9 Jul 2017
2. Abraham Offers Isaac
(Gen 22:2-3) And he said, Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and get you into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I will tell you of. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and split the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went to the place of which God had told him.
Know more:
Rejoice in the Lord always:and aain I say,Rejoice.（Philippians 4:4）
Please enjoy:
The Hymn of God’s Word"When You Open Your Heart to God"
When you do not understand God
and do not know His nature,
your hearts can never truly open,
open up to God.
Once you understand your God,
you will understand
what's in His heart,
and savor what lies in Him
with all your faith and heed.
When you savor
what is in God's heart,
bit by bit, day by day,
when you savor
what is in God's heart,
your heart will open up to Him.
When your heart is truly open,
when your heart is truly open,
you will see the contempt,
you will see the shame of
your extravagant
and selfish requests.
When your heart is truly open,
when your heart is truly open,
you will see an infinite world
in God's heart,
and be in a realm of wonder untold.
No more darkness, evil, no deception,
when you open your heart to God.
Only truth, only faith,
only light, all is just,
when you open your heart to God.
He is love, He is caring,
infinite compassion.
In your life, joy is felt,
when you open your heart to God.
His wisdom and power fill the world,
so do His authority and love.
You can see what God has and is,
what brings Him joy,
what brings Him woes,
what brings Him sadness and anger,
is there for all to see,
when you open your heart up to God
and invite Him in.
from "God's Work, God's Disposition, and God Himself III"
in Continuation of The Word Appears in the Flesh
Christ of the Last Days Has Brought the Age of Kingdom
I
When Jesus came into the world of man, He brought the Age of Grace, ending the Age of Law. God once more became flesh during the last days. He brought the Age of Kingdom, ending the Age of Grace. All who accept God's second incarnation shall be led into the Age of Kingdom and receive His guidance. Jesus labored among man to redeem mankind, offering Himself as sacrifice for man's sins. Yet man's corrupt disposition remains.
II
To save man from Satan's corrupt influence, it's not enough for Jesus to be sin offering. It needs God to do a greater work to rid man of his disposition tainted by Satan. All who accept God's second incarnation shall be led into the Age of Kingdom and receive His guidance. Jesus labored among man to redeem mankind, offering Himself as sacrifice for man's sins. Yet man's corrupt disposition remains.
III
After forgiving man for his sins, God returned to flesh to lead man to a new age, an age of chastisement and judgment, lifting man into a higher realm. All who accept God's second incarnation shall be led into the Age of Kingdom and receive His guidance. Jesus labored among man to redeem mankind, offering Himself as sacrifice for man's sins. Yet man's corrupt disposition remains.
IV
All who submit to His dominion shall reap higher truth and greater blessings. Oh they shall live in the light! And gain the way, the truth, and the life! All who accept God's second incarnation shall be led into the Age of Kingdom and receive His guidance. Jesus labored among man to redeem mankind, offering Himself as sacrifice for man's sins. Yet man's corrupt disposition remains.
