DAY 1:\u00a0PRAYER ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 6<\/p>\n\t
MATT. 6:9\u201310; REV. 11:15<\/p>\n\t
For the Father\u2019s name to be sanctified (Matt. 6:9b), for His kingdom to come (Matt. 6:10a; Rev. 11:15); and for His will to be done on the earth (Matt. 6:10b).<\/p>\n\t
Matt. 6:9<\/strong>\u2014You then pray in this way: Our Father who is in the heavens, Your name be sanctified.<\/p>\n Rev. 11:15<\/strong>\u2014And the seventh angel trumpeted; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.<\/p>\n Matthew 6:10<\/strong>\u2014Your kingdom come; Your will be done, as in heaven, so also on earth.<\/p>\n\t <\/p>\n Ministry: A Proper Prayer Life for a\u00a0Proper Church Life<\/b><\/p>\n If we touch Paul\u2019s spirit in 1 Timothy 2:1-7, we shall sense his burden that those who take the lead in the church life must have a prayer life. In these verses Paul seems to be telling Timothy, \u201cI have shown you a clear picture of God\u2019s economy and how it is versus different teachings. I have also pointed out to you that, in His mercy, the Lord has made me a pattern of His economy. I have also charged you solemnly to war the good warfare on behalf of God\u2019s economy. Now deep in my spirit is the burden to exhort you to pray. I exhort that petitions, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings be made on behalf of all men. Do not think that teaching comes before prayer. No, prayer must be first, and teaching, second.\u201d (Life-study of 1 Timothy<\/i>, p. 27)<\/p>\n \u00a9 Living Stream Ministry. Used by permission.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n\t DAY 2: PRAYER FOR THE NEW MAN & THE BRIDE<\/p>\n\t EPH. 1:9\u201310, 23; 4:13, 16; 5:27; REV 19:7<\/p>\n\t For God\u2019s good pleasure to be fulfilled, His purpose to be accomplished, and His economy to be carried out (Eph. 1:9-10) that He might have the church as Christ\u2019s built-up Body and a full-grown new man to express Him (v. 23; 4:13, 16), and as Christ\u2019s prepared bride to satisfy Him in love (5:27; Rev. 19:7).<\/p>\n\n\t Eph. 1:9-10<\/strong>\u2014Making known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Himself, unto the economy of the fullness of the times, to head up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, in Him.<\/p>\n Eph. 1:23<\/strong>\u2014Which is His Body, the fullness of the One who fills all in all.<\/p>\n Eph. 4:13<\/strong>\u2014Until we all arrive at the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, at a full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.<\/p>\n Eph. 4:16<\/strong>\u2014Out from whom all the Body, being joined together and being knit together through every joint of the rich supply and through the operation in the measure of each one part, causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love.<\/p>\n Eph. 5:27<\/strong>\u2014That He might present the church to Himself glorious, not having spot or wrinkle or any such things, but that she would be holy and without blemish.<\/p>\n Rev. 19:7<\/strong>\u2014Let us rejoice and exult, and let us give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.<\/p>\n\t <\/p>\n Ministry: A Glorious Intercession<\/b><\/p>\n The first clear mention of intercession in the Bible is in Genesis 18, where we see that Abraham was the first intercessor…In [this chapter] we not only have a story of intercession but a clear revelation of the basic principles of intercession. Intercession is a great thing in the Bible. Without it God\u2019s economy cannot be accomplished. The excellent ministry of Christ today as our kingly and divine High Priest is a ministry of intercession. Romans 8:34 and Hebrews 7:25 both tell us that Christ is interceding for us. Since this matter of intercession is so important, we must devote an entire message to it, mainly considering the basic principles of intercession. (Life-study of Genesis<\/i>, p. 677)<\/p>\n \u00a9 Living Stream Ministry. Used by permission.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n\t DAY 3: PRAYER FOR WORLD AFFAIRS<\/p>\n\t DAN. 4:17; REV. 1:5; PROV. 21:1; DAN. 2:21<\/p>\n\t For God in Christ to rule over all world affairs (Dan. 4:17; Rev. 1:5), to turn the hearts of kings to do His will (Prov. 21:1), and to raise up and put down leaders as He sees fit (Dan. 2:21).<\/p>\n\n\t Dan. 4:17<\/strong>\u2014This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the decision is a command of the holy ones, to the intent that the living may know that the Most High is the Ruler over the kingdom of men and gives it to whomever He wills and sets up over it the lowliest of men.<\/p>\n Rev. 1:5<\/strong>\u2014And from Jesus Christ, the faithful Witness, the Firstborn of the dead, and the Ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by His blood.<\/p>\n Prov. 21:1<\/strong>\u2014The king\u2019s heart is like streams of water in the hand of Jehovah; \/ He turns it wherever He wishes.<\/p>\n Dan. 2:21<\/strong>\u2014And it is He who changes the times and seasons; \/ He deposes kings and causes kings to ascend. \/ He gives wisdom to the wise \/ And knowledge to those who have understanding.