Scripture Reading: Heb. 10:12-13; Acts 2:32-33, 36; Eph. 1:22-23; 2:6; Matt. 16:18; 18:18
In this chapter we will continue to consider the prevailing prayer of the church. This prayer is the prayer of the age. In these days we need to learn something concerning prevailing prayer. As Christians we may know something concerning prayer, but in the Scriptures, especially in the New Testament, there is one kind of prayer that is far beyond our human concept. To enter into this kind of prayer, we need a heavenly vision. We need to see something that is far beyond our natural concept.
The first aspect of this heavenly vision is the ascension of Christ. Nearly all believers know something about the ascension of Christ, but I wish to point out two very important matters concerning its meaning.
First, the ascension of Christ indicates that the Lord’s redemptive work is fully complete. After the Lord ascended to the heavens, He sat down at the right hand of God (Heb. 1:3; 10:12). Here, to sit down means to rest. When someone sits down, it means that everything that he had to do has been finished and accomplished. When someone has nothing more to do, he sits down to rest. The fact that the Lord is in the heavens sitting down at the right hand of God means that He has done everything that He had to do. The Lord has accomplished everything related to the work of redemption in a full way. Nothing has been left undone; everything has been accomplished. Thus, the Lord is sitting in the heavens and resting. The ascension of Christ is an indication of the complete accomplishment of the work of redemption.
Second, the ascension of Christ indicates that the lordship of Christ has been established. The lordship of Christ was established by the ascension of Christ. Generally speaking, all believers recognize that Christ is the Lord. Nearly all of us have some thought or natural concept concerning this matter. Very few, however, have the proper realization of what this means. We think that because Christ is God or because He is the Creator, He is automatically the Lord of the universe. Nevertheless, we need to realize that the matter of Christ being the Lord is something very different from our natural concept. We need to realize that today the Lord Christ is not merely the Lord who created the universe. The Lord Christ today is also God who was incarnated to be a man. Today there is a man in the heavens who has been exalted and established to be the Lord of the universe.
It is quite easy for us to believe that God the Creator is the Lord of the universe. However, we need a heavenly vision to believe that there was a man in the history of mankind whose name was Jesus and who has been exalted to the heavens and made the Lord of the whole universe. On the day of Pentecost Peter declared, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you have crucified” (Acts 2:36). The apostle Paul also tells us that God “subjected all things under His feet and gave Him to be Head over all things” (Eph. 1:22). This is very different from our natural concept.
Moreover, Ephesians 1:22 tells us that Christ was given to be Head over all things “to the church.” Everything that the Lord has obtained and attained is not only for Himself but is also to the church. This means that everything that He has obtained and attained is being transmitted to the church. We need to see a heavenly vision of this heavenly fact. The enemy — the devil and his evil spirits — knows this much better than we do. The evil forces know what it means for Christ to be made Lord. Therefore, we need to realize this fact and to genuinely see it. We need to see the heavenly fact that Christ has been exalted by God, established as Lord of the universe, and made Head over all things to the church. All things are under His feet, and everything that He has obtained and attained is being transmitted to the church, which is His Body (v. 23).
We all need a vision of these two facts related to Christ’s ascension. The first fact is that Christ’s ascension indicated the complete accomplishment of the redemptive work of Christ. The second fact is that His ascension indicated the establishment of the lordship of Christ. Everything that needed to be done for the accomplishing of redemption has already been done, and Christ’s lordship has been fully established. There is only one thing left for us to do — to realize these heavenly facts.
The second main point of this chapter will help us to realize these facts. The first main point is the ascension of Christ; the second main point is the position of the church as the Body of Christ. Because the church is the Body of Christ, the position of the church is exactly the same as that of Christ. Wherever the Head is, the Body also must be. Whatever the Head has, the Body also must have. In addition, we need to realize that we are members of the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:27; Eph. 5:30). Since the Body is identified with the Head, the position of the Body is exactly the same as that of the Head.
The third main point in this chapter concerns the authority of the Body. I specifically use the word authority rather than the word power or even the word right. What is the authority of the Body? The authority of the Body is the authority of the Head exercised by the Body. Thus, the authority of the Body is the authority of the Head.
Although the Body has this authority, this authority is not merely objective but is very subjective. This means that this authority must be assumed and exercised by the Body. To assume something means to take something upon oneself. As the church, the Body of Christ, we need to assume the authority of Christ.