from Preface to The Word Appears in the Flesh
I Learned to Work With Others
Liu Heng Jiangxi Province
Through the grace and exaltation of God, I took on the responsibility of being a church leader. At that time, I was very enthusiastic and I set a resolution before God: No matter what I encounter, I will not abandon my responsibilities. I will work well with the other sister and will be someone who seeks after truth. But I was merely resolved, and didn’t know how to enter into the reality of a harmonious working relationship. When I first started associating with the sister whom I was working with, and when we had differing opinions or disputes, I would consciously pray to God asking Him to protect my heart and spirit that I might not blame my partner. However, I only paid attention to controlling my actions so that I wouldn’t have conflicts with my partner, so I had not entered into truth. Therefore, over time, I had more and more disagreements with the sister. One time I wanted to promote a sister to the watering work and the sister I was working with said the sister was no good. After I switched my candidate, she still said it was no good. I quickly became upset and angrily said: “No one is good, only you are good!” Consequently, I never brought up the matter again. When she asked about it, I said in a rage: “Select whoever you want! I don’t care!” After this, regardless of what she said, if there was any dissent, I wouldn’t say anything, I would bottle it up thinking that I could thereby avoid conflict. Sometimes holding it in became unbearable, so I would hide somewhere and cry, feeling that I had been wronged. Finally, I became indifferent about progression; I thought: Aren’t you capable? Then do it yourself! I’ll let you perform to your heart’s desire, and watch you make a fool of yourself! I carried this malicious attitude of wanting to sit and laugh at her. One time later on, I let a sister rent an apartment for the use of the district. After seeing it, I believed it would work. I also brought a sister of the district there to see it and paid all of the rent deposit. The entire matter was decided on and arranged by myself, and I felt quite satisfied with it. I thought the sister I was working with would praise me and comfort me. Unexpectedly, my partner rejected it like a pot of cold water was being poured on me, saying: “Absolutely not! It is not on the ideal floor!” This really irritated me. I thought: You didn’t even look at the whole apartment and you flat out reject it. That is really conceited! Consequently, we each held to our opinions and neither of us was willing to submit to the other. Afterward, I wouldn’t even listen to the communications of the word of God. The more I thought about it, the more I felt that she was wrong. It was she who took advantage of her seniority to intentionally make things difficult for me. I also thought about how I had tolerated her again and again, yet she still treated me this way. … The more I thought about it the more I felt wronged, until I was completely left in darkness and had lost the work of the Holy Spirit. From that time on, I wasn’t willing to work with her. I thought: Since it is difficult to deal with, I will just hide from it. At the time I was also aware that this type of situation was quite dangerous. I thought it would be better to request switching responsibilities as soon as possible to avoid doing something bad, and let her work with someone else. Consequently, I used my small stature and incompetence as an excuse to write my resignation letter, and then I delivered it to the group of affairs. Not long after, when I saw a sister from the district, I told her about my resignation. She then communicated to me about the principle of admitting failure and resigning as well as the great consideration God has put into saving people. But I had hardened my heart and wouldn’t soften up.
The next morning after I got out of bed, my head was completely blank. I felt like God had abandoned me—that God didn’t want me! I was afraid and panicked; certainly it was my conduct that made God detest me. Consequently I began to examine myself. After I had thought about everything that had happened, I was able to see that my disposition had made God detest me. My thoughts and my actions were completely like that of an unbeliever. I lived like Satan, the old devil, who remained unchanged. The word of God was not in my conduct and I had no reverence toward God. I was simply not a person who accepted truth. As a result, I had been tricked by Satan and I had given up on my responsibilities unawares. After becoming aware of this, I immediately prostrated myself before God and repented: “Oh Almighty God, I am wrong. I have believed in You, but I have not been willing to experience Your work. You arranged my environment and I have not been willing to accept it; I wholeheartedly wanted to avoid Your chastisement and judgment, and when Your love came to me, I was not only ungrateful, I also complained to You and misunderstood You. My conduct has hurt You. Oh God, I thank You for revealing me in Your work and allowing me to recognize the disposition of Satan that is within me. If it was not so, I would still think that I was not bad and wouldn’t be willing to come out of this life of self-appreciation. Now I see that my stature is truly so small. I can’t handle even the