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The first aspect of coordination in the meetings is the coordination of persons. For example, after a few brothers pray, it is better for a few sisters to follow. The brothers and the sisters should coordinate together to pray. If only the brothers pray in a meeting and the sisters do not respond, our meetings will be like a paralyzed body, which is neither beautiful nor living. We are not saying that the brothers and sisters should take turns in a set order; we are simply emphasizing that a coordination of persons is needed. In the meetings the brothers and the sisters need to coordinate with one another in a living way. After a few brothers pray, a few sisters should join in, and after a few sisters pray, a few more brothers should join in with more prayers. If the brothers’ prayers are too quick, the sisters may not be able to keep up. This requires the brothers to be willing to pause and wait so that more sisters can join in to pray. Furthermore, when there is a pause in the middle of a strong atmosphere of prayer, the sisters should realize that the brothers want them to join in. At such a time the more experienced sisters need to pray immediately. If the experienced sisters do not pray, the young, meek, and timid sisters will be less likely to follow. Then when a sister joins in to fill the time created by the pause, the brothers need to realize that other sisters may follow. Thus, there is no need for the brothers to rush to pray again; they should leave time for more sisters to pray. The brothers also need to learn not to ignore others when they receive an inspiration.
In Genesis 32, when Jacob returned to the land of Canaan, he brought his wives, children, flocks, and herds with him. Later, Jacob met Esau, his brother. In 33:13-14, Jacob said to Esau, “My lord knows that the children are frail and that the nursing flocks and herds are a concern to me; and if they overdrive them for one day, all the flock will die. Let my lord please pass on before his servant, and I will lead on slowly according to the pace of the cattle which are before me and according to the pace of the children.” His young children and his nursing flocks and herds could not walk too fast, so Jacob accommodated them. Likewise, in the meetings we need to accommodate the sisters. Sometimes, as soon as the sisters begin to pray, the brothers take control of the direction of the prayer. If the sisters have more opportunities to pray, they will be more released.
I hope that the brothers and sisters will begin to pray in coordination in a strong way. Typically, more sisters than brothers attend the meetings, so they should be allowed to function more. This will fill the meeting with enjoyment. The brothers have a responsibility to give the sisters more opportunities to pray, and the sisters have a responsibility to offer prayers at the right time. This coordination will allow the functions of the brothers and the sisters to be carried out in a proper way.
In addition to the coordination of persons in the meetings, there is also a need for coordination in the content and the line of the prayer in the meetings. This kind of coordination is even more difficult, so it requires more exercise and practice. For example, there should always be content and a line in the prayer at the bread-breaking meeting. The line of the prayer should climb higher and higher and eventually reach a peak in which there is a blessing of and a thanksgiving for the bread and the cup. When the atmosphere of remembering the Lord reaches the highest peak, the bread and the cup should be passed.
When the meeting reaches such a peak, we need to learn to remain at the peak, just as Moses remained at the top of Mount Pisgah, beholding the land of Canaan (Deut. 34:1). At such a point we may not need to call a hymn or even utter more praise; we can simply and quietly contemplate the beauty of the Lord. This is not idle time but time at the peak. There is a sense of sweetness in the spirit when everyone reaches the point that there is no need to say anything. In such an atmosphere we should be silent. If we have learned the lesson, we will not call a hymn or say anything that would disturb others and spoil the atmosphere of silence.
After the bread and the cup have been passed, a brother can pray, thanking the Lord for being our enjoyment. In such a way the section of remembering the Lord will come to an end, and we can worship the Father. In the bread-breaking meeting, a great portion of time is for remembering the Lord, but there should be some time for the worship of the Father. A brother can start the worship of the Father by praying, and then the saints can follow. Perhaps another brother may be inspired to choose a fitting hymn to worship the Father; in this way the saints’ singing will be very enjoyable.
It seems easy to describe the progression of a meeting, but in practice, much skill is needed. First, we need to know the Lord in order to have content for the meeting. Second, the brothers and sisters should coordinate with one another. To know the Lord is one matter, but to apply what we know in a meeting is another matter. We need to know the Lord and learn to coordinate with others to function in prayer in the meetings.
Let us consider the Lord’s suffering as an example of the content for a meeting. According to the Bible, the Lord’s life of suffering can be divided into three major sections. The first section began with the Lord’s birth and ended when He began to minister. His sufferings began from the time of His birth. The second section covers the period of His ministry; this suffering lasted for three and a half years on the earth. The third section includes the suffering in His crucifixion. When the Lord Jesus was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane before He went to the cross, His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down upon the ground (Luke 22:44). This was the beginning of the suffering in His crucifixion. The Lord Jesus’ suffering in His crucifixion is the last section of His suffering. The first two sections of the Lord’s suffering can be further divided into nine crucial points.
