Episode Transcript
I exhort therefore, first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings, be made for all men; for kings and all that are in high place; that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and gravity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; who would have all men to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth.
I Timothy 2:1–4
This book is not dealing with private or personal prayer but rather with corporate prayer; and although I shall make references now and again to private prayer, they will be few. I will confine myself
to the subject of corporate prayer which is so little understood
and so little taught. Indeed, it seems that it is almost a lost art.
For example, there are hardly any books written on corporate
prayer. There are a multitude of books written on personal
prayer and private devotions, but I know of only three books on
corporate prayer. One is Arthur Wallis’s “Prayer in the Spirit,”
and even that is dealing more with personal prayer than corporate.
The second is Stephen Kaung’s book entitled, “Teach us to Pray”
which is extremely valuable. The third is Watchman Nee’s book
entitled, “The Prayer Ministry of the Church.” This is a simple but
clear book on the necessity of corporate prayer, and I strongly
recommend it.
Another most valuable and helpful book on corporate
intercession is Pat Hughes and Gay Hyde’s book, “Helps to
Intercession and Spiritual Warfare.” Another valuable book which
illustrates the principles of corporate prayer is Norman Grubb’s
biography of Rees Howells entitled, “Rees Howells, Intercessor.”
It is a living illustration of corporate prayer, and particularly
of corporate intercession, drawn from that one life and the
community of God’s people that came together in Derwen Fawr,
in Wales.
It would be helpful at the beginning of this book to define
what is meant by the term corporate prayer and intercession.
It is obvious from the use of the word “corporate” that it is the
prayer and intercession of the body of Christ, the Church.
The members of His body are in living touch with the Head,
the Lord Jesus, under the direction of the Spirit of God in prayer
and intercession. It requires a minimum of at least two people.
It may be ten, or twenty, or fifty, or more, who are engaged in such
corporate prayer or intercession. It cannot be corporate if it is one
child of God alone.
It is a very sad fact that one can count on the fingers of one hand the groups, including charismatics, who really know how to pray. Of course, there must be companies of which I am unaware, but I think it is sad evidence for the lost art of corporate prayer. There are many prayer meetings, but there are very few companies of believers who really know how to move together in
prayer under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, and how to pray a
matter through to Divine fulfilment.
The powers of darkness have worked so insidiously and
powerfully that many prayer meetings are anything but prayer
meetings. In many of them prayer is tacked on to the end of a
Bible study. (Alan Redpath used to say years ago, that if you have
the Bible study and the prayer meeting on the same night, you
have neither a proper Bible study nor a proper prayer meeting.)
Sometimes, it is just ten minutes at the end of an evening. Other
times, a tremendous amount of information is given at a prayer
meeting, and the time for prayer is wasted, leaving only ten or
fifteen minutes for prayer. There are also weeks when believers
from different denominations come together for corporate prayer.
In the end, forty-five to fifty minutes of ministry on prayer is
given, leaving only fifteen to thirty minutes for prayer.
We Wrestle Not Against Flesh or Blood
Whole companies of God’s people are paralysed or blockaded by
the powers of darkness, and the work of God is rendered very
largely ineffective. For whether we like it or not, God’s Word tells
us: “Our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the
principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of
this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the
heavenly places” (see Ephesians 6:12). We are told to take the
whole armour of God and having done all to stand. And we are to
take the sword of the Spirit and pray at all seasons with all prayer
and supplication in the Spirit.
So often, we think we are only up against flesh and blood.
