enemy, the power of darkness, is in the air. Both in Ephesians and Colossians there are several places which tell us that the rulers and the authorities are in the air. So the position of God’s enemy is in the air. On the other hand, the Bible also shows that the sphere of the activities of God’s enemy is on earth. Satan usurps the air as his dwelling place and controls the earth as the sphere of his activities. So the Lord Jesus wants us to pray that God’s kingdom may come and that God’s will may be done on earth as it is in heaven. The whole earth today, on the one hand, is under God’s rule. But on the other hand, if you observe the situation everywhere, you will sense that no one cares for God’s will and God’s authority, for the whole earth has been usurped by Satan.
If you can visualize the situation, you will see that God is in the heavens, Satan is in the air, and man is on the earth. The entire earth is under the control of the air, and man is under the control of Satan. Daniel 10 reveals that as Daniel prayed earnestly and set his heart to understand, God sent a messenger from the heavens telling him that his prayers were heard. The angel encountered the prince of Persia in the air and was not able to get through. The fighting lasted three weeks. Eventually, Michael came to help the angel, who was then able to get through the air and come to Daniel on the earth. Such passages in the Bible make known to us the spiritual things in the universe. Satan usurps the air and controls the earth. If Hades, which is underneath the earth, is added, then three out of the four places in the universe are held in Satan’s hands. Only the heaven is left for God. Such is the position of Satan.
The position of prayer is the position of ascension. All who do not pray from the position of ascension fall under the control of Satan. Genuine prayers are always uttered in the heavenly realm. Mrs. Penn-Lewis once said that one must first see clearly the position of ascension in Ephesians 2 in order to have the fighting prayers in Ephesians 6. Once you fall to the earth, you are under Satan’s hand, and you will not be able to deal with him. Daniel’s prayer was, on the one hand, on earth and, on the other hand, in the heavenly realm. His condition and nature were entirely heavenly, so his prayer was able to deal with the enemy.
Take the example of a family where both the husband and the wife are saved ones. One day, however, the husband and wife quarrel with each other. Being unable to settle the dispute between themselves, both come to the responsible brothers to present their accusations. The husband says how much the sister is giving him a difficult time, and the wife says how much the brother wrongs her. Upon hearing the case, some immediately say, “This sister is unreasonable! She is altogether out of line. She doesn’t have her head covered, nor does she stand in her position.” But some who stand on the sister’s side say, “That brother is unreasonable. How can he be so unsympathetic and inconsiderate?” May I ask you, when a brother and sister quarrel in this way, are they in the heavens, on the earth, or in the air? I believe we all know that by quarreling everyone invariably tumbles down from heaven. Maybe a week ago we were praising God, saying, “We have been seated together with Christ in the heavenlies, Hallelujah!” But before we have sung Hallelujah for very long, we all tumble down from heaven. We all are on the earth. And not only so, even those who have heard this brother and sister’s case also become involved and fall from the ascended position. Some fall to the earth together with the sister, and others fall with the brother. Those in defense of the sister and those in defense of the brother all come to pray. Those who take the side of the sister go before God, saying, “Lord, see how unbecoming that brother is. We cannot imagine that one who serves You can be such.” And those who take the side of the brother also pray, saying, “Lord, what shall we do? If even such a sister who serves You behaves like this, henceforth, how can the church help the sisters?” Let me ask you, what are these prayers? If you would allow me such an expression, I would say that this is a prayer of rolling on the ground. It is a prayer of the blood and of the flesh. Blood and flesh are earthly, so these are prayers of the earth.
You must be an ascended one in order to pray for others. If you are stirred by a particular matter and act in your flesh, you fall from the heaven to the earth and cannot pray. You cannot pray for those things until the Lord shows His mercy and you recover your ascended position. One who is unable to pray surely is on the earth. When others quarrel and you become involved in it, you lose your position to pray. Under such circumstances, you have no way to deal with God’s enemy.
