Fasting Day 35 of 40 | Sixth Monday of Lent
“After forty days Noah opened a window he had made in the ark.” Genesis 8:6
Can you imagine the moment when Noah opened the window of the ark? He almost certainly wanted to feel the light of the sun on his face and let it illuminate the darkness of the ark. We wonder if Jesus had a similar thought when he cleared the vendors from the temple on Monday of Holy Week to make space for people to offer up prayers.
Watchman Nee writes this on prayer. “What, then, is the prayer ministry of the church? It is God telling the church what He wishes to do so that the church on earth can then pray it out. Such prayer is not asking God to do what we want to do but asking Him to do what He wants to do. Oh, let us see that the church is to declare on earth the will of God in heaven. The church is to pronounce on earth that this will of God is what she wants. In case she fails on this point, she will be of very little value in God’s hand. Even though she may do well in other matters, she is of little use to God if she is defective in this matter. The highest use of the church to God is to allow His will to be done on earth.”
Watchman Nee (1903-1972) in The Prayer Ministry of the Church (New York: Christian Fellowship Publishers, Inc., 1973), p. 18.
When we watch Jesus closely this week, we learn what God wants to do. He wants to open a window and make a way of salvation for the whole world. The window is the church. But will we allow Him to use us?
Father in Heaven, I allow Your will to be done in my life. Amen.
To allow God’s will to be done in our lives, we must spend time in God’s Word. Commit to reading God’s Word daily in life after Lent.
It’s also helpful to read good books by saints through the centuries from whom I draw inspiration to live out the teachings in God’s Word.
Special thanks to my friend, Jud Savelle, who pointed me to the writings of Watchman Nee. Sometimes practicing generosity links to money. Other times it links to sharing precious things like good books.
To download a free PDF copy of The Prayer Ministry of the Church, click here.