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Scripture Reading: Isa. 62:6-7; 45:11; Ezek. 22:30; Dan. 9:2-4; 1 Sam. 12:23; Exo. 2:23-25; 3:7-8
In the previous chapters we said that prayer is for man to absorb God and for man to express God. Every prayer that touches God has these two aspects. On the one hand, we absorb God by contacting Him. On the other hand, by contacting and absorbing God, we let Him express Himself within us; that is, we utter genuine prayers. In this chapter we will continue to consider prayer. Real prayers include more than the aspects of absorbing God and expressing Him. Absorbing and expressing God in prayer are actually our preparation for prayer that enables us to fulfill God’s purpose in prayer. Hence, we will now consider how God’s purpose is fulfilled in prayer.
A person who knows how to pray is a man of prayer who co-works with God. We may say that the purpose of prayer is to co-work with God. Our prayer is not only to absorb God and express Him but also to co-work with God, that is, to work together with Him. For example, suppose I am standing at the podium with a brother who translates, and while I give the message, he translates. When we coordinate in this way, we are co-working, working together. If I do not speak, he cannot translate, and if he does not translate, I have no way to give the message. The two of us echo each other by working on the same thing together. This is co-working, coordinating. This example helps us understand the meaning of co-working and coordinating.
Sometimes, the brother who translates can coordinate with me very well, and he is completely one with me. When I sway a little, he sways in the same way while he translates. He repeats my gestures. When I raise my voice, he raises his voice. When I speak slowly, he speaks slowly. When I am serious, he is also serious. He is just like me. The two of us are like one man; hence, others see perfect coordination and co-working. This is the way that we should coordinate and co-work with God in prayer.
We often think that the purpose of prayer is to ask God to work, to do things. However, the purpose of prayer is for us to work, to do things, with God, that is, to co-work with God.
The verses in the Scripture Reading show a principle. If man does not pray, God will not work; if no one prays, God has no work to do. At any given time God must find some people or a person to co-work with Him to pray for what He intends to do on earth. If no one prays, God does not have a co-worker, and He cannot work. For example, if I do not have a translator to translate my Mandarin into Cantonese when I give a message in Hong Kong, then I do not have a co-worker, and therefore I cannot give a message. I must wait until a translator becomes my co-worker before I can give a message. Conversely, if I do not give a message, the translator has nothing to translate. In God’s work those who pray function not only as a translator but also as a speaker. For example, the translator will translate as much as I speak, and he will say what I say. Likewise, in an effective prayer, God accomplishes what we pray for, and He accomplishes as much as we pray for. Our prayer can be compared to giving a message, and God’s work can be compared to translating. The extent to which we pray is the extent to which God works. Those whom we touch in prayer are those on whom God works, what we pray for is what God does, and how we pray is how God fulfills. This is a great principle of prayer.
For this reason prayer is a dignified matter in the sight of God. God needs our prayer to lead His work. The extent of our prayer is the extent of His work, and what we pray about is what God does. It seems that our prayer leads God’s work and that His work follows our prayer. If we are lacking in God’s work, we are lacking in prayer. If we do not see God saving people, we are not praying for people to be saved. If we do not see God moving in the church, we are not praying for His move. God does not work when man does not pray. The extent of God’s work depends on the extent of our prayer. When we pray a little, God can only work a little. If God is not working much, it is because man is not praying much. We should never think that God’s work precedes our prayer. Our prayer takes the lead, and God’s work follows. The key lies with us. If we pray, God will work, but if we do not pray, He will not work.
Since prayer is so important, real prayer must contact, absorb, and express God. Otherwise, it is not real prayer, and it will not move God to work. Prayer that does not touch or express God is man’s expression, not God’s expression. Such prayer is out of the self, not out of God. As a result, man may pray, but God will not work. Although man wants God to work, He will not; hence, such prayer is of no avail. If we want God’s work to follow our prayer and to fulfill the extent of our prayer, then our prayer must touch, absorb, and express God. This is the way for our prayer to be God’s expression. In such prayer God is praying in us. This is our co-working with God, that is, our working together with God. Then the extent of our prayer is the extent to which God will work. Hence, in real prayer God follows man. Prayer that does not cause God to follow is not real prayer and is not of much value.
