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The church, the Body of Christ, is a house of prayer — Isa. 56:7; Mark 11:17a; John 2:16-17, 19-21; 14:2; Heb. 3:6:
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In the church as the temple of God, a house of prayer, we pray for the fulfillment of God’s desire, the carrying out of God’s will, and the accomplishment of God’s economy — 1 Kings 8:48; Dan. 9:1-23; John 15:7; Matt. 6:10; Eph. 3:14-21; 5:27; Rev. 14:1; 21:2.
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In the house of prayer we live and serve as a man of prayer, praying to the mysterious God in the divine and mystical realm — Luke 5:16; John 6:57; 14:9-10, 20.
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In the church as the temple of God, a house of prayer, we pray according to God’s desire and thought; such prayer is precious and weighty, and it will shake the gates of Hades and affect Satan — Dan. 9:1-23.
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The prayer that is pleasing to God is the prayer that asks for the accomplishment of God’s will and for the completion of God’s work — Matt. 6:10; Col. 1:9; 4:12; Isa. 45:11; 62:6-7; Ezek. 36:37.
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Our prayer in the house of prayer should be for the fulfillment of God’s economy — 1 Kings 8:48:
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The Holy Land, the holy city, and the holy temple are three crucial things regarding God’s economy:
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Christ is our good land; Christ is our city, our kingdom; and Christ is the temple, God’s dwelling place.
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Our prayers should be aimed at the Holy Land, the holy city, and the holy temple; this means that our prayers should be aimed at the interest of God, that is, at Christ and the church as God’s interest on earth — Eph. 1:16-23; 3:14-21.
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Daniel prayed for the Holy Land, the holy city, and the holy temple by opening his windows toward Jerusalem — Dan. 6:10.
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To pray properly, we must pray to God in the name of the Lord Jesus, aiming at God’s interest for His economy; to pray in the name of Jesus is to pray for the interest of God on earth, which is Christ as God’s portion to us, as God’s kingdom, and as God’s dwelling place — John 14:13-14; 15:16; Eph. 2:21-22; 3:8; Col. 1:12-13.
Morning Nourishment
1 Kings 8:48 ...And they pray to You toward their land that You have given to their fathers, the city that You have chosen, and the house that I have built for Your name.John 14:13-14 And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.
The Bible shows us what prayer is. First, God has a need; He has a purpose. Second, He puts this purpose within man through the Holy Spirit so that man feels this need as well. Third, man responds by uttering this purpose back to God through prayer. Fourth, God does His work and accomplishes this purpose. This is the meaning of prayer.
All proper prayers issue from God’s heart and express God’s desire. Prayer implies that God has a desire. He wants to fulfill such a desire, yet He does not want to do it directly; He wants man to cooperate with Him on earth. For this reason He unveils His desire to man and charges man to pray. Only after man prays will He fulfill His desire. (CWWN, vol. 44, pp. 735-736)
Today’s Reading
[In 1 Kings 8:46-53 Solomon] prayed that in the [future] captivity of His people Jehovah would hear His people’s prayer and maintain their cause when they would return to Him with all their heart and with all their soul and pray to Him toward the land, …toward the city, ...and toward the house. Concerning God’s listening to the prayers of His elect, three things are stressed [in] verse 48: the Holy Land, typifying Christ as God’s allotted portion to the believers (Col. 1:12); the holy city, signifying the kingdom of God in Christ; and the holy temple, signifying God’s house, the church, on the earth. These three things—the holy land, the holy city, and the holy temple—are the three crucial things regarding God’s economy. During the Babylonian captivity Daniel prayed for 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 in the way that our prayer to God must be toward Christ, the kingdom of God, and the house of God as the goal in God’s eternal economy.The holy land, the holy city, and the holy temple are all types of Christ. Christ is our good land; Christ is our city, our kingdom; and Christ is the temple, God’s dwelling place. Today, our prayers should be aimed at the holy land, the holy city, and the holy temple. This means that our prayers should be aimed at the interest of God, that is, at Christ and the church as God’s interest on earth. The spiritual significance of God’s interest is Christ Himself. This indicates that no matter for whom we are praying, our prayer must be aimed at Christ as God’s interest. We need to pray for the saints, but we should not aim our prayers at them. On the one hand we pray for them, but on the other hand we pray for them because of God’s interest. If in our prayer we aim at the one for whom we pray, this will bring in the enemy’s attack. This is a spiritual strategy in the spiritual warfare.
We need to remember that prayer involves three parties: us, God, and Satan. Sometimes when we pray for a certain person, Satan comes to attack him, and his situation becomes worse. The reason for this is that our interest is in that person, not in God’s economy. No matter for whom we are praying, we should aim our prayer at God’s Christ, who is God’s interest in His economy.
To pray properly, we must pray to God in the name of the Lord Jesus (John 16:24), aiming at God’s interest for His economy. By the expression in the name of the Lord Jesus I do not mean any traditional form of prayer. To pray in the name of Jesus is to pray for the interest of God on earth, which is Christ as God’s portion to us, as God’s kingdom, and as God’s dwelling place. Our prayer should be altogether for God’s interest to fulfill God’s economy. (Life-study of 1 & 2 Kings, pp. 38-40)
Further Reading: Life-study of 1 & 2 Kings, msg. 6