We see the apathy of our neighbourhood; we see the indifference
of the people around us; we see some kind of hardness against all
evangelistic outreach. Sometimes, there are difficult Christians
in key positions who appear to block everything. Then we
often come to the conclusion that it is flesh and blood which is
the blockage. Sometimes, we believe that it is either the pastor,
some other leader in the congregation, or some child of God who
has gone wrong in some way. Our mentality is that it is always
flesh and blood which is the root cause of the problem. Of course,
the enemy uses flesh and blood, but the Word of God says:
“We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities,
against powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against
the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
Principalities, Powers and World–Rulers
What are principalities and powers? Principalities are princes
or rulers, who are not physical but spiritual beings. Powers
are authorities. What are world-rulers of this darkness? It means
that behind flesh and blood, behind ideologies, behind new
philosophies, behind new current ideas, there are spiritual
powers that are ruling the present spiritual darkness and holding
in their captivity thousands of people. It can be false religion or
false philosophy. Whole civic communities, even nations, can be
kept in bondage to darkness by these spiritual forces. Even new
current ideas which contradict the Word of God can be the result
of spiritual authorities or spiritual world rulers. Local churches
can be subjected to a blockade and finally paralyzed and crushed
by the enemy. If God’s dear children do not wake up, the enemy
will sit on them and smother any spiritual life or power. These
princes, these powers, these world rulers of darkness, are the
great spiritual beings with whom we wrestle. Even if we take
this matter at the minimal, the true Church of God and the true
believer is wrestling with spiritual forces of wickedness, hosts of
wicked spirits in the heavenlies. Is this a fairy tale belonging to
the distant past when people believed in hobgoblins and demons?
Or is it the Word of God revealing the real nature of our warfare?
As the redeemed people of God in the twenty-first century, if we
do not wake up to the real nature of the battle, we are destined to
fail in all our endeavours and become, finally, spiritual casualties.
After all, the apostle Paul did not say, “We are playing in a
tennis championship with Satan;” but he said, “Our wrestling …
is against principalities, against powers, against the world-rulers
of this darkness.” Wrestling is an impolite sport. It is not just some
polite and sophisticated tennis match where one hits the ball
back and forth, back and forth, and marks up the points, saying:
“We have done well today; the enemy is beaten.” Through the
apostle Paul the Holy Spirit uses this illustration of a more violent
and impolite contact sport—wrestling. That involves much sweat
and at times even blood. It means that one may have his arm
twisted up his back by his opponent, or his leg nearly torn off,
or he may be flung to the other side of the ring and the next
moment have some heavyweight sitting on him.
Spiritual Soldiers in a Spiritual Battle
Many Christians, however, do not seem to think in this way.
They believe that the Christian life should be one long joy ride, and
we should have a wonderful and bubbly experience continuously.
If there is any sense of the enemy’s presence, then something
must be wrong. Now we must thank the Lord for those wonderful
and ecstatic experiences of Him, those spiritual blessings with
which we are blessed in our Lord Jesus, and which are normal to
Christian life and work. Nevertheless, we are spiritual soldiers in
a spiritual battle and the fact that there are times when spiritual
beings come against us and the work of the Lord, it is no evidence
that we are in the wrong place or in the wrong way. Indeed,
it may be evidence that we are in the centre of His will. There are
times when those powers of darkness will seek to blockade us or
lay siege to us, when they will sit on us or seemingly hold us in
a vice-like grip. If, however, you have ever watched a wrestling
match, you will know that just because some heavyweight is
sitting on another heavyweight, it does not mean that he has won
the match. The one underneath may rise up and proceed to win
the whole match.
Intercession Is the Key to Paralyzing the
Enemy and Advancing God’s Kingdom
So what does it mean to wrestle with these powers? Surely it
means that somewhere there has to be a ministry of intercession.
Before we can see a civil community broken open to the power
and working of God, some believers have to go behind the scenes
and paralyse the enemy. Our Lord Jesus said: “Or how can anyone
enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he
first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house”
(Matthew 12:29 NASB). We tend to think that as long as we have
good preaching or a well organised evangelistic crusade, people
will automatically be set free and saved. But one can have all of
that and discover that one is up against an insurmountable and
impassable wall. The more spiritually vital a work is, the more
likely it will be that the enemy will seek to come in, sit on it,
and paralyse it. He will not stand back and let you have a good
time if there is any chance that there will be a permanent and
powerful breakthrough. The many great moves of the Spirit of
God in the history of nations is evidence enough of this.
Therefore we have to understand this very simple fact: there
can be no matter more strategically vital to the true Church of
God and the work of the Lord than this matter of corporate prayer.
In the days that lie ahead, during the last phase of world history,
we shall need to know how to pray together. Furthermore, should
real persecution come in the decades that lie ahead and should we
lose our liberty, then we need to know how we can break through
together, and see the fulfilment of God’s purpose even in times of
enormous difficulty.
Learning the Lessons of Corporate Prayer
We need to learn the lessons of corporate prayer and intercession
now whilst we have time. Unless the Spirit of God has burnt into
us these lessons, we shall be found lacking in the day of crisis.