In Isaiah 62:6-7 Jehovah said, “Upon your walls, O Jerusalem, / I have appointed watchmen; / All day and all night / They will never keep silent. / You who remind Jehovah, / Do not be dumb; / And do not give Him quiet / Until He establishes / And until He makes Jerusalem / A praise in the earth.” According to these verses, in order for God to make Jerusalem a praise, He first needs to appoint watchmen to remind Him of this matter all day and all night. Had the watchmen prayed ceaselessly, they could have caused Jehovah to work ceaselessly. Here is a principle: without man’s prayer, God cannot work. If we pray ceaselessly, we make God work ceaselessly. God wants to work, but He needs us to pray, to co-work, and to coordinate with Him.
Verse 11 of chapter 45 says, “Thus says Jehovah, / The Holy One of Israel and the One who formed him, / Ask Me about the things to come concerning My sons, / And concerning the work of My hands, command Me.” How amazing it is that we can command God concerning His work, as if we are the master and He is the servant! Usually the command of the master comes first, and the work of the servant follows. The master commands the servant, and the servant obeys. Without the master’s command the servant has nothing to do. Similarly, in prayer our position is active, and God’s position is passive. Good prayers are prayers that command God. Such prayers are up to the standard. God will do what we want Him to do, and He will do it according to the desire in us that expresses Him.
This is a great spiritual principle: our prayer comes first, takes the lead, and God’s work follows. Our prayer takes the initiative, and God’s work fulfills. Prayer is crucial. The purpose of prayer is to co-work with God, that is, to coordinate with God’s work such that it initiates what He fulfills. We pray, and God fulfills. Our praying is our ordering God, our commanding Him, and His fulfilling is His carrying out our order, His obeying our command. The extent to which we command is the extent to which He works.
In Ezekiel 22:30 Jehovah said, “I sought a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the breach before Me for the sake of the land so that I would not destroy it, but I found no one.” This indicates that God wanted to save the children of Israel from their desolation, but He had no way to act because He did not find among them one who would pray for this matter. This can be compared to having a translator but no speaker. Without a speaker the translator cannot work even if many saints are in the meeting hall. God wanted to save the children of Israel, but He did not find anyone among them who would stand in the breach before Him, that is, stand to pray on their behalf. God can work only when someone among His children prays. He cannot work if no one prays. This shows that God’s work depends on our prayer.
We should never think that our prayers are the source of God’s desire to do something. We have the wrong concept that until we implore God to bless the church, He has no such desire. In actuality, God knows the condition of the church and wants to bless the church, but He cannot, because no one prays; no one co-works with Him to be a pioneer. He will not begin to work until at least one person rises up and prays, cries out, as a pioneer, a leader, in God’s work. God has many things that He wants to do, but we must pray.
Daniel 9:2-4 says, “I, Daniel, understood by means of the Scriptures the number of the years, which came as the word of Jehovah to Jeremiah the prophet, for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, that is, seventy years. So I set my face toward the Lord God to seek Him in prayer and supplications with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. And I prayed to Jehovah my God and confessed.” Daniel understood God’s will for Jerusalem from the Scriptures and prayed for God’s will according to the Scriptures. Daniel knew how to pray because he knew how to draw near to God, to contact God, to absorb God, and to let God express Himself. Daniel’s preciousness was not related to his prophesying but to his ability to pray. He could prophesy because he knew how to pray. His prayers touched, contacted, absorbed, and expressed God. Hence, his prayers were his co-working with God.
