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We know that in whatever we do, the results always depend on the kind of person we are. You may do the same thing someone else does, but when you do it, it turns out another way. The Chinese have this saying: “The outcome of any matter hinges upon the person doing it.” Many consider the method the key to everything, but actually the person is more important than the method. The method is dead, but the person is living. Hence, it is not enough just to have a particular method; it is also necessary to have a particular person. And in spiritual matters it can almost be said that the person is the method. If the person is not right, the method is useless regardless of how right it may be, for spiritual things are matters of life, and life does not depend on methods. Life merely expresses itself according to its nature. Thus, regarding spiritual matters, the person equals the method.
In the whole Bible, God seldom taught methods of service to those who served Him; rather, He dealt with the persons themselves. Take the example of Moses, one of the greatest servants of God in the Old Testament. Neither at the time of nor prior to the time of his calling is there any record of God telling him many different methods of service. Rather, God spent eighty years dealing with Moses’ very being, for in the matter of contacting God, the person is the method. Although we have spoken of some principles of prayer that tell us what prayer really is, if our person is wrong, and we merely try to pray according to those principles, they will not work. Hence, if we wish to learn how to pray, we must know what kind of person a man of prayer should be. Since this is such an extensive subject, we can only mention some important principles.
If a person only knows how to seek after himself and his own desire, he may pray, but he is not a man of prayer. A man of prayer must become such that in all the universe he cares only for God and His will, having no other desire besides this.
We can see this characteristic very clearly in our Lord Jesus when He lived as a man on this earth. When He was praying in Gethsemane, He fellowshipped with God the matter of His death, saying, “If it is possible, let this cup pass from Me.” But then He also said, “Yet not as I will, but as You will” (Matt. 26:39). Three times He told God, “I want Your will, not Mine.” Ordinarily, we think that when a person prays, he asks God to do something for him. For example, he has a desire, so he prays according to his desire and asks God to fulfill it for him. But in Gethsemane we see One who prayed thus: “Not as I will, but as You will.” In effect, the Lord Jesus was saying, “Although I am praying here, I am not asking You to accomplish something for Me; rather, I am asking that Your will be done. I seek nothing for Myself in this universe. My only desire is that You may prosper and that Your will may be carried out. I am such a One who wants only You and Your will.”
Again, let us look at the model prayer with which the Lord Jesus taught His disciples how to pray; it is according to the same principle. At the very outset He said, “Your name be sanctified; Your kingdom come; Your will be done, as in heaven, so also on earth” (6:9-10). These words of prayer tell us clearly what His inner desire was. If we know only how to pray for our own living, business, and family, then our prayers really fall short. This proves that we are not single and pure before God but that we are still rather complicated and mixed within — we desire other things besides God.
Sometimes even in God’s work we covet something for ourselves. Both our spirit and our heart have not yet been purified to the extent that we want only God and His desire; hence, we are not a man of prayer. We may pray, but as far as our being is concerned, we are not a man of prayer. A man of prayer is one whose many prayers before God are for the sake of His desire — for God to prosper and for His will to be done. Such a one does not seek his own prosperity, increase, enjoyment, or fulfillment. All he wants is God and God’s will; he is satisfied as long as God has a way to go on and accomplish His will. Only such a one is a man of prayer.
Although it may seem that this word is a little premature and a little high for a new believer, you and I ought to have the kind of faith that from the start we would cause the new believers to be properly trained concerning prayer. You can tell them simply but clearly that even when we pray concerning the food at breakfast, we should say to God, “O God, although we pray that You give us our daily bread, our prayer is not for our own sake but for Your sake. We eat and drink because we want to live for You. Even when we pray for such an insignificant matter, our heart is still only for You, not for ourselves. We want only You and Your will, not our enjoyment and prosperity.”
Even in doing business, in teaching, and in other things, the principle is the same. You can say to God, “O God, bless this business not for our sake but for Your sake. We are praying here in order that this business may prosper and make some profit, but this is not for ourselves but for Your kingdom.”
