«　WEEK 5　DAY 1　»

　　Mark 11:17 ...“My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations”...

　　Acts 2:36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you have crucified.

　　Eph. 5:30 Because we are members of His Body.

　　We will... consider the prevailing prayer of the church. This prayer is the prayer of the age…. 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. (CWWL, 1963, vol. 1, “The Prayer of the Age,” p. 159)

　　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)….When someone sits down, it means that everything that he had to do has been finished and accomplished…. The Lord has accomplished everything related to the work of redemption in a full way. 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….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.

　　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 third main point... concerns 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….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.

　　The fourth main point... 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 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. (CWWL, 1963, vol. 1, “The Prayer of the Age,” pp. 159-162)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1963, vol. 1, pp. 153-157