smallest setbacks. By only thinking about betraying You, I have discarded the oaths I have made with You. Oh God, I am willing to repent; I am willing to know myself through Your words and accept the judgment and chastisement of Your words. I am willing to not stiffen my neck again against You. Now I am willing to submit to You in this environment and work well with the sister. Oh God, regardless of whether You want me or not, whether You use me or not, I am no longer willing to live under the control of Satan’s influence. I have made up my mind to retract my resignation letter. I am no longer willing to live for my own dignity, but am willing to satisfy You once!” After praying, I became tearful. I washed my face and went to the group of affairs; I retracted my resignation letter and tore it to shreds on the spot. When we gathered that day, a few of us were reading the word of God together: “Your reputations are ruined, your demeanor is ignoble, your manner of speech is lowly, your lives are deplorable, even to the point that all of your humanity is lowly. You behave yourselves narrow-mindedly, and you trifle over minor matters. You quarrel over your reputation and position to the point that you would rather go to hell and enter the lake of fire” (“Your Characters Are Too Base!” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). “Man does not require much of himself, but he requires much from others—to have patience and tolerance for him, cherish him, provide for him, smile for him, be accommodating for him, yield to him, and take care of him in many ways. They should not be harsh, they should not provoke him, or do anything that he would not like. The rationality of man is so lacking!” (“Those Who Are Constantly Demanding of God Are the Least Rational” in Records of Christ’s Talks With Leaders and Workers of the Church). The word of God had completely brought my disgraceful situation and devil-like appearance to light. I was so ashamed that I couldn’t help but wish for a crevasse in the earth to crawl into. Through the revelation and enlightenment of God’s word, I was able to see that the disposition of Satan within me was so serious. I had such an arrogant and conceited nature that I felt I was better than other people. I didn’t have the slightest amount of self-awareness; I didn’t realize that I was no better. Therefore, when I was working with the sister, I always thought that I was in charge, that I was the leader. I was eager for the sister to follow me in everything and listen to me. I always thought that I was the head. When the sister’s opinions conflicted with my own, I didn’t seek truth to resolve the conflict or reach a common understanding. Rather, I would lose my temper and cop an attitude because I had lost face to the point that I would leave my work to vent my frustrations. I developed preconceived ideas of the sister and never thought to take the initiative to improve our poor relationship. When we were working together, I would always show a magnanimous attitude. I didn’t require myself to change, I disdained to speak heart-to-heart with the sister and didn’t have the least amount of love for her. I would focus on her and require her to change herself. I considered myself to be the master of truth and saw other people as corrupt. Throughout the process of working together, I did not examine myself. When the sister had a bad attitude, or when there was a difference of opinion between us, then I would take all the blame and place it on my partner. I believed that she was wrong and I was right, so I belittled her in my heart and discriminated against her to the point that I treated her just like an enemy, wanting to see my partner make a fool of herself. In seeing my arrogance, barbaric pride, senselessness, and deplorableness, as well as my narrow-minded behavior, how could there be any normal human sense left in me? I was remarkably alike Satan! I was truly unreasonable! God exalted me and gave me the opportunity to take on the responsibility, but I didn’t think about working well with the sister on our duties to satisfy God. All day, I wouldn’t engage in honest work, I would scheme against her, and would have jealous disputes with her. All day I only knew to bicker about my own grievances and incessantly fight over my own dignity and vainness. Did I have a rational conscience? Was I a person who sought after truth? Since the beginning, the sister and I didn’t submit to each other nor support each other in our work; rather, we took charge on our own and did our own thing. Was I not on the path of the antichrist? Was not going about things this way leading to self-destruction? Today, I am able to see that my conduct was all about the selfish desires of the flesh. My nature was too selfish and deplorable. I never sought after truth to the point that my many years of believing in God did not bring me anything real and there was not a thread of change in my disposition. If God had not taken pity on me, if God had not reached out to me with His loving hand, and if things continued the way they were going, then surely I would be the one to fall into the lake of fire! God requires us to put His word into practice in our lives, yet I distance myself from it in fulfilling my responsibilities. I really am an unbeliever! I couldn’t go on like this, I was willing to seek truth and transform myself.
