Lam. 3:55 I called upon Your name, O Jehovah, from the lowest pit. (56) You have heard my voice; do not hide Your ear at my breathing, at my cry. John 20:22 And when He had said this, He breathed into them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit.
[Part 1 of 2] A real prayer is also man breathing in God just as he breathes in air. While you are thus breathing in God, spontaneously you are obtaining God, just as when you breathe in air you receive air. Consequently, not only is God obtained by you and becomes your enjoyment, but also your whole being surrenders to God, turns unto God, and is wholly gained by God. The more you pray, the more you will be filled with God, and the more you will surrender yourself to God and be gained by Him. If you do not pray for a week or, even worse, a month, then you will be quite far from God. What does it mean to be quite far from God? It means that you cannot obtain God and be obtained by Him. The only remedy for this situation is to pray. And it is not enough to pray for only two or three minutes; you must pray again and again until you have actually breathed God and are actually obtained by God, and God by you. Therefore, brothers and sisters, real prayer is of great importance to a Christian's spiritual life. Brothers and sisters, never think that prayer is merely asking God for something. For example, you need a house and you ask God to prepare one for you. The next day a brother comes and says to you, "Do you need a house? My neighbor has two houses for rent; the location is convenient and the rent is cheap." So, you immediately thank and praise the Lord, saying, "Hallelujah, the Lord is really the true and living God; He has answered my prayer." I would not say that this is not prayer, but this is not adequate prayer. Brothers and sisters...whether you can find a house is actually secondary; the primary thing you should be concerned about is whether you have obtained more of God and whether you have been gained more by God through such a prayer. The ultimate result of a prayer should be that the intercessor gains more of God and is gained more by God, though the thing which he has asked of God may also be fulfilled. (Continued tomorrow)
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Lessons on Prayer by Witness Lee, pp. 16-17. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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