The Conflict of the Two Kingdoms and the Work
and Responsibility of the Church
[h1]WEEK 6— DAY6[/h1]
Matt. 6:10 Your kingdom come; Your will be done, as in heaven, so also on earth.
Psa. 144:5 O Jehovah, bow Your heavens down and descend...
May the Lord grant us mercy and show us that His prayer is for the unlimited spread of the kingdom of God on the
earth and in the whole universe. Of course, in order to carry out such a plan of God, there is the need for God’s people
to pray sufficiently. The true prayers of God’s people are for His kingdom. You and I may pray for numerous things,
but unless the ultimate purpose is for God’s kingdom, those prayers are of no value before God. We admit that in the
Lord’s prayer there is the matter of dealing with sins and the matter of the daily living, but its beginning and ending
are entirely for the kingdom of God. In the beginning it says, “Your kingdom come; Your will be done...on earth.” At the
end it says, “Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.” Therefore, this prayer shows that He wants
our prayer to be wholly for God’s kingdom. (CWWL, 1959, vol. 4, “Lessons on Prayer,” pp. 189-190)
Today’s Reading
God wants man to cooperate with Him; Satan also wants man to cooperate with him. God wants to enter into man;
Satan also wants to get into man. God wants to be mingled with man; Satan also wants to be mixed with man....On
the one hand, prayer is man expressing to God that he wants God and that he is standing on God’s side. On the other
hand, it is man telling Satan that he is standing with God to oppose Satan. Hence, the purpose of prayer is to bring in
God’s kingdom and to drive Satan away.
True prayers for men’s souls are to deal with Satan and to bring in God’s kingdom. When a person does not
believe in the Lord Jesus, it is not just a matter of his soul going to hell. Even more, it is a matter of Satan’s ruling over
him. His going to hell is a matter bound up with the great matter of Satan’s ruling over him. So, I need to pray for
him in order to chase Satan away from him, to deliver him from the power of darkness, and to bring God’s kingdom
to him. True prayers will always, on the one hand, bring God’s kingdom to man and, on the other hand, drive away
Satan’s power from man. Every time a sinner gets saved, it signifies a partial defeat of Satan’s power and a partial
coming of God’s kingdom. This is the prayer of warfare.
Please consider: Is there a sinner who does not want to be saved? Is there a saint who does not want to love the
Lord? All sinners want to be saved, and all saints desire to love the Lord. But because there is someone in the air who
usurps men and controls the men on earth, sinners are prevented from receiving the gospel, and saints are hindered
from seeking the Lord. So it is not enough that we only preach the gospel and minister the Word. We must rise up and
live in the heavenly realm to touch the throne of God as Daniel did. We must pray to God that God’s heavenly authority
may be brought down to the earth. If this is done, you will see that one by one sinners will be saved, and one by one
saints will rise up to seek and love the Lord, for here there are fighting prayers driving away the power of darkness,
bringing in God’s authority and, as a result, causing God to have His will done on earth. They enable God to carry out
His salvation and give grace to His children according to His good pleasure.
So every praying person should be one who is in the heavenly realm, touching God’s throne, and therefore, able
to pour down prayers from heaven. As you are above the earth, the air, and the power of darkness and are seated
together with Christ on the throne of God in the heavenlies, the prayers that you utter are prayers of warfare. Having
understood this point, you will turn the focus of your attention from man to the devil. When a sinner fails to receive
salvation, you should pray, “O God, it is not that he would not repent, but it is the devil that is usurping him. I pray
that You cast out the devil from him.” (CWWL, 1959, vol. 4, “Lessons on Prayer,” pp. 192, 196-197)
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