Afterward, I read God’s word saying: “If those of you coordinating in the pastoral work of the church don’t learn from each other, fellowship with each other, and complement each other, how will you learn your lessons? When faced with an issue, you should fellowship with each other to achieve its benefits in your lives. … To aid in God’s work, benefit the church, and uplift all your brothers and sisters, you must achieve harmony in your partnership, you must help each other, and must be mutually supportive, which makes your work more effective, and therefore allows you to show consideration to God’s will. This is the hallmark of a true partnership, and of those who have a real entry. … As a servant you must protect the interests of the church in all things, not thinking of your own interests. You must not work alone or undermine others. Those who do so are not fit to serve God!” (“The Service of the Israelites Should Be Followed” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). It was said in the man’s fellowship: “In working together, do not distinguish seniority; the two people have equal positions and should communicate truth so as to reach a common understanding. This requires mutual submission; that is, the one who speaks correctly and in accordance with truth should be submitted to in accordance with the principle of submitting to truth. Truth is authority and whoever is able to communicate truth and see things correctly should be the person who is submitted to. Regardless of what is being done and what duty is being fulfilled, everything should be done according to the principle of submitting to truth” (“The Meaning and Explanation of the Ten Principles of the Church Life Established by God’s Family” in Annals of the Fellowship and Arrangements of the Work of the Church II). From the fellowship and God’s word, I saw how coordination in service should be put into practice. That is, being considerate of God’s will and protecting the interest of God’s family while working together. Regardless of what is being done or what the work is, it should all be done in submission to truth by communicating truth to reach a common understanding. You cannot be so arrogant and conceited as to maintain your own opinions and make others listen to you, and you cannot sell truth to protect your interpersonal relationships. Moreover you cannot follow individuality to create independence, you must humble yourself and take the initiative to deny yourself, learn from each other, and make up for each other’s weaknesses in order to obtain a harmonious working relationship. Only by entering this kind of true working relationship, satisfying God in everything with one heart and one mind, and making up for each other’s weaknesses can you have God’s blessings and guidance, thus allowing the church to reach better results in its work while also benefiting your own lives. On the contrary, if you are arrogant while working together, if you don’t seek after the principle of truth and make a dictatorship to control others, or if you operate alone and rely on yourself to do things, then you will suffer God’s loathing and cause losses for God’s church. Yet I was arrogant and always wanted to have the final say. How did I not know that the work in God’s family was not something that a single person could accomplish? All people have no truth and lack far too much. Relying on oneself to do something makes accidents very likely to happen. Only through cooperative work can more work of the Holy Spirit be obtained to make up for our shortfalls and prevent mistakes. At the time, I couldn’t help but feel guilt and self-blame for the disposition of Satan that was exposed in my arrogance and selfishness, and in not having the slightest bit of consideration for God’s will, as well as for only focusing on not losing face to the point of displaying shocking and rude behavior. I believe that I was too blind and foolish, and I didn’t understand God’s intent to arrange an environment for me to practice coordination in service—even to the point that I didn’t have the slightest understanding of how to learn from my partner’s strengths to compensate for my shortcomings, or how to learn what I needed through working together. As a result, it caused losses for the church and delayed my own growth in life. Today, without God’s pity and without the light of God’s word, I would be unable to let go of myself and I wouldn’t have known that I wasn’t any better. I would still want others to listen to me, as if I could rely on myself to do the work of the church well. In the end, who knows what disasters would have broken out? Consequently, I established a resolution: I am willing to act according to the word of God, I am willing to work harmoniously with the sister for the work of the church and for my growth in life and won’t think about my own interests anymore.
Afterward, I opened up to the sister whom I was working with about how I knew myself. We truly communicated and entered the principle of serving together. After which, our work was much more harmonious. When we had differing opinions, we prayed for truth and sought God’s will. When we saw each other’s shortcomings, we were understanding and forgiving; we treated each other with love. Unwittingly, we felt God’s blessings and the fruits of the gospel work were revealed much more than in the past. At this time I hated the corrupt nature I had even more; I hated that I did not seek truth and had let God down too much. I finally experienced the sweet taste of putting truth into practice and have felt more power to fulfill my duties and comfort the heart of God. From now on I am willing to enter the reality of more aspects of the truth and seek to have principle in everything I do.
