总题：基督徒生活、召会生活、这世代的终结以及主的来临
THE CHRISTIAN LIFE, THE CHURCH LIFE, THE CONSUMMATION OF THE AGE, AND THE COMING OF THE LORD
Message Five
The Prayer of the Age Offered to God through the Church, the Body of Christ, as a House of Prayer
Scripture Reading: Isa. 56:7; Matt. 18:18-19; Mark 11:17a; Eph. 1:20-23; 2:6
I. The prayer of the age is the prayer of the church as the Body of Christ, the prayer that exercises the authority of Christ as the ascended Lord and Head of the Body, for the fulfilling of God's economy—Isa. 45:11; 62:6-7; Ezek. 36:37; Matt. 18:18-19:
A. The ascension of Christ indicates that the entire work of redemption has been completely accomplished—Heb. 1:3; 10:12:
1. The ascension of Christ indicates that the lordship of Christ has been established—Acts 2:36.
2. Christ has been exalted by God, established as the Lord of the universe, and made Head over all things to the church; all things are under His feet, and everything He has obtained and attained is being transmitted to the church, which is His Body—Eph. 1:22-23.
B. Because the church is the Body of Christ, the position of the church is exactly the same as that of Christ; since the Body is one with the Head, the position of the Body is exactly the same as that of the Head—1 Cor. 12:12, 27; Eph. 5:30.
C. 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—Col. 1:18; 2:19.
D. The prayer of the age is not the prayer of individual believers but the prayer of the church as the Body of Christ—Acts 12:5b; Rev. 8:3:
1. 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; He is seated at God's right hand in the heavenlies, far above all rule, authority, power, lordship, and every name that is named—Eph. 1:20-21.
2. When we pray according to what the Lord has obtained in ascension, we may take the ground of His ascension and claim His lordship over the present situation in the world—2:6.
3. Because the Body is one with the Head in the heavens, the Body has the authority to bind or loose on the earth what has already been bound or loosed in the heavens—Matt. 16:19; 18:18.
E. To fully enter into this kind of prayer and be able to exercise the authority given by the Head to the Body, we need to realize that we are members of the Body, and we must live, act, and move in the Body—Rom. 12:5; 1 Cor. 12:12-27.
II. 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:
A. 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.
B. 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.
C. 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.
D. 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.
E. Our prayer in the house of prayer should be for the fulfillment of God's economy—1 Kings 8:48:
1. The Holy Land, the holy city, and the holy temple are three crucial things regarding God's economy:
a. Christ is our good land; Christ is our city, our kingdom; and Christ is the temple, God's dwelling place.
b. 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.
c. Daniel prayed for the Holy Land, the holy city, and the holy temple by opening his windows toward Jerusalem—Dan. 6:10.
2. 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.
F. In His heavenly ministry Christ is interceding, ministering, and executing God's administration, and we need to be those who respond to Christ's activities in His heavenly ministry by our prayers in the church as the temple of God, a house of prayer—Heb. 2:17; 4:14; 7:25-26; 8:1-2; Rev. 5:6; Col. 3:1-4:
1. Through our prayer Christ, the Head, is given a way to carry out His administration through His Body; as the Head is working in heaven by interceding, ministering, and administrating, we, the Body, are working on earth by responding to the heavenly ministry of Christ and reflecting what He is doing—1:18a; 2:19; 3:1-2; Heb. 2:17; 4:14; 7:25-26; 8:1-2; Rev. 5:6.
2. If we seek the things which are above and have one life and one living with Christ, we will be wholly occupied with the Lord's interest; our heart will be with Him in heaven, where He is interceding for the churches, supplying the saints, and administrating God's government—Col. 3:1-4, 17.
G. The prayer in the church as a house of prayer is in the position of ascension, and with this position of prayer there is the authority of prayer; when we have the heavenly position and authority, our prayers become God's administration, the executing of God's will; this is the prevailing prayer of the church—the prayer of the age—Eph. 1:22-23; 2:6; Matt. 6:9-10, 13b.
H. In the church as a house of prayer, we pray in an executing way, binding on earth what has been bound in heaven and loosing on earth what has been loosed in heaven; this is the prayer of the Body; we can have this kind of prayer only when we ask "in harmony"—18:18-19.
I. In the church as a house of prayer, we may participate in Christ's interceding life, praying at the center of the divine administration—Rev. 8:3; Heb. 7:25; Rom. 8:26-27, 34.
J. The central subject and goal of prayer in the house of prayer are to prepare a glorious church for Christ, a church that will match Him and fulfill the desire of His heart—Eph. 1:5, 9; 3:14-21; 5:27.
K. The Lord's recovery is to build up Zion—the reality of the Body of Christ consummating in the New Jerusalem—and we reach Zion by praying in the church as a house of prayer—4:16; Rev. 14:1; 21:2.