This same principle also applies to our preaching the gospel and our establishing, administering, and building up the church. Sometimes after suffering a blow in the work one sheds tears sorrowfully before God. But this sorrow may not necessarily be of value, and this shedding of tears also may not be remembered by God. God will ask you, “For whom do you feel sorry? And for whom do you shed tears?” God will cause you to see that your inner motive is not pure but that in God’s work you still have your own desire, expectation, and goal.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, whatever we pray for, we must be able to tell God, “O God, I am praying for this matter for Your sake and for Your kingdom’s sake — I care only for You and Your will.” One who can pray thus is a man of prayer. Here we must be examined and tried by God. Apparently, we are just praying to God for something and asking Him to bring it to pass unto us, but do we realize that our prayers are tests, testing where we stand?
What are we actually after in this universe? What are we for? Do we seek after our own interests or God’s? Are we for ourselves or for God? Do we want God to fulfill our desire or His desire? Sooner or later every one of us must be tested in our prayers. Unless one has been led by God to such a state of purity, he is not a man of prayer. He may pray many prayers, but they are of little value before God, and he still cannot be counted as one who works with God, cooperates with Him, prays to Him, and fulfills His will.
It is not enough that a Christian live before God; he must also learn to live in God. In today’s Christianity we often hear people say that we should live before God and have a fearful heart before Him. Of course, these teachings are very good; however, please remember that in the New Testament age it is not enough for man to just live before God; it is also necessary that he live in God. In John 15:7 the Lord Jesus said, “If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.” In this word the Lord showed that a man of prayer must be one who abides in Him. To live before the Lord is surely good, but it is quite possible that you and the Lord may still be two; the Lord is the Lord, and you are you. You can become one with Him only when you live in the Lord. Then you can say to the Lord, “Lord, it is not I alone praying here, but it is You and I, I and You, praying together. This is not just I praying before You, but much more, it is I praying in You. I am one who is united with You and who has become one with You. Thus, I can pray in Your name.”
The Bible says that we should pray in the name of the Lord. To pray in the name of the Lord is to pray in the Lord. You who pray in the name of the Lord are in the Lord and are a part of Him; you and the Lord have become one. We have often used an illustration to explain the matter of praying in the name of the Lord. Suppose I have some money deposited in the bank, and I write out a check, sign my name on it, and give it to a brother to draw the money from the bank. When he goes to withdraw the money, he represents me, not himself. When the teller releases the money, he does it not according to that brother’s name but according to my name. At that moment, that brother is I. The same is true when we pray in the name of the Lord and God answers our prayer. Therefore, in order to be a man of prayer, one must be a man who lives in the Lord.
In John 14, 15, and 16 the Lord Jesus told people to pray in His name. In these three chapters, at least six or seven times the Lord said, “Ask in My name.” This is the same as His saying, “Abide in Me,” and “You in Me, and I in you.” To ask in the Lord is to ask in His name. When we pray, it is the Lord praying in us, and we praying in Him; the Lord and we pray together, for we are those who are united with the Lord and have become one with Him.
If you would thus abide in the Lord, there would not be a moment of broken fellowship with the Lord. The flowing of an electric current is the best way to illustrate the fellowship that is spoken of in the Scripture. Spiritual fellowship is a flowing in the spirit — God’s Spirit and our spirit, our spirit and God’s Spirit — two spirits having mutual fellowship. In a proper prayer, the Spirit of God and the spirit of man always have mutual fellowship, mutual flowing; the two spirits have become one spirit. When we really enter into prayer, we can say, “God, here is a man who lives in You and who has fellowship with You in spirit.” Whenever we pray, whether we pray aloud or silently, we must have the sensation that the Spirit of God is moving within us. It is we who are praying, yet it is the Spirit of God moving in us. Such is one who has fellowship with the Lord and who is a man of prayer.
Some say that sufferings will compel us to pray. But I would like to tell you, brothers and sisters, if you have to wait for sufferings to drive you into prayer, then you are not a man of prayer. A proper man of prayer does not wait to pray until sufferings come; rather, he learns to abide in the Lord daily and have unceasing fellowship with Him. Thus, he spontaneously has a spirit of prayer within him. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit who grants grace, which causes man to beseech God. Hence, He in man’s spirit would surely cause man to pray.