10. Principles of Prayer to God
God says,"The lowest standard that God requires of people is that they be able to open their hearts to Him."
1. The true significance of prayer to God is to understand the truth and attain obedience to God and worship of God. You must not, under any circumstances, engage in religious ceremony.
2. You must draw upon your practical difficulties and problems when praying to God. You must not depart from reality and speak empty words, or talk of letters and doctrines.
3. You must frequently pray to God about the problems of performing your duty and entering into life, seeking to understand the truth and enter reality.
4. There must be reverence for God in your prayers, and you must be reasonable. You may not make demands of God, coerce God, or take advantage of God, much less may you make trades with God.
Relevant Words of God:
Prayer is not a case of going through the formalities, or following procedure, or reciting the words of God, which is to say, prayer does not mean parroting words and copying others. In prayer, you must give your heart to God, sharing the words in your heart with God so that you may be touched by God. If your prayers are to be effective, then they must be based on your reading of God’s words. Only by praying amid God’s words will you be able to receive more enlightenment and illumination. A true prayer is shown by having a heart that yearns for the requirements made by God, and being willing to fulfill these requirements; you will be able to hate all that God hates, upon the basis of which you will have knowledge, and will know and be clear about the truths explained by God. Having the resolution, and faith, and knowledge, and a path by which to practice after praying—only this is truly praying, and only prayer such as this can be effective. Yet prayer must be built upon the foundation of enjoying God’s words and communing with God in His words and your heart is able to seek God and be at peace before God. Such prayer has already reached the point of true communion with God.
from “Concerning the Practice of Prayer” in The Word Appears in the Flesh
When praying one can quiet one’s heart before God, and through prayer one can seek for enlightenment by the Holy Spirit, understand God’s words, and can understand the will of God. …prayer is not for the purpose of saying some nice words, or to bawl before God to express one’s debt, but rather it is to practice exercising one’s spirit, to quiet one’s heart before God, to practice searching for guidance in all things, to make one’s heart a heart that is drawn toward new light every day, to neither be passive nor lazy, and to enter onto the right track of practicing God’s words. Currently most people are focused on methods, and are not trying to pursue truth to achieve progress in life; this is where people deviate.
from “Regarding a Proper Spiritual Life” in The Word Appears in the Flesh
The lowest standard that God requires of people is that they be able to open their hearts to Him. If man gives his true heart to God and says what is really within his heart to God, then God is willing to work in man; God does not want the twisted heart of man, but his pure and honest heart. If man does not truly speak his heart to God, then God does not touch man’s heart, or work within him. Thus, the most crucial thing about praying is to speak the words of your true heart to God, telling God of your flaws or rebellious disposition and completely opening yourself up to God. Only then will God be interested in your prayers; if not, then God will hide His face from you.
from “Concerning the Practice of Prayer” in The Word Appears in the Flesh
People have all experienced this; things that come upon in a way you don’t want are especially difficult to bear; when you are uncomfortable, you will talk to someone and after a while, you won’t feel uncomfortable. Avoiding discomfort doesn’t resolve your situation. Sometimes when difficulties come upon you at work, you feel pressured, and when pruning and dealing comes upon you, you feel especially pressured…. During these discomforts how many times did you come to God’s presence to pray? Each time you made adjustments by yourself and turned around in a muddleheaded way. Therefore, people believe in God but God is not in their hearts. They are all blindly doing things without value, like a beggar who picks a little bit of this and a little bit of that out from the garbage can, and fills his bag; but it is worthless and is done completely blindly. You see that people frequently deviate from the correct path, they walk away from it from time to time. We can see people’s nature from this. What do you see from this? The nature of people is to betray. They have no God as they work. They even think: “I believe in God, how do I not have God? Am I not working for God?” Your heart does not have God, you distance yourself from God and betray Him in whatever you do. Prayer is a most profound thing; if you go about serving without even praying, then you are serving in vain. Your situation will become more abnormal and you will have less results. Prayer is not about how good your words are while you pray, you only need to speak the words of your heart and speak honestly according to your difficulties. Speak from the perspective of being a part of the creation and from the perspective of submission: “Oh God, You know that my heart is too hard. Oh God, lead me in this matter; You know I have weaknesses, I am too lacking and am unsuitable for You to use. I am rebellious and interrupt Your work when I do things; my actions do not conform with Your will. I ask You to do Your own work and we will only cooperate….” If you cannot say these words, then you are finished. Some people think: “When I pray I must discern whether the prayer is reasonable or not; it is impossible to pray.” This is not a problem. Practice for a time and you will get it. Pray and you will know if there are words that are not appropriate. The relationship of prayer with God is the most direct relationship, and the relationship between people and God becomes the most intimate during prayer. Can you usually kneel and pray right away when you are doing something? You can’t. People’s relationship with God is the closest when they kneel and pray.