After His resurrection the Lord told the disciples that all authority in heaven and on earth had been given to Him. Then He commanded them to preach the glad tidings to all the nations. The Lord said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and disciple all the nations” (Matt. 28:18b-19a). Having received all authority, the Lord commanded us to go with this authority and preach the gospel. He commanded us to go not just with His word or with His power but with His authority. Do we realize the authority committed to the Body by the Head? The Lord also told us clearly that He has given us the authority to overcome the power of the enemy (Luke 10:19). The enemy has power, but the Body has authority. Authority is much stronger than power. Christ as the Head has the authority, and as His Body, we automatically have this authority also. This is not a small matter, but unfortunately, we do not realize this fact enough. We do not realize that we have been committed with the holy, heavenly authority. We have this authority, but whether or not we exercise it is up to us.
The fourth main point in this chapter is the prayer of the church as the Body of Christ. This kind of prayer is not the prayer of individual believers but the prayer of the church as the Body of Christ. This kind of prayer may be unfamiliar to us. We may know nothing about it because this kind of prayer is not something that we naturally consider. This is prayer that is based on the fact that we have the position and authority of Christ. In this kind of prayer we do not beg the Lord to do something for us. Instead, we claim what the Lord has obtained and attained. However, to pray in this way, we must have some realization of what the Lord has obtained and attained. Christ has obtained the lordship and the headship; He is the Lord, the Head over all things. The lordship and the headship are the most important aspects of what the Lord has obtained.
Once we realize what the Lord has obtained, we need to apply it. Actually, it is very simple to exercise the lordship and the headship of Christ. Suppose you meet a brother who is in a poor condition. When you meet him, you may sense that his condition and position are not right with the Lord. As a result, you may become burdened to pray for him. In this situation there are two ways you can pray. One way is the general way, the way taken by most believers when praying for others. In this general way you may go to the Lord and tell Him, “Lord, this brother is in a poor condition. Lord, be merciful to him. Do something with him. Work within his spirit.” This is the general way to pray for someone. However, there is another way to pray. This way is very special and may seem strange to us. It is not an ordinary way of praying; rather, it is an extraordinary way. In this way of prayer you are bold with the Lord. You may go to the Lord and say, “Lord, here is a brother who is still not under Your headship. I do not agree with this. I do not go along with this kind of situation. Lord, I am standing up to proclaim Your lordship and to claim it over this situation.” We can pray in this same way for a sinner: “Lord, Your lordship must be exercised over this person. Lord, I claim this.” We need to realize the difference between the general way of prayer and this second way of prayer.
In this second way of prayer we touch the authority of Christ. We must see, however, that we can never pray in this way by ourselves. This does not mean that we must always physically gather together with a few other brothers. Physically, you may be praying in your room by yourself, but spiritually, you are one with the Body. When you are alone in your room, sometimes you may choose not to use the pronoun I; instead, you may use the pronoun we, praying, “Lord, we do not go along with the present situation. As Your Body, we take the ground of Your ascension and claim Your lordship over the present situation.” This is a different kind of prayer. This is not prayer that begs the Lord to do something for you; this is prayer that claims what the Lord has obtained.
In these days we need to learn to pray by claiming what the Lord has obtained. We also need to learn how to exercise what the Lord has attained, because the Lord has not only obtained to the highest extent; He has also attained to the highest height. Suppose, for example, that you become ill. If you have the vision of what the Lord has obtained and attained, when you are in this situation, you will pray, “Lord, You are the transcendent One. You have been exalted to the heaven of heavens. Lord, we are Your Body. We are sitting with You in the heavenlies. All things have been subjected under Your feet, and therefore all things are also under our feet. This little sickness is included in ‘all things,’ so this little sickness also must be under my feet. I am now transcendent with You.” Do you see the difference between this kind of prayer and the way in which we generally pray? Nearly every time we become sick, we go to the Lord and beg, “Lord, heal me. Lord, be merciful to me. Lord, be gracious to me.” This is to pray like a beggar. If we have the vision that we are the Body of the Head and that the Head has ascended to the heavens and is now transcendent, we will take the ground and claim what the Lord has attained. We will simply claim, proclaim, and declare to the sickness, “Do not trouble me; you are under my feet!” We can deal with sins, weakness, and worldliness in the same way. We should not deal with these things like a beggar. We can tell all these negative things, “Do not bother me. Go to the lake of fire! I am transcendent. You cannot touch me. You are under my feet.” Whenever the devil hears this kind of prayer, he runs away. We should simply declare who we are and where we are. We are in the Body, the Body is in the Head, and the Head is transcendent.