Fellowship with the Lord does not permit any barrier between you and the Lord. If within you there is a little thought of unwillingness to forgive others, this unwillingness to forgive would become a barrier between you and the Lord. A barrier that is allowed to remain causes you to become more and more distant from God. It was for this reason that the Lord said, “Therefore if you are offering your gift at the altar and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and first go and be reconciled to your brother” (Matt. 5:23-24). This means that you should not have any problem with anyone, for once you have a problem with man, there exists a barrier between you and God, and you cannot be one who abides in God and who has fellowship with Him.
I think we all have had this kind of experience. Sometimes it may be because of a certain sin (not necessarily a big one) that we would not deal with or a preference or tie that we would not break off. These immediately become barriers between us and the Lord. Once we fall into this kind of situation, our spirit of prayer is quenched. This is because we are not in the Lord, and the fellowship between us and Him is lost. When the life of prayer is cut off, even if you exercise your mind to conceive a prayer or exercise your will to squeeze out a prayer, it is futile.
If we just love the world a little and are secretly united to it, even this would make us unable to pray. Sometimes the barrier exists because within us there is a little pride, boasting, or showing off. Maybe there is a thought that is not pure and simple but that desires something for oneself. These are some factors, or rather, you can call them poisons, that slay the spirit of prayer within us. If you would be willing to deal thoroughly with sins, separate yourself completely from the world, seek simplicity before the Lord, allow the Spirit of the Lord to purify you, and permit the cross to slay in you everything that is condemned by the Lord, then you would immediately see that the spirit of prayer inside you is enlivened. You would surely enjoy praying, have the appetite to pray, and be able to pray prevailingly, for at that moment you would be one abiding in the Lord and having fellowship with Him. It is a marvelous thing that the life within us is a life of prayer. If you were to ask me, “What is the primary function of the Holy Spirit within us?” I would say that it is to lead us into prayer. Whenever you yield some room to the Holy Spirit and obey Him a little, the inevitable result is that He leads you to pray. On the other hand, whenever you disobey or quench the Spirit a little, the prayer within you will immediately cease, and the spirit of prayer will also disappear. Therefore, brothers and sisters, if you want to be a man of prayer, you must be one who abides in God and one in whom the Spirit of God has room. You must be in the Spirit of God and have continual fellowship with Him, i.e., the two spirits are flowing through one another. The greater the flow, the more prayer you have. You may flow to such an extent that not only can you pray in your room, but the spirit in you can also pray while you are in the car, on the street, or talking with people. Even when you stand up to minister, you can be ministering and still be praying, and when you talk with others and contact them, you can be contacting them and still be praying inside.
The spirit of prayer is a law of prayer, just like the digestion that takes place in the stomach is a law. While I am speaking, my stomach is digesting; while I am sleeping, it is also digesting; while I am walking, it is still digesting. If there is no trouble with my stomach, then its digestive function will continue according to the law in the stomach. In the same principle, in our spirit there is also the law of prayer. Whenever we live in the spirit, allowing the Spirit to have place in us, we will continue in prayer according to the law of prayer in our spirit. At this moment our prayer will be very spontaneous.
Never think that only when one shuts the door and devotes himself to prayer can it be counted as prayer. I admit that this is necessary, but with regard to a man of prayer, the emphasis is not that he should devote himself wholly to prayer; rather, he should allow the spirit of prayer to have room in him. Once the spirit of prayer has place, there is the law of prayer in the spirit causing him to pray at any time; even while he is not outwardly praying, he is still praying.
I hope, therefore, that all those who minister the Word will practice this one thing — on the one hand, ministering, and on the other hand, praying. If there is the lust of sin or if anything in our being is reserved for the world, outwardly we may be ministering, yet inwardly there is a blockage. At moments like this, those who listen can tell immediately that our words are outward, empty, dead, and stale, for our words are short of the spirit. But on the other hand, if while we are speaking outwardly, we are also praying and having fellowship in the spirit, people will sense the freshness of the words even though they are the same as before. This is a marvelous thing. If one who speaks is living and is in touch with the spirit inwardly, others can sense it. While he is speaking, others can sense that he is not only speaking outwardly, but he is also praying inwardly, touching God, and fellowshipping with Him.