When the Lord was born, His mother wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger because there was no place for them in the inn (2:7). This depicts the suffering in the Lord Jesus’ birth. Being wrapped in swaddling clothes indicates that there was no blanket, not even clothing. This implies a state of humiliation. Being laid in a manger indicates that even though He was born as a man, He did not have the status of a man. When we were born, we were not placed with cattle but with men. However, the Lord Jesus was laid in a manger, the place for cattle. There being no place in the inn denotes that there was no place for Him. These three brief points summarize the Lord Jesus’ suffering in His birth. The Lord Jesus was the Lord of the universe, the great God, but He became an infant. He went from being lofty to being lowly, from being great to being small, and from being rich to being poor. If we compare the Lord’s status prior to His birth, we will realize how much the Lord suffered in His birth.
The Lord also suffered in His growth. A person’s birth and growth are two different matters. Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, but He grew up in Nazareth, a despised place. Bethlehem is a small city, but in the eyes of the Jews, it is the city of the royal family. Bethlehem is even called the city of David (vv. 4, 11). The highest king of the Jews—the Lord Jesus—was born in Bethlehem, the city of the royal family, but He did not grow up there. He stayed in Bethlehem for only a short period of time, and then He was forced to flee to Egypt (Matt. 2:13-15). When He returned to Israel, He did not go back to Bethlehem but to the region of Galilee. He lived in a small city called Nazareth; thus, He was called a Nazarene (vv. 21-23), which was a derogatory title. In John 1:45 Phillip found Nathanael and said, “We have found...Jesus...from Nazareth.” Nathanael reacted by asking, “Can anything good be from Nazareth?” (v. 46). In John 7:52 someone even said, “Search and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee.” Although the Lord was born in the respected city of the royal family, He grew up in a despised, small city.
Isaiah 53:2 says, “He grew up...like a root out of dry ground. / He has no attracting form nor majesty that we should look upon Him, / Nor beautiful appearance that we should desire Him.” This indicates that the Lord came out of a poor family. A poor family is like dry ground that is without a rich supply of nutrients. After the Lord Jesus was born, His parents took Him to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices according to the law. They did not have a lamb to offer but only a pair of turtledoves or two young doves to offer (Luke 2:22-24). This was the sacrifice offered by the poorest Israelites. Leviticus 12 clearly speaks of a lamb as the preferable sacrifice to be offered on behalf of a newborn. Verse 8 says, “If she cannot afford a lamb, then she shall take two turtledoves or two young pigeons.” Joseph and Mary’s offering indicated their poverty. The Lord was born into a poor family.
The Lord grew up in Nazareth, lived in a poor family, and was Himself a poor man. He seldom carried any money in His pocket. When some people came to take the temple tax, He did not have any money in His pocket. Rather, He told Peter to go fishing to obtain a stater from the mouth of a fish to pay for the tax (Matt. 17:24-27). When the Pharisees and Herodians joined forces to tempt Him, asking Him if they should give tribute to Caesar, He did not take out any money from His pocket; instead, He asked them to show Him a coin (22:15-19). All these accounts show that the Lord Jesus was poor.
This poor man out of a poor family was a carpenter on the earth. Mark 6:3 says, “Is not this the carpenter?” In regard to the Lord Jesus’ suffering in being a carpenter, we can pray, “Lord Jesus, we could have never imagined that You would become a carpenter. Just as a common laborer suffers and toils, You suffered and toiled.” The Lord is certainly in glory and on the throne, but there is even more to praise Him for in regard to His being a carpenter on the earth. When the Lord created the heavens and the earth, He spoke, and it was; He commanded, and it stood (Psa. 33:9). However, He became a lowly carpenter on the earth. Carpentry requires much time and energy. Regarding this point, there can be rich development and deep prayer in the bread-breaking meeting. Furthermore, the utterance for such prayers will be full of taste and will touch our feelings. We can pray, “Lord, You are the Creator, but You willingly became a poor carpenter.” We can continue to pray, “Lord, You even patiently did the work of carpentry for others; thank You that Your patience is available to us today.” As long as we grasp the content, the Spirit will surely grant us much development.
The Lord was a man of sorrows. He was born in a manger, grew up in Nazareth, came out of a poor family, and was a poor man and a laborer. He was truly a man of sorrows. Isaiah 53:3 says, “He was despised and forsaken of men, / A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.”