<\/p>\n\t <\/p>\n Ministry: Intercession for God’s People and according to God’s Heart<\/b><\/p>\n In principle, Abraham\u2019s intercession for Lot was like the intercession in the church in the New Testament. In Abraham\u2019s time, God\u2019s people on earth were composed of two families, the families of Abraham and Lot. A part of God\u2019s people, Lot\u2019s family, had drifted into the wicked city of Sodom. In like manner, some of the church people have drifted into the world. Just as Abraham interceded for that part of God\u2019s people who had drifted into Sodom, so we must intercede for the brothers and sisters who have drifted into the world. (Life-study of Genesis<\/i>, p. 682)<\/p>\n \u00a9 Living Stream Ministry. Used by permission.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n\t DAY 4: PRAYER FOR THOSE IN AUTHORITY<\/p>\n\t 1 TIM. 2:2<\/p>\n\t For those in authority to have the wisdom to discharge their responsibilities and govern righteously according to God so that the church may go on in peace and tranquility (1 Tim. 2:2).<\/p>\n\t 1 Tim. 2:2<\/strong>\u2014On behalf of kings and all who are in high position, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all godliness and gravity.<\/p>\n\t <\/p>\n Ministry: Intercession according to God’s Righteous Way and Expressing God’s Desire<\/b><\/p>\n I believe that many in the Lord\u2019s recovery will be brought into this kind of intercession. When God came down to visit Abraham on a human level, He was seeking one intercessor. Today God has come down to the human level once again…to seek…a corporate people. I believe that in not too long a time there will be a people on earth absolutely like Abraham, knowing the heart of God and making a challenging intercession in His presence. We may say to God, \u201cLord, don\u2019t You know that You have promised us definitely in the New Testament to finish the good work that You have begun?\u201d…We should not weep and beg but should challenge God…He wants to hear our challenging intercession. (Life-study of Genesis<\/i>, p. 686)<\/p>\n \u00a9 Living Stream Ministry. Used by permission.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n\t DAY 5: PRAYER FOR GOD’S ULTIMATE MOVE OVER THE WHOLE EARTH<\/p>\n\t Acts 17:26-27; Phil. 1:21a; Rom. 12:2; Eph. 4:16; Rev. 19:7<\/b><\/p>\n\t Pray for God\u2019s ultimate move over the whole earth, with the status of the United States as the leading nation in the world\u2019s ultimate situation, to gain a people who know the wonderful, all-inclusive Christ, who experience Him as their life and live Him, and who are transformed and built up to be His Body and ultimately His prepared bride for His return (Acts 17:26-27; Phil. 1:21a; Rom. 12:2; Eph. 4:16; Rev. 19:7).<\/p>\n\n\t Acts 17:26-27<\/strong>\u2014And He made from one every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, determining beforehand their appointed seasons and the boundaries of their dwelling, that they might seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, even though He is not far from each one of us.<\/p>\n Phil. 1:21a<\/strong>\u2014For to me, to live is Christ.<\/p>\n Romans 12:2<\/strong>\u2014And do not be fashioned according to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and well pleasing and perfect.<\/p>\n Eph. 4:16<\/strong>\u2014Out from whom all the Body, being joined together and being knit together through every joint of the rich supply and through the operation in the measure of each one part, causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love.<\/p>\n Rev. 19:7<\/strong>\u2014Let us rejoice and exult, and let us give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.<\/p>\n\t <\/p>\n Ministry:\u00a0Prayer and God’s Work<\/b><\/p>\n One main principle of God\u2019s work is the need for man\u2019s prayer. He wants man to cooperate with Him in prayer.<\/p>\n [One Christian who was very experienced in prayer] said that all spiritual work consists of four steps. In the first step, God intends to do something; there is God\u2019s will. In the second step, He reveals this will to His children through the Spirit so that they know His will, His plan, His desire, and His aspiration. In the third step, God\u2019s children return His will back to Him through prayer. Prayer is the echoing of God\u2019s will. If our heart is in tune with God\u2019s heart, spontaneously we will speak forth God\u2019s will. As a result God will accomplish His work in the fourth step.<\/p>\n If our prayer is only for the fulfillment of our plans and wishes, it will not have any value in the spiritual realm. Only the prayers that are initiated by God and that echo what He has initiated have any worth. God\u2019s work is governed by prayers. God is willing to do many things, but He will not do them when His people do not pray. He must wait for man to agree with Him before He will do them. This is a great principle of God\u2019s work, and it is also one of the most crucial principles in the Bible. (The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, vol. 38<\/i>, pp. 281-282)<\/p>\n