A man of prayer is also one who abides in God, waiting wholeheartedly before Him. Everyone who has learned well the lessons of prayer always first waits before God and then slowly gets into prayer. This matter is spoken of in the Psalms where it often says, “Wait for Jehovah.” When you come to pray, you should not hastily open your mouth to express your ideas and to utter your feelings. Rather, you need to stop and put aside your thinking and feeling so that your whole being will be waiting before God.
There are a number of such examples in the Old Testament. For example, Genesis 18 records the fact that God appeared especially to Abraham and was entertained by Abraham in his tent. On that occasion Abraham served continually before God and asked nothing of Him. God finished the cakes and the calf and spoke the thing concerning Sarah. After He rose up to leave and Abraham walked with Him for a distance, God stopped and said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?” (v. 17). At that time God made it clear that He had come to earth in order to judge Sodom. When Abraham heard this, he immediately understood God’s desire and knew that He was concerned for Lot, who was in Sodom but who belonged to God. Then Abraham immediately prayed according to God’s concern. This shows that he was truly one who waited before God.
This does not mean that we need to shut ourselves in a room all day waiting for God; rather, it means that in our daily living there should be a considerable portion of waiting before God. We do not lightly open our mouth to God, neither do we heedlessly ask God for something. Rather, we always maintain a spirit, an intention, an attitude, and a condition that afford God an opportunity to make us sense His feelings and allow Him to express His own desire in our spirit. We should wait until we touch God’s desire and sense His feelings and then pray — this prayer is then initiated by God within us.
I would like to tell you, brothers and sisters, that the first good example of prayer in the Bible is the prayer of Abraham in Genesis 18. Some very important principles are contained in that prayer. When the whole world rejected God, there was a man who wanted God. That man was Abraham. Although apparently he did not live in God, in reality, he was one who had fellowship with God and who waited before Him. When he saw God, he did not immediately say, “Jehovah is here, the angels of heaven are here, so I want this, and I want that.” No, he did not ask for anything; rather, he waited before God. He waited outside the tent, and after he went with the heavenly visitors for a distance, he still stood and waited before God. It was in this waiting that God had the opportunity to say, “How can I hide from Abraham what I am going to do on earth?” And then He went on to reveal His intention to Abraham.
On that particular occasion God spoke to Abraham in a riddle, not in plain words. Therefore, Abraham’s prayer before God was also in a riddle, not in explicit terms. In mentioning Sodom, God’s intention was centered on Lot. God wanted someone to pray for Lot so that He might have an opportunity to save him. Abraham knew God’s heart, and when he heard God mentioning Sodom, immediately he remembered Lot, who had fallen into Sodom, and began to pray for him before God. The strange thing is this: neither God nor Abraham mentioned the name of Lot. How then do we know that Abraham was praying for Lot? We know because later verses in chapter 19 say that when God destroyed all the plain and the city of Sodom, He remembered Abraham and saved Lot out of that city (v. 29). By this we know that both the prayer of Abraham before God and the intercession with which God burdened Abraham were centered upon Lot. Neither God nor Abraham mentioned Lot’s name, yet both God’s heart and Abraham’s heart were set on Lot.
Abraham was able to have such a prayer that touched God’s heart because he was one who waited before God. He did not have many opinions, supplications, requests, and suggestions; he was one who ceased the activity of his own being before God. He waited before God, affording Him the opportunity to speak, then prayed according to what God said. A man of prayer, therefore, is definitely one who can wait before God. This is a very deep lesson that we need to learn thoroughly. A man going before God to pray must cease his being; that is, his emotion, mind, and will must be halted to a considerable extent. Only such a one who halts the activity of his own being can wait before God.
One who learns to pray must learn the strict lesson of putting himself aside and halting his being. The self here refers especially to self-opinions and natural ability. In Acts 10 there was a man, Peter, who went up on the housetop to pray. At that time he had already passed through Pentecost and had a considerable amount of spiritual experience, yet his prayer shows that he still could not put aside his own opinion. Although he went up on the housetop to pray, he still argued with God there and needed God to give him the vision once again. When he saw a great sheet descending from heaven and heard a voice saying, “Rise up, Peter; slay and eat,” he said, “By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything common and unclean” (vv. 13-14). This was his opinion. God spoke to him immediately: “The things that God has cleansed, do not make common” (v. 15). Here Peter’s opinion conflicted with God’s will; therefore, he could not get through in his prayer.