The Lord did not have a permanent home or a place where He could lay His head. Luke 9:58 says, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of heaven have roosts, but the Son of Man does not have a place where He may lay His head.” His situation was worse than that of the foxes and birds. He traveled everywhere and often made long journeys. One time, He was wearied from the journey under the burning sun, so He sat by a well and asked someone for water. When He asked for water, the one whom He talked with was not a noble person but a Samaritan despised by the Jews, even a Samaritan woman with a bad reputation (John 4:6-7). He asked for water from a lowly person, indicating how lowly He was and how much He suffered on the earth. In order to do the work of God, the Lord was so busy that He did not have time to eat. Mark 3:20 and 6:31 both record that because He was serving diligently and faithfully, He did not have time to eat. From the time of His birth, suffering was the mark of the Lord’s human life. He was born in a manger, grew up in Nazareth, came out of a poor family, was a poor man, worked as a carpenter, and was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Moreover, He did not have a permanent home, He traveled and labored much, and He did not eat regularly.
From these points we can see the line of the Lord’s suffering in a simple way. When the saints are praying in a bread-breaking meeting, they can follow one another in prayer according to a line like this. Some can pray about the Lord being born in a manger, some about there being no place for Him in the inn, and some about His being the great God who came as a small infant. As we praise Him for coming down from the throne in the heavens to a lowly place on the earth, the brothers and sisters can follow one another in prayer and praising. Such prayers will be full of enjoyment.
Then the brothers and sisters can pray concerning the Lord’s growing up in Nazareth, following one another, section by section. No one needs to pray for a long time. It is a beautiful scene when twenty or thirty saints pray in such a way. After every section is covered, a brother can offer a comprehensive, concluding prayer. When the meeting reaches a peak, the saints can spontaneously stand up to praise and give thanks and bless the bread and the cup. This kind of meeting will be full of enjoyment.
This is not something idealistic, and we are not asking new believers to immediately reach such a level. Most of us, however, have been meeting for more than a decade, and this kind of prayer is possible in our meetings; this is not an unreasonable expectation. Ten years is sufficient time for a person to finish junior high school, high school, and college. We have been meeting for ten years, but we are short of practice, so we are not up to the standard. We should not look for excuses, saying that we have already fulfilled our obligations. In these matters we are not giving the saints the proper leading. We should take these matters seriously, and we must carefully consider them, because these practices are very fine and detailed.
Our coordination in prayer must follow the sequence of the line of the content. For example, before the section of the Lord being born in a manger is finished, we should not jump to the section of the Lord being a carpenter. This kind of prayer is not wrong, but it is random. If a sister prays about the Lord being a carpenter, and then a brother continues by praying about the Lord being born in a manger, it is out of order. Situations such as this show that we have not been trained adequately.
We also need to exercise to avoid being distracted from the subject. While all the saints are praying, praising, and giving thanks according to the line of the Lord’s suffering, someone might be touched and feel that the Lord’s love is marvelous. He might ignore the line of suffering and veer off from the subject to pray about the Lord’s love. We need to learn to stay on the subject, remain on the same line, and follow one another. Our prayer should not only follow the foregoing prayers but also pave the way for subsequent prayers. This can be likened to playing a ball game, in which we need to coordinate with others; we need to not only catch the ball but also make the ball easier for others to catch.
If ten saints are coordinating together in each district, they will be able to gradually cultivate such an atmosphere. The responsibility falls upon the leading ones. If a team is playing well, those who later join the team will quickly catch up. In our meetings the saints who are coordinating together can establish a model in every meeting, while leaving time for others to function. Some saints are just learning how to praise, but they should still be encouraged, and other saints should endeavor to bring the meeting higher. With everyone functioning, the meetings will be up to the standard and enjoyable, and the new believers will be raised up. If we all receive this kind of training, the meetings will keep and supply the saints when a district meeting is divided into two. May the Lord have mercy on us so that our meetings may be strong to keep the newly saved ones.
We need to realize that prayer related to spiritual warfare involves three parties in the universe: God, man, and Satan. In fact, the universe is just the story of these three parties. The Bible speaks of God and man, but it also speaks of Satan, who is between God and man. Our prayer should always be related to God, man, and Satan. For the most part, however, our daily prayers are focused on ourselves. We often pray, “Lord, be gracious to me. Take care of me. I have this need and that problem. Remember me.” Our prayers are all about “me,” that is, our family, our children, our spiritual condition, our sins, our weaknesses, and our problems. These prayers are not high. We need to learn to pray about God, that is, God’s plan, God’s purpose, God’s work, God’s gospel, and God’s church. We need to pray for God’s heart’s desire and to pray from the perspective of God. Such prayer is high prayer.