It is as necessary therefore for new Christians, as well as for
those of us who are older in the Lord, to learn these lessons,
however hard or costly they may be. Some of us who are older
have learnt such bad habits in prayer that they have become
second nature to us. If we feel that we are in this condition,
we often think it is impossible to learn the right way to pray together.
Nevertheless, the Lord can keep all that is best and most valuable
in our background and can overcome all the bad habits, if we will
only trust Him and be open to the correction of the Holy Spirit.
The basis of all learning is to be meek. The moment a believer says
I do not need that correction or realignment, that person ceases
to learn.
It is not that I desire for you to swallow everything I write, but I
want you to take it all back to the Lord and ask Him. Let Him sort
it out in our hearts. My desire is simple! We need to learn how to
use this colossally effective weapon which God has placed in the
hands of His Church.
Four Kinds of Prayer
In I Timothy 2:1 the apostle Paul defines four kinds of prayer which
cover all aspects of prayer. It is interesting that each of these four
words is used in the plural—supplications, prayers, intercessions,
thanksgivings. Furthermore, the apostle Paul by the Holy Spirit
is so burdened about the importance of this matter that he urges
and exhorts the people of God to pray. He sees such prayer and
intercession as being of paramount importance to the health of
the Church and the progress of the work of God.
Supplications
The first aspect of prayer is the word translated by the English
word supplications. It primarily means “a need.” The Authorized
Version, the Revised Version, the American Standard Version,
and the Revised Standard Version all use the word supplications.
The New American Standard Bible uses the word entreaties.
The reason is that the word primarily means a need, and then
an asking, an entreaty or a beseeching concerning that need.
This is not just asking something of God; it is something more.
It is an earnest appeal, or entreaty, or beseeching of the Lord that
we might understand His mind and will. This is the best way we
can understand the word supplications. It is because of a need that
there is an enquiry of the Lord, an earnest beseeching of Him that
He would reveal His mind concerning that need.
Why is so much prayer ineffectual? Why is it that so often
when we go into a prayer meeting and come out of it, we have
to pull ourselves together and declare: “God does hear prayer”?
It is because there is a witness within our Spirit that testifies that
most of that prayer did not go beyond the ceiling. The problem
is that we never stopped to enquire of the Lord, not even for a
single moment. Instead we plunged into prayer matters without
any direction from the Spirit of God. For this reason supplication
is the first aspect of prayer because, obviously, it is the most
fundamental. Unless we earnestly enquire of the Lord on the
basis of the urgent needs which confront us, we shall never know
His mind about them. Therefore, because we do not know His
mind, we shall be threshing around in prayer, using many words
and getting nowhere.
Enquiry of the Lord is fundamental to all prayer. We cannot
pray aright or use the provided weapons of our warfare unless
we first know the Lord’s mind on the matter. Then the Spirit of
God will lead us to the Scriptures we should use. When we have
enquired of the Lord, and He has given us the sword of the Spirit
which is the Word of God, we do not have to play around. We do
not have to spend half an hour making noises or saying all sorts
of lovely scriptural phrases which have no application to the need
in hand.
Sometimes the Lord will give that word to one person and
we only need to arise and take up that word once it has come.
The Holy Spirit will then give us all insight into that word. We will
be able to pray through that whole situation with that Word from
God. It is the Sword of the Spirit given to us to cut right through
the problem.
The fact is that you cannot just take any Scripture and batter its
fulfilment into being. You have to enquire of the Lord; and when
you enquire of the Lord, and clearly hear in your spirit (and not
your soul), God’s “Yes,” then living faith is born in us of the Spirit.
Only then can we go ahead. Your mind may be assailed with
doubts implanted by the enemy, but in your heart there is no doubt.
You have heard the Lord’s “Yes.” We have therefore to enquire of the
Lord and know the Lord’s mind and will on all kinds of matters.
This is the reason why this matter of supplication is absolutely
fundamental. I do not think there is anything more that could
be said to underline this matter of the necessity of supplication.
It is sadly the missing link in so much corporate prayer ministry.
The Lord will not keep us endlessly waiting. He only waits
for us to come to Him with an enquiring attitude, and then He
will say “here is the answer.” It may be a clearer understanding
of the need and the Word of God which He would have us use
concerning it. We have the idea that the Lord is like us, and He
has to be cajoled and humoured and nursed into a nice mood.