Never think that in the matter of prayer we have fewer conflicts with God than Peter had. When we come before God, we have too many opinions. Please read the many prayers in the Bible. You can see man’s natural ability as well as human opinions in a good number of them. Jonah is a good example in the Old Testament. When he was praying, he could not put his opinion aside. He prayed his opinion, which was in conflict with God. Again, look at Peter. On the night that the Lord Jesus was betrayed, it seemed that he was praying to the Lord, saying, “Although all will be caused to stumble, I will not, even if I must die with You.” As Peter was holding very tightly to his natural ability, the Lord could not answer his prayer. His prayer was, “Even if others were caused to stumble, I still would ask You to make me stand firmly.” Although he did not state it in this way, you must believe that he hoped to be able to stand. That hope was his desire before God. But the Lord said, “You will surely fall; I cannot answer your prayer to bring success to your natural ability.”
One who prays before God should be one who always falls down before God. The strongest illustration of this is Jacob’s experience at the ford of the Jabbok. At that time his prayer before God was really full of his natural strength. There he even wrestled with God to the extent that God, having no alternative, was compelled to touch the hollow of his thigh. As a result, Jacob became lame. There are numerous such examples in the Scripture. A good number of men went before God and prayed by their natural strength and according to their own opinions — both of which are the greatest hindrances to prayer.
Therefore, a true man of prayer is surely one who falls down before God and whose natural strength as well as opinions and views have been broken by God. In both the Old Testament and the New Testament, all who were able to touch God and pray before Him were those whose natural strength had gone bankrupt and whose own views had been laid aside. Daniel was one who completely fell down before God — he had neither his strength nor his views. The same is true with David in the Psalms. Hence, all proper men of prayer are very soft before God. They have put self aside, have fallen down before God, and have been broken. They do not have their insistence, natural strength, ideas, and opinions. Only such men can touch God’s throne and His will as well. Only such men can be men of prayer.
Another requirement of a man of prayer is that he must be willing to pay any price to yield to God’s every demand. I would like to tell the children of God that there cannot be a single instance in which you meet God in fellowship that He does not demand anything from you. Every time you meet Him, He demands something from you. We always think that God is a God who bestows grace upon us. But I would like to tell you, brothers and sisters, God is also a God who makes demands upon us.
I am afraid that it has never occurred to some of the brothers and sisters that God is a God of demands. It cannot be denied that God gives us supply, but we all must remember that we do not need to pray for God’s supply, for all His supply is ours already. What we need the most is God’s stripping. Although the cross is a plus sign, actually it is a minus sign. Our problem today is not that we have too few things upon us; rather, we have too many things in us. Thus, whenever God meets us, He demands that we get rid of something.
Please read the story of Abraham. From the beginning when he was met by God until he finally came to know God, there was not a single time God appeared to him that He did not strip him of something. The first time God said, “Go from your land / And from your relatives”; the second time He said, “And from your father’s house” (Gen. 12:1). The first time was to strip him of his country; the second time was to strip him of his father. At another time he was stripped of Lot. Abraham proceeded on his way, dragging Lot, whom he should have left behind, for Lot was of his country, kindred, and father’s house. Then in chapter 15, when he eventually let go of Lot, he turned his dependence to Eliezer of Damascus. Abraham told God, “O Lord Jehovah...the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus” (v. 2). But God said, no, “This man shall not be your heir” (v. 4). Even this one had to be dropped. Later, in chapter 16 he acquired Hagar and begot Ishmael. More and more were added to him, but these acquisitions were given to him by Egypt and not by the cross. Therefore, in chapter 17 God came to him, saying, “You need to be circumcised and get rid of something, for you have too many things in you.” The covenant that God made with Abraham was a covenant of decreasing and not of increasing. Then in chapter 21 God said formally that both Hagar and Ishmael needed to be cast out. I tell you, even the very last one that remained, Isaac, who was a work of God’s grace, had to be offered up. We say that Abraham was one who inherited the blessings, yet when we read the stories of his dealings with God, we seldom see him receiving anything from God; rather, what we see over and over again are God’s strippings and His making demands upon him.
