PARENTHOOD
a divine stewardship

There is still one lesson that we have to learn. Satan is full of deception, and we can never anticipate all the schemes that he has. It is impossible for us to pray over them one by one. We can only pray, "Lord, please deal with everything from Satan with Your precious blood." We must realize that the blood is the answer to all the works of Satan. Such a prayer is the best way to deal with Satan. He can never penetrate through these prayers to attack us.

Every time we pray we have to see three things. First, we must see to whom we are praying. Second, we must see for whom we are praying. Third, we must see against whom we are praying. Many times we remember only two of the three aspects; we remember that we are praying to God and for men, but we put Satan aside. In our prayer, we must not only know to whom we are praying but also against whom we are praying. We must not only know for whom we are praying but also that an enemy is out there to damage us. Our prayer is to God; it is for men, and it is against the devil. If we deal well with these three aspects, God will work for us.

... Everyone who has a genuine desire to work for the Lord must set up a prayer-net so that God can work through him. God is not reluctant to work; He is waiting for men to pray before He will work. He is looking for some who will have a life of prayer. His will is waiting for man's prayer. There is often no predisposed intention to pray, yet something within urges you to pray.... When you have a burden to pray, and you pray accordingly, that prayer is according to God's will; it is the Holy Spirit who is urging you to pray ... according to God's will. When the Holy Spirit urges you to pray, you should pray.

We need to ask the Lord to make us a faithful praying person. Once there is a burden, we should release it immediately; we should express it through prayers. If the burden is too heavy and we cannot release it through prayer alone, then we need to fast. Anything that cannot be released through prayer can only be dealt with by fasting. Fasting can release the burden of prayer quickly; it can help us to unload our heaviest burdens. If we continue to engage ourselves in the work of prayer, we will become a flowing channel for God's will; He will come to us whenever He has something that He wants us to pray about. Brothers and sisters, God's will is always seeking an outlet; God is forever seeking men to be the spokesmen for His will. If many people are raised up to do this work, God will accomplish many things through their prayers.

The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, Vol. 38, chap. 41, pp. 281-289

APPLICATION

1. What is the meaning of the statement that "God's will is governed by man's prayer"?

2. How should we lay the tracks for God's will?

3. Explain how the three wills in the universe guide us how and why we must pray.