Once He is in that sweet mood, we can get out of Him all that we
desire. The Lord, however, is not like that; He is more interested in
certain situations than we are. He only awaits a spirit of enquiry,
and then, sometimes, almost immediately, He will give clearly
the direction. We should not handle prayer like a bull in a china
shop or like a tank mowing everything down. We need to be still
and wait on Him and for Him. We need simply to ask what His
mind is on this matter. How are we to pray? What is the word that
God would give us? What is the right weapon to use?
An Example of Supplication in Action
I remember many years ago when the elders at Halford House
used to meet together for prayer every Monday evening to seek
the Lord. The time was open to anyone in the fellowship to come
with their needs or problems or criticism. On one particular
Monday a very dear sister phoned and said, “I know that this time
is really for people who are a part of the fellowship, but I have a
friend here who is in very great need. Do you think that she could
come and see you?” We said that she should come.
This dear sister had a close walk with the Lord and was a
blessing to others. She had decided, in order to reach people in
very great need, to move into a very run down part of the city
in which she lived. She then told us how she had been through
Bible school and had felt very strongly that the Lord had called
her to this task of devoting herself to reaching the needy people
in that city, and He had blessed her in this work. Then suddenly
she found that God was no longer speaking to her through the
Bible. In fact, she felt the Lord had ceased to speak to her at all;
and even when she went to a good fellowship, she found that
everything that was said just went through one ear and out the
other. She became more and more distressed and felt that she had
committed the unpardonable sin against the Holy Spirit. It was so
bad that she was tempted to take her life. It was at this point that
she came to stay for a few days with her close friend. We listened
to the whole story and wondered what kind of demonic activity
could be involved. Why was this happening to her? Our sister
could not put her finger on anything that she had done wrong or
any sin which she had committed.
Now it was always our habit to begin by asking the Lord for
wisdom, and we sought Him with an earnest enquiry about this
sister’s need. We felt that her condition was desperate in that she
had nearly committed suicide. She felt that she had committed
this unpardonable sin, and that this was the reason why God
did not speak to her. We then felt that we should cut her off from
any satanic influence and tampering with her circumstances.
As we got up to pray over her, one of our very dear brothers said:
“The Lord is saying something to me and I cannot understand
it. Water, water, water; it is the water.” I thought maybe he had
taken leave of his senses, because I could not see anything about
our sister’s circumstances which had anything to do with water.
However, I asked her as a result of this word: “Why are you
wearing tinted glasses?” She replied that it was because of the
headaches she received from bright light. She said: “If you want
me to throw them away I will do so.” But I told her: “No, keep
them for now.” We went on then and in the Name of Jesus cut
her off from demonic influences, praying for her deliverance and
healing. She was obviously touched by the Lord and went back
after a few days to the city in which she lived, much relieved and
joyful. It seemed that the Lord had delivered her.
She had not been back in that city for more than a week or
two, when all the old problems reared their head again, and once
more she was tempted to take her life. She felt that coming to us at
Halford House was almost her last resort and that there was now
no hope at all. Then into her head came the word of our brother:
“Water, water, water; it is in the water.” And she decided to take a
bottle of the water from her apartment to a laboratory to have it
tested. Within hours they were seeking her. Apparently there was
an unbelievably high lead content in the water. She was suffering
from acute lead poisoning which had completely disoriented her
mind and well-being. The moment the social authorities took
her out of the place in which she was living into a new place, she
immediately began to recover. This is a very dramatic illustration
of the need of supplication or of earnest enquiry concerning a
desperate need. If we had not enquired of the Lord we would
never have had the word about the “water.” Then, when her health
took a dive again, she could well have committed suicide. Instead
the Lord intervened and delivered her.
Prayers
The second aspect is translated by the English word prayers.
Literally, it means “a pouring out.” It is the most frequently used
word in the New Testament for prayer. One pours out all the need
one has, all the hurt which one feels, all one’s feeling. It is a simple
petitioning of God. The Lord Jesus said: “You have not because you
ask not.” This is the most basic comprehensive word and covers all
kinds of prayer—from a pouring out of one’s soul’s troubles to an
asking of God to meet one’s needs. This can also mean a request
to God for very great matters to do with His purpose, and with
his will. C.T. Studd used to say: “Why ask the Lord for an egg if
you can ask Him for an elephant?” In other words, ask for great
things according to the faith that you have. The Lord can always
say, “No!”
