Day 15: Prayer for Strengthening

Pray for the strengthening of the willing spirit of the saints so they will watch and pray (Matt. 26:38b, 41).

Matt. 26:38b: Remain here and watch with Me.

Matt. 26:41: Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

In Gethsemane the Lord came to His disciples and found them sleeping. He said to Peter, “So were you not able to watch with Me for one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (vv. 40-41). Watching and praying is a very strong principle in our Christian life because the tempter, Satan, is always around us. The more we love the Lord, the more the tempter pays attention to us. Once we turn to the Lord to love Him, Satan would not stop trying to trouble us. There is a battle and a struggle in this universe between God and Satan…

There is another principle of the seeking believers of Christ. This principle is that all the time their spirit is willing, but their flesh is weak. This is a principle not only in prayer but also in the entirety of the Christ-seeking life. Our spirit desires to be an overcomer, but our flesh is weak. We have the desire in our spirit, but we do not have the strength in our flesh. This is why we should not trust in the flesh but take care of our spirit. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 3, “The God-man Living,” ch. 17, p. 592)

© Living Stream Ministry. Used by permission.

Day 16: Prayer for Watchfulness

Pray that the saints, as sons of the day, would not sleep but would watch and pray (Luke 22:46; 1 Thes. 5:5-6).

Luke 22:46: And He said to them, Why are you sleeping? Rise up and pray that you may not enter into temptation.

1 Thes. 5:5-6: For you are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. So then let us not sleep, as the rest do, but let us watch and be sober.

According to the Lord’s word in Matthew 26, we are all sleepy persons. If you do not sleep physically, you sleep spiritually. And many times you sleep psychologically. While I am speaking, some may be sleeping physically, and others are sleeping psychologically. This means that their mind and their attention and their hearing and their realization are absent. Sometimes you are sleeping spiritually. This means that your perception is dormant. To be a person who prays unceasingly, you must be a watchful person, a person fully awakened, fighting against your sleeping nature and your sleeping being. How do you fight? By petitioning. Prayer is a general thing; petition is a special, particular thing. You have to watch unto the general prayer by special petition. (CWWL, 1980, vol. 1, “Perfecting Training,” ch. 14, p. 160)

© Living Stream Ministry. Used by permission.

Day 17: Prayer to be Alert

Pray that the saints would be alert and watchful to maintain their prayer life (Eph. 6:18).

Eph. 6:18: By means of all prayer and petition, praying at every time in spirit and watching unto this in all perseverance and petition concerning all the saints.

According to the revelation of Ephesians, we have to pray in order to have the church life. Although you may have the knowledge concerning the church, without praying unceasingly you cannot have the church life. The church life does not remain with your knowledge; it remains with your praying, even with your continual and persistent prayer all the time. At the end of Ephesians such a charge is given, indicating that the church depends upon our prayer life. If we do not have a prayer life, we are through. We may have a lot of knowledge, a lot of revelation concerning the Body, but this does not mean we can have the church life. To have the church life depends upon our continual prayer. Ephesians 6:18, like other verses in these four books, uses many modifiers: “By means of all prayer...praying at every time in spirit...in...petition.” We have to pray and watch unto prayer in petition. This is the way to watch unto prayer. This means you have to pray every minute, and then you have to be awake, not sleeping. We have to be awake to this kind of continual prayer, and this watching is in all petition. This means that while you are praying, you are watchful; while you are praying, you are awake. (CWWL, 1980, vol. 1, “Perfecting Training,” ch. 14, pp. 159-160)

© Living Stream Ministry. Used by permission.

Day 18: Prayer to be Sober-minded

Pray for the saints to be sober-minded, not being disturbed by fear and anxiety but rather guarded by the peace of God through their prayer (1 Pet. 1:13; Phil. 4:6-7).

1 Pet. 1:13: Therefore girding up the loins of your mind and being sober, set your hope perfectly on the grace being brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Phil. 4:6-7: In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses every man’s understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.

If we do not cast all our anxiety on the Lord, it will be difficult for us to be sober. Many saints become confused because of anxiety. If we hold on to our anxiety, our mind will not be sober. Instead of being sober, we may be under a thick cloud of confusion and have no sense of direction. If our mind is disturbed by anxiety, we cannot be sober. Our thinking will not be clear, but will be confused, mixed up. If our mind is in such a condition, it will be difficult for us to hear the Lord’s speaking. Anxiety may also cause us to speak in a nonsensical manner. Therefore, if we would be sober, we must cast our anxiety on the Lord. (Life-Study of 1 Peter, msg. 33, p. 303)

© Living Stream Ministry. Used by permission.