PARENTHOOD
a divine stewardship

Having looked at these illustrations related to prayer, bear in mind that as we pray we should heed the inner voice and not be governed by our circumstances, thoughts, or affections. When that still small voice within tells us to pray, when in the depths of our being we have a sense that we should pray, then we should pray at once. Circumstances should only be a means of driving us into the presence of God to wait on Him; they should not be our master, and we should not be hindered by them from praying. Our mind should only serve to organize our inner feelings, which should be then expressed in words; our mind should not be the source of prayer. Prayer is the expression of the inner feelings through the mind; it does not originate in the mind. Prayer according to the will of God is only possible when we are in harmony with His will; it is not an exercise of forcing God to oblige man's emotions. Unless our emotions are dealt with, it is impossible for us to pray; prayers will not have a way to be released. Once we are under the control of our emotions, we will pray in a natural way according to our subjective desires; it will be hard to pray according to the inner leading. Therefore, we must touch the key to prayer. Whenever we find ourselves praying ineffectively, fruitlessly, and insufficiently, we must ask the Lord for light and seek to discover the cause. As we inquire of the Lord, we will reach a point at which we feel that we have gotten through, when something within clicks, and a still small voice within says, "That's it!" We have found the key to prayer. As we use the key and pray on, we can be assured that God will answer our prayer.

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. 51, pp. 379-385

APPLICATION

1. Explain in your own words how the principle in Matthew 7, "He who seeks finds," (v. 8) applies to prayer.

2. What is the reason that often "our prayer seems to disappear like a stone dropped into the ocean; it goes away without any answer from God"?

3. How can we discover the key to our prayers and how can we know that the Lord will answer our prayers?