«　WEEK 3　DAY 3　»

　　Matt. 21:21-22 …Truly I say to you, If you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, Be taken up and cast into the sea, it will happen. And all that you ask in prayer, if you believe, you will receive.

　　In cursing the fig tree so that it instantly dried up, the first God-man taught His disciples how to pray by faith (Matt. 21:18-22; Mark 11:20-24). Not many see that the Lord’s teaching on prayer is related to God’s economy, which is to be accomplished by His faithful people doing His will… The God-man, Christ,… is the only One who is absolutely right before God. To pray such a prayer we must be right persons doing God’s will. This is God’s will not in small matters, such as where we should move, but His great will for the accomplishment of God’s economy. Many Christians today use the term the will of God in a very shallow and light way. We should be those who are carrying out God’s will to accomplish God’s economy. God’s economy is to produce an organism for His good pleasure. Israel disappointed God in this matter, so God came to the church, hoping that the church would be His organism. Eventually, the church, generally speaking, has also failed God. What is the real will of God that we have to carry out? It is to take care of the producing and building up of God’s organism, which is the Body of Christ that will consummate the New Jerusalem. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 3, “The God-man Living,” p. 578)

　　The fig tree is a symbol of the nation of Israel (Jer. 24:2, 5, 8)… The nation of Israel lost her capacity in fulfilling God’s economy because of her rottenness. In Revelation 2 the Lord’s first epistle to the first church, at Ephesus, says that because the church there lost her capacity to shine forth the testimony of Jesus, the Lord would remove her lampstand (v. 5). The same thing occurred to Israel in the ancient time. Actually, Israel was a lampstand, established by God to stand on the whole earth to shine forth God’s testimony (Zech. 4:2), but she lost this capacity because of her rottenness. Because the people of Israel’s condition of not bearing fruit but having only leaves still remained after the first God-man’s ministry among them, God intended to give them up (Matt. 21:33-43). The Lord ministered among them for three and a half years,… but [His ministry] had no effect on this nation chosen by God, so God intended to give them up. The Lord Jesus, who is right in the eyes of God, knows God’s heart, so His cursing the fig tree was according to His knowledge of God’s will in the fulfillment of God’s economy to give up the rotten Israel (v. 19). Based upon this background, the first God-man taught His disciples to pray for executing God’s will according to His economy by faith (vv. 21-22).

　　Thus, the praying one could have faith in God without doubting but believing that he had received what he asked for, and he would have it (Mark 11:24). The praying one is now one with God, in union with God. He is mingled with God, so God becomes his faith. This is what it means to have faith in God, according to the Lord’s word in Mark 11:22.

　　If we ask the Lord for things that satisfy our desire, we will not receive anything. This is because our prayer is not according to God’s will for the fulfillment of God’s economy, and we are not the right persons. First, we must be the right persons, absolutely one with God… Then we can have God as our faith and pray according to our knowledge of God’s will for the fulfillment of His economy. If we pray for something according to our desire, not according to God’s will, to fulfill our purpose, not to fulfill God’s economy, we can never have the faith in God to believe that we have received what we asked for. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 3, “The God-man Living,” pp. 579-580, 582)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 3, “The God-man Living,” ch. 16; Life-study of Mark, msg. 35