Prayer is basically “a hit and miss operation.” You may not
know what the will of the Lord is or what His purpose is, but you
pour out your heart. Amy Carmichael used to say, “He can say,
“Yes” or He can say, “No” or He can say, “Wait.” When she was a
little girl growing up in a believing home, she disliked the colour
of her brown eyes. She heard from her parents that the Lord Jesus
could do anything, that with Him nothing was impossible. So she
asked repeatedly that He would change her eyes to blue. He never
did. Many years later when she went into temples to rescue little
girls from temple prostitution, she realised why the Lord never
answered her prayer for blue eyes. In her sari, with her brown
eyes, she blended with the Indian crowd.
This word covers the kind of prayer that is generally found
amongst believers. One does not have to know what the will of
the Lord is, but you can just pour out your heart and ask of Him.
It is not however that the Lord despises this kind of prayer. When
Hannah was in her barren state, full of emotion and feeling,
she poured out her heart to the Lord. Her emotions so possessed
her that Eli thought she was drunk. The Lord however heard
her and touched her barrenness. She produced one of the great
prophets of Israel—Samuel, who stood at one of the pivotal turning
points in Divine history. Hannah even called him Samuel, “asked
of God.”
It may appear to some people that I have been very harsh in what
I have said about prayer meetings and the general understanding
of prayer in Christian circles today. It is not that the Lord writes
off the kind of corporate prayer we have become accustomed to;
it is simply that so often it is at a kindergarten level. In His grace
He sees the heart and answers accordingly. On the other hand,
it is very often a religious ritual and exercise to which the Holy
Spirit is a total stranger.
Intercessions
The third aspect is translated by the English word intercessions.
The word used here has the idea of petitioning a superior, a king,
a magistrate, or a prince; someone with authority. Originally,
the idea was that you petitioned a superior. That is probably why
the New American Standard Bible uses the word petitions instead
of intercessions. The idea is to petition someone who has authority
to accomplish matters. We are seeking the presence of God on
behalf of others or for situations in which we are all involved.
However, to use the word petitions instead of intercessions I think
devalues the original meaning.
Intercession is the deepest aspect of prayer and the least
experienced. There are few companies of God’s people who
know much about corporate intercession. Why? The reason is
that intercession is not merely a few words mouthed on behalf
of a situation, even if it is with great feeling and passion. In fact, our whole being has to be involved—spirit, soul, and body.
It requires that the intercessor be a living sacrifice. If you would
be an intercessor, God will require every single thing that belongs
to you—your whole being, your time, your energy, your health,
and even your possessions. God will take everything. Never
devalue the word intercessor. It is not that one gives a half hour
or an hour a week or even daily, as if that is all the Lord requires.
To be an intercessor the Lord requires you, and all that you have.
For this reason Daniel is the greatest illustration of this in the Old
Testament. He did pray daily and gave time to intercession in his
very busy life at the top level of government. However, the real
key to his intercession was the fact that he was a living sacrifice
and wholly committed to the Lord.
Intercession can only begin when we know the mind and will
of God in any situation which we face. When the Lord revealed
to Moses that He was about to destroy the nation of Israel,
it became the cause for the intercession of Moses for the nation.
When the Lord had decided to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah and
shared it with Abraham, it became the cause for the intercession
of Abraham for Lot and his family. If we understand this, then
we begin to realise how important supplication or enquiry of the
Lord is to intercession. We can only intercede when we know what
the will of the Lord is concerning any situation.
It is possible that in writing this, many will give up all hope
of ever being an intercessor or being involved in corporate
intercession. Do not faint or give up on this matter. The Lord has to
start, and he starts with a person who is ready to offer themselves
willingly and wholly. There is a Chinese proverb which states,
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” We have to
take the first step in faith. Once a believer is prepared to be an
intercessor and offers his or her whole being to the Lord, He will
lead you step by step. He will lead you firmly and strongly just
as you are able. It will be first from the kindergarten of prayer
into the kindergarten of intercession, then into the preparatory
school, on into the high school, and finally, into the university
of intercession. Intercession requires some degree of spiritual
maturity. That kind of spiritual maturity comes only with spiritual
growth and experience, and develops in a person whose self-life
has been laid down.
