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In the present environment of the world, we need to devote ourselves to and persevere in prayer, while discerning “the signs of the times”—Acts 6:4; Col. 4:2; Matt. 16:3; Luke 21:24-36; Matt. 24:3-14, 32-34; Rom.13:11-14:
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We need to realize that we are in the midst of “birth pangs” (Matt. 24:8, 32-34), that “the kingdom of God is near” (Luke 21:31), and thus, pray the last prayer in the Bible—“Come, Lord Jesus!” (Rev. 22:20); the entire Bible concludes with the desire for the Lord’s coming expressed as a prayer (cf. S. S. 8:13-14; 2 Tim. 4:8; Acts 26:16); Christ’s coming will be His presence (Gk. parousia) with His people (Matt. 24:3; Acts 26:15-16; Mark 13:8; John 14:21, 23).
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We need to pray with the full realization of God’s view of human history by seeing that the gospel is speeded up and even maximized by war, famine, and death and by seeing that we need to gain God to the fullest extent to accomplish the goal of His divine economy—Phil. 3:8, 12-14:
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After he rebelled against God, Satan was condemned and even sentenced by God, but in His wisdom and sovereignty, God has not yet fully executed His judgment on Satan; He still has given Satan a certain limited time to do something to meet some negative need in the fulfillment of His economy—Job 1:6-8; 2:1-6; cf. John 12:31.
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The book of Job shows us that God, through Satan as an “ugly tool,” was tearing down Job in two ways: stripping and consuming; God’s stripping and consuming were exercised over Job to tear Job down that God might gain Job so that he might gain God more; our outer man is being consumed so that our inner man may be renewed day by day—Phil. 3:8-10; 2 Cor. 4:16-18.
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Job’s sufferings were not God’s judgment but God’s stripping, consuming, and tearing down so that He might have a base and a way to rebuild Job with Himself, to make Job a God-man, a new man in God’s new creation—5:17; Gal. 6:15.
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It is through His stripping, consuming, and tearing down that God dispenses Himself into those who love Him and seek after Him—Job 10:13; Eph. 3:9; cf. John 3:6; Phil. 3:3.
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God’s purpose in dealing with His holy people is that they would be emptied of everything and receive only God as their gain; the desire of God’s heart is that we would gain Him in full as life, as the life supply, and as everything to our being, which ultimately consummates in the New Jerusalem—Rom. 8:28-29.
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The end of the book of Job tells us that Job eventually saw God; in the New Testament sense, seeing God equals gaining God; to see God is to be transformed into the glorious image of Christ, the God- man, that we may express God in His life and represent Him in His authority—42:5-6; 2 Cor. 3:18.
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The more we see God, know God, and love God, the more we abhor ourselves and the more we deny ourselves—Matt. 16:24; Luke 9:23; 14:26.
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According to Solomon’s prayer in 1 Kings 8:48, we always need to pray toward the Holy Land, typifying Christ as the portion allotted by God to the believers (Deut. 8:7; Col. 1:12); toward the holy city, signifying the kingdom of God in Christ (Psa. 48:1-2); and toward the holy temple, signifying God’s house, the church, on the earth (Eph. 2:21; 1 Tim. 3:15):
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Daniel prayed three times a day by opening his windows toward Jerusalem; through His faithful channels of prayer, God carries out His economy with His elect for Christ’s coming—Dan. 6:10; Acts 2:42; 6:4.
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God will listen to our prayer when our prayer to God is toward Christ, the kingdom of God, and the house of God as the goal in God’s eternal economy; this means that our prayer should always be aimed at the interests of God, that is, at Christ and the church as God’s interests on earth, for the fulfilling of God’s economy.
Morning Nourishment
Rev. 22:20 He who testifies these things says, Yes, I come quickly. Amen.Come, Lord Jesus!
1 Kings 8:48 …If they return to You with all their heart…and they pray to You toward their land…, the city…, and the house…built for Your name.
Dan. 6:10 …Daniel…went to his house (in his upper room he had windows open toward Jerusalem) and …he knelt…and prayed and gave thanks…
Revelation 22:20b is the apostle John's prayer and his response to the Lord's warning. It is also the last prayer in the Bible. After hearing this book, we should all pray such a prayer and have such a response—"Come, Lord Jesus!" The entire Bible concludes with the desire for the Lord's coming expressed as a prayer. (Rev. 22:20, footnote 2)
Today's Reading
Though Satan, the rebellious angels, and the demons were all judged by God, they are still moving and working today, because the judgment upon them has not yet been executed. Today, Satan can still go to God to accuse God's people (Job 1:6-12; 2:1-7; Rev. 12:10). He still "walks about" on the earth "seeking someone to devour" (1 Pet. 5:8), and still works to blind the thoughts of people (2 Cor. 4:4), to deceive them by transfiguring himself into an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14). We must not be ignorant of his thoughts (2 Cor. 2:11), neither give place to the devil (Eph. 4:27). We must withstand him firm in the faith (1 Pet. 5:8-9). We need to put on the whole armor of God that we may be able to stand against him (Eph. 6:11-17).After Satan's rebellion, God pronounced His judgment upon him immediately. But it takes a long time to execute God's judgment. The Lord Jesus was manifested in the flesh that He might destroy the works of the Devil (1 John 3:8). This was the execution of God's judgment. The Lord gave His disciples authority over all the power of the enemy (Luke 10:19). Now we, as His Body, must continue this execution, to destroy the tail of the serpent. Through the church's executing work, the devil will be cast to the earth, and his angels will be cast out with him (Rev. 12:9). He will later be bound and cast into the abyss (Rev. 20:2-3). Eventually, he will be "cast into the lake of fire" (Rev. 20:10). Then, the execution of God's judgment upon Satan and his followers will be completed. (Truth Lessons—Level One, vol. 1, pp. 45-46)
The book of Job shows us that God, through Satan as an ugly tool, was tearing Job down by two ways: stripping and consuming. God's stripping and consuming were exercised over Job to tear Job down that God might have a base and a way to rebuild him with God Himself that he might become a God- man. (Life-study of Job, p. 35)
First Kings 8:31-48 mentions seven conditions concerning God's listening to the prayers of His elect. In…the last condition three things are stressed (v. 48): the Holy Land, typifying Christ as the portion allotted by God to the believers…; the holy city, signifying the kingdom of God in Christ (Psa. 48:1-2); and the holy temple, signifying God's house, the church, on the earth (Eph. 2:21; 1 Tim. 3:15)…. During the Babylonian captivity Daniel prayed toward the Holy Land, the holy city, and the holy temple three times a day by opening his window toward Jerusalem (Dan. 6:10). This indicates that God will listen to our prayer when our prayer to God is toward Christ, the kingdom of God, and the house of God as the goal in God's eternal economy. This means that no matter for whom we are praying, our prayers should be aimed at the interests of God, that is, at Christ and the church as God's interests on earth, for the fulfilling of God's economy. (1 Kings 8:48, footnote 1)
Further Reading: Truth Lessons—Level One, vol. 1, lsn. 4; Life-study of Job, pp. 5-6, 35, 41, 50-51, 57-59, 116-118, msgs. 30-31; Watchman Nee—a Seer of the Divine Revelation in the Present Age, chs. 15-16; CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 1, "Crystallization-study of the Epistle to the Romans," ch. 11; CWWL, 1986, vol. 2, "A Blessed Human Life," ch. 4