Daniel was God’s co-worker on earth. He was considerate of God’s heart and contacted God. He lived in God and let God live in him. Daniel was a person in union with God. As a result, Daniel could co-work with God, coordinate with God, and be God’s expression when there was a great turn of events on earth. Daniel understood from God’s Word that the desolation of the children of Israel would last seventy years, and that at the conclusion of the seventy years God would bring the children of Israel from the land of their captivity to the land of Israel for them to rebuild Jerusalem. He knew God’s intention and prayed for it with fasting. He knew God was about to move on earth, so he became God’s expression in order to coordinate with God through prayer. The extent to which Daniel prayed was the extent to which God worked. God did what Daniel prayed for. The return of the children of Israel to Jerusalem was God’s fulfilling of Daniel’s prayer. The children of Israel’s return from captivity was the issue of Daniel’s prayer. Hence, Daniel’s prayer co-worked with God, opened a way for God’s work, caused God to work, and led God’s work.
The prophet Samuel knew that God’s work on earth requires the coordination of man’s prayer. Therefore, Samuel told the children of Israel, “As for me, far be it from me that I would sin against Jehovah by ceasing to pray for you” (1 Sam. 12:23). Samuel seemed to say that the children of Israel did not want God and that only he was left to live for God. Samuel was a Nazarite who had always lived in God’s presence and understood God’s heart. Hence, he was God’s co-worker on earth. Had he not prayed for the children of Israel, God would not have had a way to work among them. If Samuel had not prayed, he would have hindered God’s work, which would have been a sin, an offense against God.
After reading Exodus, some people think that God did not like the Israelites when they were in Egypt but that when the Israelites could no longer bear the oppression of the Egyptians, they entreated God and softened His heart; as a result, He had mercy on them and delivered them from Egypt. This, however, is not according to the record in the Bible. Exodus 3:7 says that God knew “their sorrows.” This means that God knew the sorrows of the children of Israel and wanted to deliver them, but He had not delivered them, because until Exodus 2:23-25 they had not entreated Him concerning their deliverance. Their entreating and praying was to initiate God’s deliverance. God wanted to deliver them, but He needed them to entreat Him and pray. Therefore, their praying opened the way for God’s work. God could deliver them when they prayed.
The above examples in the Bible show that the opening of God’s work on earth depends on our prayer. God’s work matches our prayer, and His work is as extensive as our prayer. God wants to do many things, but He cannot do anything if we do not pray. A person who knew God said once that God’s work is like a train, and our prayers are like tracks; wherever the tracks have been laid, there the train can go. Hence, our prayers pave the way for God’s work. Strictly speaking, however, our prayers not only pave the way for God but are also a part of God’s work. Our prayers are our coordination with God’s work. If we do not pray, God has no co-worker to coordinate with Him, and thus, He can do nothing.
The basic principle in God’s work is that man must be mingled with God. Man cannot do the work of God by himself, nor can God work by Himself. God must be mingled with man in order to work through man. In God’s work, man prays and God fulfills. Without man’s prayer, God has no way to fulfill, and without God fulfilling, man prays in vain. When our prayer and God’s fulfilling coordinate as one, God’s work is accomplished on earth. For example, we believe that in Hong Kong God will save many souls and will raise up many to take the way of the cross, be overcomers, and maintain His testimony. He will also raise up some for His work and some as elders to lead His church and to shepherd His flock. The workers and elders will be rich in life, clear concerning the truth, broad in their view, and skilled. They will be weighty in spiritual matters, and they will be wise and competent in handling practical affairs. Indeed, God wants to raise up such ones to administrate the church in Hong Kong. But He must wait until someone rises up and prays for these matters before He can do them.