from “The Significance and Practice of Prayer” in Records of Christ’s Talks With Leaders and Workers of the Church
As someone who serves before God, you cannot be without prayers. If you truly see fellowship with God as something that is meaningful and valuable, could you forsake prayer? No one can be without communion with God. Without prayer, you live in the flesh, you live in the bondage of Satan; without true prayer, you live under the influence of darkness. I hope that the brothers and sisters are able to truly pray each and every day. This is not adherence to doctrine, however, but an effect that must be achieved. Are you willing to forgo a little sleep and gratification, saying morning prayers at dawn and then enjoying the words of God? If you pray and eat and drink the words of God, in this way, with a pure heart, then you will be more accepted by God. If you do every day, practicing giving your heart to God each day and communing with God, then your knowledge of God is sure to increase, and you will be better able to grasp God’s will. You should say: “O God! I wish to fulfill my duty. In order that You may be glorified in us, and may enjoy the testimony in us, this group of people, I can but devote my entire being to You. I beg You to work within us, so that I can truly love and satisfy You, and make You the objective that I pursue.” When you are possessed of this burden, God will surely make you perfect; you should not only pray for the sake of yourself, but also for the sake of carrying out the will of God, and for the sake of loving Him. Such is the truest kind of prayer. Do you pray in order to carry out the will of God?
from “Concerning the Practice of Prayer” in The Word Appears in the Flesh
Prayer is not a ceremony, there is a lot of significance in it. What can we see from people’s prayers? People are directly serving God. If you look at this as a ceremony, then you will certainly not serve God well. It can be said that if your prayers are not earnest or sincere, then God will not count you, He will ignore you, and if you are ignored, you won’t have the Holy Spirit working in you. Therefore, you are discouraged in doing your work. From now on, without prayer, you can’t work. It is prayer that brings work and prayer that brings service. You say you are a leader and a person who serves God, but you have never devoted yourself to prayer and have never been serious in your prayers. In serving this way, you will fail. … If you come to the presence of God often and pray often, then it proves that you take God seriously. If you frequently do work yourself and you frequently don’t pray, you frequently do this and that behind His back, then you are not serving God, but rather you are just doing your own business. Are you not condemned in doing your own business? From the outside looking in, it doesn’t seem like you have done anything disturbing, and it seems like you have not blasphemed, but you are doing your own thing. Are you not interrupting? Right? Even though it looks like you are not interrupting from the outside, you are resisting God in nature.
from “The Significance and Practice of Prayer” in Records of Christ’s Talks With Leaders and Workers of the Church
When fulfilling your duty or working on something, you should always think: How should I fulfill this duty? What is God’s intention? Through matters, you draw close to God, and through drawing close to God, you seek the principles and truths to do things, you seek God’s will from within and do not leave God in all that you do. This is a person who truly believes in God. … Actually, people are not really seeking God and praying to God about this. They are not striving to do it well to satisfy God’s will, nor striving to do it well according to His requirements. They do not have this true situation, and they don’t have such desire. This is the greatest error people make in their practice, because you believe in God, but God is not in your heart. How is this not a sin? How is this not deceiving yourself? What effect will believing this way have? Where is the practical significance in believing in God?