After reading Daniel’s prayer, you must admit that he was really one who had ascended to the heavens, entered the Holy of Holies, and touched the throne. Although he was one who lived on earth, he lived in the realm of the heavenlies. Therefore, his prayer was powerful, being able to solve the problems of God’s people on the earth.
This is the principle of prayer not only when we pray for big things, such as God’s will and God’s work, but even when we pray for ourselves — our health, our family, and our business. Always keep in mind that Satan’s position is in the air. Therefore, if we pray on the earth, we will be under his control. But if we move to the heavens and pray, we pray down from above. In military strategy this is to observe and control the situation below by occupying the high ground. This is exactly like the prayers in Revelation 8. As far as fragrance is concerned, the prayers ascended to God, but as far as God’s accomplishment is concerned, the prayers were prayed down from heaven. They were poured down from heaven because they were all uttered in the heavenly realm. Concerning God’s acceptance, our prayers should be like sweet-smelling incense ascending to the throne, but with regard to the dealing with the enemy, our prayers should be poured down from the throne. All true men of prayer are seated together with Christ in the heavenlies and pray from the throne.
A prayer such as that just referred to is a prayer on the throne, even a reigning prayer. Man’s emotion, temper, flesh, opinion, and grievance need to be thoroughly dealt with in such a case. Whenever we have a grievance or anger, we fall from the heavens to the earth and immediately lose our position of ascension to pray. Thus, we have no way to pray.
All prayers that are expressed in the heavenly realm and from the throne of God are prayers of warfare. He who prays in this way is one who has passed through the cross, resurrected, and ascended. He is on the throne, far above the earth, and is not touched by any earthly thing. The prayers that he expresses from such a realm are prayers that can defeat the devil in the air and bring down God’s authority. Like Daniel’s prayer, such prayer is able to bring the things of heaven to the earth. It is able to get the heavenly authority through the air and bring it to the earth. This is the fighting prayer.
Please consider: Is there a sinner who does not want to be saved? Is there a saint who does not want to love the Lord? All sinners want to be saved, and all saints desire to love the Lord. But because there is someone in the air who usurps men and controls the men on earth, sinners are prevented from receiving the gospel, and saints are hindered from seeking the Lord. So it is not enough that we only preach the gospel and minister the Word. We must rise up and live in the heavenly realm to touch the throne of God as Daniel did. We must pray to God that God’s heavenly authority may be brought down to the earth. If this is done, you will see that one by one sinners will be saved, and one by one saints will rise up to seek and love the Lord, for here there are fighting prayers driving away the power of darkness, bringing in God’s authority and, as a result, causing God to have His will done on earth. They enable God to carry out His salvation and give grace to His children according to His good pleasure.
So every praying person should be one who is in the heavenly realm, touching God’s throne, and therefore, able to pour down prayers from heaven. As you are above the earth, the air, and the power of darkness and are seated together with Christ on the throne of God in the heavenlies, the prayers that you utter are prayers of warfare. Having understood this point, you will turn the focus of your attention from man to the devil. When a sinner fails to receive salvation, you should pray, “O God, it is not that he would not repent, but it is the devil that is usurping him. I pray that You cast out the devil from him.” When the husband and the wife are in a family quarrel, you will not blame the brother or the sister. Your eyes will see that the brother and the sister are under the power of darkness. So the target of your prayers will not be the brother or sister but the power of darkness that is behind them and on them. This is the wrestling spoken of in Ephesians 6. This is not wrestling against blood and flesh but against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenlies. The target with which we are dealing in our prayers is not man but the devil. All the problems in the church are not with the brothers and sisters but with Satan. The problems in the family also are not with the husband, the wife, or the children but with Satan. The object of the prayer of spiritual warfare is not at all men of blood and flesh but the devil of the spiritual realm. If we are in the heavenly realm, we are able to pray such prayers of ascension, that is, prayers of warfare. Such prayers of warfare are for the driving out of Satan and the ushering in of God’s kingdom.
