Study basic - Beseeching

Hymns on Prayer

These hymns are taken from Hymns, published by Living Stream Ministry.

References to Excerpts on Prayer

The Prayer Ministry of the Church, Chapter 1 and 4
Burden and Prayer, Chapter 1
Lesson Book, Level 5: The Churches – The Vision and Building Up of the Church, Chapter 18
The Prayer of the Age(Booklet)
Lessons on Prayer
Life-Study of Exodus, Messages 147, 148, and 152
Life-Study of Genesis, Message 51
New Believers’ Series: Lesson 11, Prayer
The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, Set 2, vol. 38: General Messages (2), Chapter 23
Fellowship Concerning the Urgent Need of the Vital Groups, Chapter 14

Download an expanded list of ministry references on prayer here.

Featured Ministry Excerpts

Upon your walls, O Jerusalem, / I have appointed watchmen; / All day and all night / They will never keep silent.
—Isaiah 62:6

“These watchmen are men of prayer. They have to be on watch tirelessly in order to know if something is happening and cry out when it does. A man of prayer must be one who reminds the Lord continually. This is not the work of one individual or a few men; there is the need for a group of men to pray this way. "All day and all night they will never keep silent." These are companies watching together, and together they discover something, and together they pray unceasingly to God. Their prayers do not cease "until He establishes and until He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth" (v. 7). We must persevere in prayer until the Body of Christ is built up. God needs our prayers. He wants us to have a spirit of prayer, the atmosphere of prayer, and the key to prayer. Brothers and sisters, let us arise and learn to pray. Let us seek the key to prayer so that we may meet God's need today.”

—Watchman Nee, The Key to Prayer

In the final and unforgettable message of the Life-study of Colossians entitled “Persevering in Prayer,” Brother Lee encourages us to set aside definite times for prayer. In the final paragraph of this message, he says:

“Concerning persevering in prayer, I wish to say once again that we need to be willing to make a deal with the Lord, even to make a vow to Him, that we shall be a praying people. If all the saints in all the churches make such a deal with the Lord, the recovery will be greatly enriched and uplifted. Furthermore, the saints will enjoy the Lord, His presence, and His instant and constant anointing. All day long, they will enjoy the smile of the Lord's face. As we persevere in prayer, the living Person of Christ becomes our experience and enjoyment.”

—Life-study of Colossians, message 65

In 1942, on the eve of the revival in Chefoo, the Japanese suffered military setbacks in the Pacific Theater of WWII. This caused them to make life in occupied China even harder than it already was. In the midst of this difficult situation, Brother Lee wrote in his personal notes:

“People on earth are suffering calamities, and the churches are in hardship; this is not the age of God's heart's desire, but the age of God's procedures. God is using His procedures to fulfill His heart's desire. To turn from the age of procedures to the age of God's heart's desire, man must pray the age-turning prayer. Daniel was such a man.

The earth is suffering calamities because people on the earth do not want God and do not care for God's affairs. Therefore, if the saints are to pray to end the time of calamities, they must answer God's demands and care for God and His needs. Oh! These many calamities today should wake us up to no longer live to the earth! Oh! Today we should truly consecrate ourselves to answer God's demands on behalf of the church so that God may have a way to come in and to turn the age of procedures into the age of His heart's desire.”

—Chefoo, Dec. 4, 1942 (CWWL 1932-1949, vol. 2, p. 27)