…………
… No matter what you are doing, no matter how big the matter is, and regardless of whether you are fulfilling your duty in God’s family, or whether it is your private matter, you must consider whether this matter conforms with God’s will, whether this matter is something a person with humanity should do, and whether or not what you are doing would make God happy. You need to think about these things. If you do this, then you are a person who seeks the truth and a person who truly believes in God. If you devoutly treat every matter and every truth this way, then you will be able to transform your disposition.
from “Seeking God’s Will and Putting Truth Into Practice to the Greatest Extent Possible” in Records of Christ’s Talks With Leaders and Workers of the Church
You seldom have a true prayer, and some of you even don’t know how to pray; in fact, prayer is mainly about speaking what is in your heart, just like a normal conversation. However, some people take the wrong position when they pray, and regardless of whether it conforms with God’s will or not, they demand God to bestow what they ask for upon them. As a result, the more they pray the duller it becomes. When praying, whatever your heart asks for, desires, and requests, or when you wish to take care of some matters that you don’t fully understand you ask God for wisdom, strength, or enlightenment, you must be reasonable in the way you speak. If you are unreasonable, and you kneel and say: “God, give me power and let me see my nature; I ask You to do it. Or, I ask You to give me this or that, I ask You to let me be like this or like that…,” this word “ask” carries an element of force, and is like exerting pressure on God to make Him do it. Moreover, you predetermine your own matters. Even though you pray this way, the Holy Spirit sees it as: Since you have already predetermined it yourself, and you want to do it that way, what will be the outcome of this kind of prayer? You should seek and submit in your prayers; for example, if a matter came upon you that you didn’t know how to handle, then you say: “Oh God! This matter has come upon me, and I don’t know how to handle it. I am willing to satisfy You in this matter, I am willing to seek You, I desire for Your will to come to pass, I desire to do according to Your intentions, and not according to my own. You know that the intentions of man are in violation of Your will; they resist You and do not conform with truth. I only desire to do according to Your intentions. I ask You to enlighten me and guide me in this matter, so that I won’t offend You….” This kind of tone of voice in prayer is appropriate. If you merely say: “Oh God, I ask You to do this or that; help me and guide me; prepare a suitable environment and suitable people for me, so that I can do well in my work…,” when this kind of prayer is over, you still don’t know what God’s will is, because you are trying to make God do things according to your intentions.
Now you need to grasp whether the things you say in your prayers are reasonable or not. Regardless of whether you are foolish or whether you are praying intentionally this way, if your prayers are not reasonable, then the Holy Spirit won’t work in you. Therefore, when you pray, the words you say must be reasonable, and your tone must be appropriate: “Oh God! You know my weaknesses and You know my rebelliousness. I only ask You to give me power, so I can withstand the tests of this environment. However, be it according to Your will. I am only asking this and I don’t know what Your will is, but I desire for Your will to be done; regardless of whether You use me in service or make me serve as a foil, I am willing either way. However, I ask You for strength and wisdom to allow me to satisfy You in this matter. I am only willing to submit to Your arrangements….” After you pray this way, you will feel especially steadfast. If you merely are persistent in asking and asking, then when you have finished asking it will be nothing more than a bunch of empty words, because you have already predetermined your intentions. When you kneel to pray, you should say something like: “Oh God! You know my weaknesses and You know my conditions. I ask You to enlighten me in this matter and let me understand Your will. I only desire to submit to all of Your arrangements and my heart desires to submit to You….” If you pray like this, then the Holy Spirit will move you and if the direction of your prayer is not right, then it will become dull and dry, and the Holy Spirit will not move you; you are merely murmuring, silently praying, or closing your eyes and saying a few words at will, which is simply perfunctoriness. If you are perfunctory, will the Holy Spirit work? People who come to God’s presence must all behave properly and show piety. Look at the priests’ sacrifices during the Age of Law, they were all kneeling. Prayer is not that simple of a thing. People come before God, yet they are still defiant and unrestrained, and want to lie down on their bed and close their eyes. This is unacceptable! I don’t say these things to require people to follow some specific rules; at the very minimum, their hearts must turn to God and they must have an attitude of piety in God’s presence.