Hong Kong is the best place to preach the gospel because a concentrated population of two to three million people resides here. The instability in the world situation makes people restless and ready for the gospel. Transportation and the social facilities in Hong Kong are convenient. Hence, it is easy to preach the gospel. Furthermore, now is the best time to preach the gospel. We should not be surprised if two thousand are saved in a year. When I came to Hong Kong several years ago, the brothers showed me a piece of land that was a vegetable farm. At that time there were a few cottages around the land. There are now five-story buildings surrounding the land. Just as Hong Kong has changed physically, the church in Hong Kong can have a spiritual change. I believe that God wants the church in Hong Kong to have such a change, but the question is whether someone will rise up and pray for this change. The change that we desire is to see thousands saved instead of ten, and this change is possible. This is also what God desires. The question is whether someone will rise up and pray for this. Is there anyone who would go to God and remind Him concerning this?
God wants the church in Hong Kong to be strong, full of His presence and His light, and transparent like the New Jerusalem. God also wants to raise up strong elders and deacons in the church in Hong Kong whose speaking from the Bible would be full of light and transparency. This is the condition that God desires for the church in Hong Kong. However, the question still remains: is there anyone who would rise up and pray for this matter so that God’s intention would be fulfilled?
If some saints in the church in Hong Kong would touch and contact God, absorb Him, live in Him, let Him be expressed from within them, and pray at set times daily, God would fulfill their prayer. If they would pray, “God, we want many to be saved in the gospel this year,” God would fulfill that. If they would pray, “God, we want the church in Hong Kong to be transparent and bright and full of Your presence. We want the testimony and service of the church to be strong,” God would do such a work. However, this coordination cannot be gained through sloppy prayers. We must first touch God, absorb Him, and let Him be expressed from within us. Then our prayer will be able to bring in God’s work.
The ones whom such saints bring up in prayer will not escape God’s hand. The saints may feel that a young brother should spend his whole being and his life for God’s work. Although they will not say much to the brother, they will mention his name in their prayer, and as a result, he will not escape God’s hand. Day after day God’s hand will be like the cords of a man and bands of love on that young brother, leading him to consecrate himself on the altar to God and to be gained by God (cf. Hosea 11:4). Then the brother will gradually become a strong oracle, a good minister of the word for God, and a pillar to uphold the testimony and service of the church. This is the result of the prayer of a group of saints.
A good number of saints pray often on my behalf. I deeply believe that the fruit of the work is the result of their prayer; God fulfills and answers their prayers. I also believe that as a result of their prayer, God’s hand has been upholding and supporting me and has prevented me from being overcome by weakness or going astray. The varied mercy and grace of God that are manifested in me are the result of the prayers of the saints.
Those who love God must see that the purpose of prayer is to touch God, coordinate with Him, and be His co-worker. We become God’s co-workers who coordinate with Him by touching Him, absorbing Him, and letting Him be expressed. Then God will take notice of whatever we bring up, He will provide what we request, and the extent of our prayer will be the extent of His work. This applies to God’s work in the church, on the people around us, and in the saints.
If we do not pray for our condition, God will not work in us. For example, a sister may be full of the flesh, but if she does not pray concerning this, God will not do anything. It is not until she draws near to God in fellowship and absorbs God, and He touches her in order to manifest her flesh through her environment that she will pray concerning being fleshly. Then God can begin to work in her. From then on, He will deal with her flesh and deliver her. Thus, we need to see that we are God’s co-workers to coordinate with Him in matters concerning others and ourselves. In such matters God will work according to our prayer.
As those who are learning to pray, we must exercise until we can touch God, express Him, and coordinate with Him as His co-workers. Then our prayers will become prophecies that He will fulfill. God will fulfill whatever we ask, and He will work according to our prayers. How glorious to be such persons on earth, that is, to be persons who command God! Such persons are glorious and dignified.
God has put us in such a high position through His union with us. If we will learn to pray in such a way, we will be filled inwardly with God. We will be persons who contact God and have fellowship with Him. We will touch God, let Him gain us, and let Him be expressed in us. This is what it means to be a person of prayer, one who co-works with God and whose prayers are in coordination with God. This is the purpose of prayer and the position that prayer brings us into.