On August 10, 1945, the Japanese army declared their willingness to surrender to the Allied forces in World War II. Before that day China had been under Japanese occupation, and many of the Chinese people had been treated very badly. However, on the day of the Japanese surrender, even the Chinese children gained the authority to claim victory. A few hours prior to the surrender, they had been very frightened, but once the surrender had been announced, they could claim what had been won for them. Once the victory had been obtained, they could take the ground and claim victory. In the same way, we can claim what the Lord has already obtained and attained for us.
Since the Body shares the authority of the Head, the Lord told His disciples that whatever they bound on earth would have been bound in heaven, and whatever they loosed on earth would have been loosed in heaven (Matt. 16:19; 18:18). When we pray with the authority of the Body, anything that we loose on the earth will be something that has already been loosed in the heavens, and anything that we bind on the earth will be something that has already been bound in the heavens. Because the Body is one with the Head in the heavens, the Body has the authority to bind or loose what has already been bound or loosed in the heavens.
The church is built upon a rock, and this rock is the ascended Christ. As a result, the gates of Hades cannot prevail against the church (16:18). We have the ground over Hades. Thus, we must learn to pray, exercising the authority that has been assigned to the Body by the Head.
To fully enter into this kind of prayer, there are two additional things that we must realize. First, we must realize that we are members of the Body, and we must live, act, and move in the Body. Second, in our daily life we must always put on the new man (Eph. 4:24). The new man is composed of the Head with the Body, Christ with the church (2:15-16). On the negative side, we need to put off the old man, and on the positive side, we need to put on the new man. By living in the Body and putting on the new man, we will be able to exercise the authority given to the Body by the Head.
We need to see the vision of the ascended Christ and learn to pray the prayer of authority. For two thousand years these matters have been neglected, but we believe that in these last days the Lord is going to recover them. Too often we do not take the ground of Christ’s ascension and claim what He has obtained and attained. Nevertheless, we believe that the Lord will recover this lost ground. This is the highest peak, the highest mountain of the good land. In these last days the Lord will recover this highest peak, this highest mountain. We must realize the facts, take the ground, and claim what the Head has obtained and attained. This is the prevailing prayer of the church. This is the prayer of the age.
Question: In the Gospels the Lord tells us to ask, seek, and knock (Matt. 7:7; Luke 11:9). Are you advising us to leave this out of our prayer life, considering that it is beggarly, or are you simply emphasizing the declarative side of prayer?
Answer: To ask, seek, and knock are the three steps of prayer. To ask is to be at some distance from the Lord, to seek is to go toward the Lord, and to knock is to arrive at the presence of the Lord. Nearly every time we pray, we begin by asking. When we are asking, the Lord will draw us to seek Him. When we are asking, the Lord will not answer us right away, because we are not very close to Him. The Lord will keep His answer from us so that we are forced to take a step further to seek Him. However, when we are seeking, the Lord will still not be satisfied; consequently, He will continue to withhold the answer to our prayer. This will force us to come into His presence. If I call you and you do not answer me, I may write to you. If you still do not answer me, I will come and knock on your door. Then I will be in your presence. When I am in your presence, everything is fine. This is the principle of prayer.
Question: I am still unclear about the matter of begging. Are you saying that we should never beg? Or are you saying that begging is something that we should do only occasionally?
Answer: We should never beg. We should always take the ground of Christ’s ascension. In our experience of prayer, however, we always begin at the point of asking. Then the Lord will bring us to seek and then to knock. For instance, you may begin by claiming, “O Lord, we do not agree with the present situation.” However, when you are claiming, you may realize that the Lord is not honoring your prayer. As a result, you will be forced to deal with the Lord. You will then say, “O Lord, I am asking at a distance, but I am coming to You.” Then you may pray again. At this point you may feel that you are closer to the Lord, but the Lord may still not answer your prayer. Then you will take another step to enter into His presence.
In each step you are claiming the same thing, but the distance is different. If you are in the presence of the Lord, you will receive the answer immediately. If I live in your home, I do not need to seek or to ask, nor do I even need to knock, because I am in your presence. When we are in the Lord’s presence, our prayer is prevailing. Let us learn to pray in this way.