Thanksgivings
The fourth aspect is translated by the English word thanksgivings.
Thanksgiving is the giving of thanks, not only for answered
prayer, but for the Lord Himself. Most people think immediately
of thanksgiving as thanking the Lord for the prayers we asked of
Him last week which have been answered in between. We always
think of thanksgiving this way. It says, “With thanksgiving
let your requests be made known unto God” (Philippians 4:6).
Most believers understand this as making a request, and
when you get the answer, you thank the Lord. Other believers
understand it as making the request and thanking God for the
answer already before it comes to pass. I think this devalues the
word thanksgiving. But when you make the request you are to do
it with thanksgiving. It is not only that we should thank God for
answering our prayers; that is obvious! However, primarily we
need to thank the Lord for who He is and what He is; for His so
great salvation and for the finished work of the Lord Jesus upon
which basis He gives us everything. We give thanks for His grace,
His love, His mercy, His truth, His throne, His Kingdom. In other
words, this thanksgiving is all to do with worship which is such a
vital and strategic part of corporate prayer.
Many of us are so self-centred that the enemy twists us around
his little finger. He comes to us and says: “Now it is no good for
you to worship the Lord because you have been in a bad mood
all day, or the children have been behaving badly, or the office
was awful because the boss gave you too much to do, or you have
had a terrible journey home from work and are in a ratty mood.
It is no good you thanking the Lord, because you have nothing
to thank Him for.” And so often this is the way we respond:
“I want to be real; I do not want to be a hypocrite. I will not open
my mouth to praise and thank the Lord when it is hypocritical.”
The enemy has now got us into a position where we can only praise
the Lord when we feel good. The Devil’s whole machine will now
be geared up to making sure you feel bad, because he wants to
destroy any thanksgiving and worship to the Lord. He knows that
worship, thanksgiving and praise are tremendous weapons in the
battle that we are in. We so often fall for this tactic of the enemy.
Sometimes people will go for years without opening their mouth
and praising the Lord. They cannot even bring themselves to tell
Him how great and wonderful and praiseworthy He is.
We must realise that we can be honest with God. We can say:
“Lord, I feel awful. I had a dreadful day today, but I thank and
worship You, Lord, that Your throne is unshakable.” The fact that
I have had an awful day has not brought about the abdication of
the Lord Jesus. The idea seems to be that if we get out of bed on
the wrong side, there has been a crisis in Heaven. If we have eaten
something the night before that did not agree with us and we wake
up with a jaundiced view of things, the Lord has stepped down
from His throne. That, however, is nonsense! When you are down,
you can praise the Lord, and when you are up, you can praise the
Lord. When you are down you can say: “Lord, I feel dreadful but
I want to thank You for who You are. You are wonderful, all Your
works are wonderful, and Your truth lasts forever.”
What then will the Devil say to this? “This person is talking
truth now, what shall I do? I cannot do anything to stop this
believer from worshipping God!” So he says to his whole hierarchy:
“Leave So and So alone for a while; more value comes out of him
when he is having a bad time than when he is having a good time.”
Some of us are helping the enemy to keep us in a permanent bad
time because we have not learned this lesson. “Bless the Lord,
oh my soul; and all that is within me, bless his holy name” (Psalm
103:1). And again: “I will bless the Lord at all times: His praise
shall continually be in my mouth” (Psalm 34:1). One can bless the
Lord whether one is up or whether one is down. The praise of the
Lord—His greatness, His majesty, His beauty, His power, His total
victory over the forces of darkness—is the kind of praise that can
be continually in one’s mouth.
As supplication is fundamental to all prayer, so is thanksgiving.
It is the worship of our hearts for who He is, for what He is, for
the salvation He has wrought, and for the way He has led us into
that salvation. As human beings, we were created to worship,
and we only come to an inner fulfilment when we learn how to
worship. Worship is not tied to answers to prayer, but to the very
being of God. When we worship the Lord, we fulfil a function for
which we were created. But even further to this, we experience
the fulfilment of the promise: “Let the high praises of God be in
their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand” (Psalm 149:6).
Blessed are those who have such experience.