There is one thing I can tell the children of God with full assurance: if God has not demanded something of you today, then you have not met Him today. Every time you encounter God, He will demand something of you. If your prayer touches God, you encounter a demand. Therefore, you must be ready to pay the price. Not only that which is born of the flesh needs to be gotten rid of; even that which is gained through grace needs to be stripped off. Ishmael needs to be cast out, and Isaac needs to be offered up. Every true prayer will cause you to touch God, and everyone who touches God encounters His demands. Hence, a man of prayer is definitely one who pays the price.
Brothers and sisters, our problem before God is not that we lack something but that we have excess. Our problem lies not in our deficiency but in our sufficiency. We have so many things in us that every time God touches us, something has to go. Because God makes demands every time, we need to pay the price every time. If God has a demand, but you would not satisfy Him by paying the price of meeting that demand, then it would be very hard to maintain a free, flowing fellowship between you and Him, and you would not be able to live in the Spirit of prayer. Although you still could pray, you would not be a man of prayer. Therefore, in order to be a man of prayer, one needs to be willing to pay the price. Whatever God demands of you, you can say, “God, by Your grace I am willing to pay this price. Even if it be Isaac whom You gave to me, if You so desire, I am willing to send him to the altar.” He who is willing to thus pay the price to satisfy God’s desire is a man of prayer.
As a man of prayer, your living must be consistent, or must correspond, to what you pray. Someone may be asking the Lord for the revival of the church or the salvation of a sinner, yet his living is utterly inconsistent with his prayer. He does not live a life that contributes to the revival of the church, nor does he live in a condition that is conducive to bringing sinners to salvation. Although he may be praying, he is not a man of prayer. A man of prayer not only performs the action of prayer but also lives the life of prayer — his living is prayer. Many times we pray for a number of things, but after praying, we do not live according to the standard of life required by those things. This means that we go through the motions of prayer, but we are not men of prayer.
Therefore, please remember, inwardly speaking, prayer is our life, and outwardly speaking, prayer is our living. Prayer is neither a thing nor a work. Of course, in a sense, prayer is a work, but your being must be in the prayer and even must be the prayer. For example, a brother may pray, asking God to revive the church. While he is asking God to revive the church, his words are altogether in earnest: his tears come down, and you, praying there with him, can really sense his seriousness and also feel that he is fully burdened. Yet, unexpectedly, after the prayer he rises and goes to watch a movie. Do you think he is a man of prayer? Of course, I do not mean that after praying we all need to pretend by having a gloomy and sad countenance; the Lord Jesus told us that we should not do that. When you fast and pray, you still need to anoint your head — it is useless to pretend. The point is this: real prayer has a condition; that is, if you want to have real prayers, your living should be in accordance with those prayers. There is no way for anyone to believe that your heart is really bearing the burden of the church if, as soon as prayer is over, you can go to watch a movie. Your living does not correspond to your prayer. If you are a man of prayer, your living will definitely be absolutely one with your prayer. Your living is your prayer. The life within is a life of prayer, and the living without is a living of prayer; thus you are a man of prayer.
Some may tell you that prayer needs faith. But faith is not something you can have just because you want it. Actually, faith is a function that emanates from God within us. If you are one who abides in God, lives in Him, and allows Him to have standing in you, then God in you issues forth a function, which is faith. Faith does not come from you. We can almost say that faith is God Himself, just like power is God Himself. Only when a person is filled with God is he filled with power. Likewise, only a person who is filled with God is full of faith. It is useless, therefore, to merely exhort people to have faith. If I preach a hundred messages telling you that you need to have faith, you still will not have faith. If you really want to have faith, you need to be a man of prayer who lives in God, is being dealt with by Him, is willing to yield to His demands, and who gives permission to His strippings. When He thus has place in you, then He is the faith in you. When He fills you with Himself, you are full of faith. You do not need to strive to believe or compel yourself to believe, but you surely can believe, for within you there is a God to whom you pray, and He is the very God who fills you and moves you to pray — He has become your faith. Please remember, at this time you know with assurance that your prayer is acceptable to Him, is of Him, and is touching Him, and therefore, He cannot help but answer your prayer. This is faith. Faith does not come according to your wish. Rather, it is God in you filling you to such an extent that you cannot help but have faith. May the brothers and sisters not only learn how to pray but by the grace of the Lord be men of prayer.