Your prayers lack reason far too often; they all have this tone of voice: “Oh God! Since You have let me be a leader, You have to make everything I do be appropriate so that Your work won’t be interrupted and the interests of God’s family won’t suffer losses. You must make me do things this way….” Is this necessary? This prayer is not reasonable! Can God work in you when you come into God’s presence and pray unreasonably like this? If you came into the presence of Christ and spoke to Me without reason, would I listen? You would be kicked out! Isn’t it the same to be in the presence of the Spirit and in the presence of Christ? When you come to the presence of God to pray, you must think about how to speak reasonably and think about what to say to be able to turn your inner situation into piety, humbleness and humility, then say a prayer and you will be anointed. …Look at the prayer of Jesus (mentioning the prayer of Jesus is not to make people take the same angle and position as Him), He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane: “If it be possible….” That is, “if it is possible.” It happens through consultation and not through saying “I ask You.” He was keeping a submissive heart in His prayer, and in His submissive state, He prayed: “If it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as you will.” He still prayed like this the second time, and the third time He prayed: “May God’s will be done.” He grasped the will of God the Father, saying: “May Your will be done.” He was able to completely submit without choosing Himself in the slightest degree. He said, “If it be possible, let this cup pass from me.” What does that mean? It is because of the thought of bleeding on the cross to His last dying breath and the great pain! This involved death and was said under the premise that He had still not completely grasped the will of God the Father. Therefore, He was very submissive since He was able to pray that way at the thought of the pain. His prayer was normal, He didn’t pray to strike bargains nor to say it had to be removed, but rather it was to seek God’s intentions in a situation that He didn’t understand. The first time He prayed, He didn’t understand and said: “If it be possible … but as You will.” He prayed to God in a state of submissiveness. The second time, He prayed in like manner. In total, He prayed three times (of course these three prayers did not merely happen in three days), and in His final prayer, He completely understood God’s intentions. Afterward, He didn’t ask for anything. In His first two prayers, He sought, and in seeking, He was still in a state of submissiveness. However, people don’t pray like that. They say, “God, I ask You to do this and that and ask You to lead me in this and that, and I ask You to prepare conditions for me….” Perhaps He won’t prepare suitable conditions for you and will let you suffer hardships. If people always said, “God, I ask You to make preparations for me and give me power…,” the prayer would be so unreasonable! You must have reason when you pray, and you must pray under the premise of submissiveness. Don’t decide. Before you pray, you are deciding: I must ask God and tell God what to do. This kind of prayer is so unreasonable. Often times, the Spirit does not listen to people’s prayers at all, therefore, their prayers are dull.
from “The Significance and Practice of Prayer” in Records of Christ’s Talks With Leaders and Workers of the Church
7 Jul 2017
The Significance of God's Name
Why does God take on different names in different ages? What is the significance of God's name in each age? This short video will help uncover this mystery for you.
Storyline:
Her name is Wang Hua, and she is a house church preacher in Southern China. After she began to believe in the Lord, she found in the Bible that God was called Jehovah in the Old Testament, and was called Jesus in the New Testament. "Why does God have different names?" Wang Hua was extremely puzzled about this. She tried to find the answer in the Bible, but failed to grasp the mystery…. But she firmly believed that "There is none other name under heaven given among men, so Jesus alone is the Savior, and that so long as one held on to the name of Jesus, they would surely be raptured into the kingdom of heaven when the Lord comes again." Yet one day, Wang Hua heard some shocking news: "God's name has changed!" After that, her heart could no longer remain calm….
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