Ⅲ
The meaning of prayer is also for us to express God; in Psalm 27:4 David says that he desired not only to behold the beauty of Jehovah but also "to inquire in His temple"; to inquire is to let God speak within us so that the words spoken to Him in prayer are actually God's speaking within us, God's expressions:
A
Real prayer is our coming to God, letting God speak within us, and expressing to God what He has spoken back to Him—"When You say, Seek My face, / To You my heart says, Your face, O Jehovah, will I seek" (v. 8).
B
John 15:7 says, "If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you"; this verse presents three crucial points:
１
First, we must abide in the Lord, which is to remain in fellowship with the Lord.
２
Second, the Lord's words must abide in us; when we abide in the Lord and are in constant fellowship with Him, He speaks within us.
３
Third, our asking the Lord comes from the Lord's speaking within us; if we are in fellowship with the Lord, He will speak within us, and then we will have the words with which to ask Him, that is, to pray to Him.
C
When we really touch, contact, and absorb God, He will speak within us; then we pray according to His inner speaking; to pray is to go to God, meet Him, draw near to Him, commune with Him, and absorb Him so that He can speak to us inwardly; when we pray to Him with His words to us, our prayer expresses God.
Morning Nourishment
Psa. 27:8 When You say, Seek My face, to You my heart says, Your face, O Jehovah, will I seek.John 15:7 If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.
The first meaning of prayer is to absorb God, and the second meaning is to express God. These meanings are related. To express God means to let Him speak, that is, to let God be expressed. Prayer is not our speaking or expressing ourselves. Prayer is our letting God speak and express Himself.
In the New Testament Martha had much to say. When Martha’s brother, Lazarus, died and the Lord came, Martha did not let the Lord speak first. As soon as she saw the Lord, she said, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died” (John 11:21). The Lord said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes into Me, even if he should die, shall live…. Do you believe this?” (vv. 25-26). Martha replied, “Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God” (v. 27). What Martha said did not correspond with what the Lord revealed to her. Because she kept speaking, the Lord’s words could not get into her…. Real prayer is our coming to God and letting God speak and express Himself instead of speaking our own words and expressing ourselves. We are often like Martha in our prayer. Our only care is to express ourselves, not to let God express Himself. (CWWL, 1956, vol. 3, “The Meaning and Purpose of Prayer,” pp. 227-228)
Today’s Reading
We should speak when we pray; however, the question is, What do we say? In our prayer we should say what God is saying within us. God speaks within us, and to pray is to repeat what He has spoken back to Him. This is the principle of Psalm 27:8…. Such prayer is according to God’s speaking within us. Therefore, the words we utter in prayer are an expression of the speaking within us. Without is man’s speaking, but within is God’s speaking. Once God speaks within, we speak without. Prayer is not our asking for something through speaking; it is our expressing what God has spoken within us. Hence, our prayer becomes God’s expression. This is real prayer.For example, we hear that the church needs to pray for a certain special meeting or for the revival of the church. Just as we begin to pray, we sense a word from the Lord telling us something concerning our inner condition and our situation. We should stop praying and forget about the revival of the church or the special meeting and follow the inner sense; we should speak the words that the Lord has spoken. If we sense the Lord’s rebuke, saying, “You are full of the flesh,” we should say, “Lord, I am full of the flesh.” If we sense that the Lord is saying, “You are full of the self,” we should immediately say, “Lord, I am full of the self.” In Psalm 27:4 David said that he desired to behold the beauty of Jehovah and “inquire in His temple.” David did not say “cry out” or “beseech” but “inquire.” To inquire is to ask God.
To pray means to absorb God and to express Him. Every prayer should touch God and let Him pass through us and be expressed. When we pray in this way, we will be anointed by God and be mingled more with Him. Then we will know that God is our everything. We will also see that He is always with us and is our supply in every need.
John 15:7…presents three crucial points. First, we must abide in the Lord. To abide in the Lord is to have fellowship with the Lord. Second, the Lord’s words must abide in us. When we abide in the Lord and are in constant fellowship with Him, He speaks within us. Third, we ask the Lord according to our heart’s desire. Such asking, or praying, comes from the Lord’s speaking within us. If we are in fellowship with the Lord, He will speak within us. When the Lord speaks, we have the words with which to ask Him, that is, to pray to Him. (CWWL, 1956, vol. 3, “The Meaning and Purpose of Prayer,” pp. 228-231)
Further Reading: Life-study of Ephesians, msg. 95; Come Forward to the Throne of Grace (booklet)