第六周 ? 周四

晨???

但三17~18 ……我?所事奉的神，也能?我??烈火的?中救出?；王?，?必救我????的手。?或不然，王?，??知道，我??不事奉?的神，也不敬拜?所立的金像。

　　25    ……看?，我?有四?人，??有??，在火中行走，也?有受?；那第四?的相貌，好像神子。

〔在但以理三章我?看?〕神?落的?民中年?的后裔，??拜偶像的引?。

但以理的三?同伴，就是被?的?太人中年?的得?者，抵?鬼魔的敬拜，而遭迦勒底人控告（8~12）。迦勒底人?忌但以理和他的同伴，就用他?拒?拜金像?根据，在尼布甲尼撒面前控告他?（但以理?生命??，三一至三二?）。

信息??

尼布甲尼撒大?烈怒，??年?的得?者，再?他?机?拜他的金像，?威?要把他??在烈火的?中（但三13~15）。

三?得?者回答?，“?便如此，我?所事奉的神，也能?我??烈火的?中救出?；王?，?必救我????的手。”（17）他??尼布甲尼撒的回答不但无?，且非常大?（16~18）。但他?的回答，仍然有天然的想法。他??神能?他??烈火的?中救出?。事?上，神不需要?他???中救出?；??他?留在?中，却使火失效（25）。他??有?量，但不是???。他?若是??的，就??，“尼布甲尼撒?，我??高??到烈火的?中，因?我??去的?候，?就?了。?使???着的?成?一?非常快?的地方。”

第六周 ? 周四

??尼布甲尼撒怒??胸，向年?的得?者?了?色。他吩咐人把???，比平常更?七倍。又吩咐他?中的???士，?得?者?起?，?在烈火的?中（19~21）。……?士都被火焰?死，年?的得?者被?着落在烈火的?中（22~23）。……尼布甲尼撒感到?奇，??士?，“我??不是把三?人?起??在火里?？……看?，我?有四?人，??有??，在火中行走，也?有受?；那第四?的相貌，好像神子。”（24~25）?第四?就是基督。基督???三?受苦、遭逼迫的得?者同在，?使?火成?令人愉?、可以在其中行走的地方。

我?天然的想法是：我?需要??我??境的火。我??以?，我?如果有一?麻?的丈夫或?人的妻子，就??告，求神拯救我?????的情形。但主??，“我不喜?救????婚姻生活的???境；我要把?留在那里，我要?使?的?境成?令人愉?的地方。”?仇?把我???火?中?，我???知道，我?不需要求主?救我???。????我?同在，在我?的受苦中照?我?，使我?受苦的地方成?愉快的?境（但以理?生命??，三二至三四?）。

?第四?乃是超越的基督作?人子，???三?受苦、遭逼迫的得?者同在，?使?火成?令人愉?、可以在其中行走的地方。……人子基督?位??格?且能在凡事上同情神子民者（?四15），?作他?的同伴，在他?受苦?照?他?；借着?的同在，?使他?受苦的地方成?愉快的?境（??恢?本，但三25第一注）。

??：但以理?生命??，第三至五篇；?天上?的?象，第三至四章。

Fellowship ? Prayer in Luke

The Announcement ? July 2009

On July 21 through 23 (Tuesday through Thursday), the co-workers in North America will convene in Southern California for three days of prayer, with fasting as the Lord leads. Being keenly aware of the church’s commission to accomplish God’s will and to defeat God’s enemy, and of our particular responsibility to advance the Lord’s work in His recovery and to shepherd the churches, we felt led of the Spirit to have this special time of intercession in the course of our regular service. As in the case of the prophets and teachers in Antioch who ministered to the Lord and fasted, we decided to devote much time at the incense altar to minister to the Lord directly through steadfast petitions and prayers.

During these three days of intercession, we are burdened to execute God’s authority to bind Satan and to release God’s interests on earth. More specifically, we are burdened for an unprecedented move of the Lord in North America today. With the harmonious coordination which the Lord has perfected in the recovery, the freshness and richness of the Lord’s speaking among us, the development and advancement of the God-ordained way practices, the open door to the word everywhere in the community and on college campuses, the large number of Christian seekers who are hungry for this ministry, the sovereign turn of many opposers and critics of the recovery, and, most recently, the Lord’s call to preach the gospel of the kingdom and to spread the testimony of Jesus through migration to raise up many more local churches as golden lampstands across this land, we believe that these are favorable times for the great wheel of God’s economy to roll forward unhindered. Further, we are not unmindful of the strategic importance of the United States in the Lord’s move in His recovery on the earth and of the fact that this country still has to be fully taken for the Lord’s name.

Matthew 24:14 says, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole inhabited earth for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.” We identify with the prediction shown in this verse, that the full gospel of God’s economy must be proclaimed for a testimony before the end of the age. Our preaching of the high gospel and the deep truths according to the revelation of the mystery is a great sign of the consummation of this age. In light of the current world situation, it is obvious that the four horses-the gospel, war, famine, and death-in the vision in Revelation 6 are in full gallop and are perhaps reaching a final sprint. The biblical prophecy concerning Israel and Europe is being fulfilled. Lawlessness in society is multiplied. The beginning of birth pangs is nearer than ever before. We are burdened that the white horse would run among and through the Lord’s recovery in North America at a pace and with an intensity that we have not experienced before. For this we can only supplicate in the presence of the One on the throne who administrates all things and who alone can effect an extraordinary advance in our propagation.

We are sharing this matter with all the saints in the churches in North America because we feel the weight of this moment and sense that the burden of intercession is more than what the co-workers can bear alone. Dear saints, we appeal to you to join us in beseeching the Lord concerning His interests during those three days later this month. As the Lord leads, the leading brothers in various churches may decide to hold special prayer meetings of the church. They may promote special prayer gatherings of the home groups, or they may ask the saints to pray according to a daily schedule. On the other hand, the saints may take the initiative individually, in twos and threes, or as small groups, to come together to have special prayer times. Should the inner burden dictate and the inner peace allow, some of the churches or saints may be led to fast and pray.

It is not the co-workers’ intention to stir up a prayer movement in the recovery, nor is it their decision to announce a prayer directive among the churches. As in all things, we open this burden to the saints in the spirit of fellowship in the Body and look to the Head Himself to guide us in our spirit. Even in the great Christian and church duty of prayer, we trust fully in His Spirit and honor His leading in all the members. Again, the dates of the co-workers’ gathering are July 21 through 23 (Tuesday through Thursday). May we continue steadfastly as one man in prayer and anticipate the Lord’s answer in the days, months, and years ahead.

Our History & Testimony in the USA

“When our work first began in Los Angeles in December of 1962, I came together with two other brothers five or six days a week for three weeks to pray from 8:30 A.M. until noon. We did not talk much, and we did not have a particular object for our prayer. We simply knelt and prayed, each one in turn. After those three weeks of prayer, we had our first winter conference. Already in that conference we began to see the Lord’s answers to our prayers. I can testify that in the years since that time, we have seen many answers to those prayers. We must all learn to practice the exercise of our spirit by opening ourselves to pray in any situation and in any kind of meeting. Our spirit must be strong, living, and ready to open with others to pray.”

I have seen many churches in both the East and the West, and I feel that the church in Los Angeles is the strongest in the spirit of prayer. This church has been newly raised up, but its spirit of prayer is very strong. The church in Los Angeles began from prayer. Before the saints took the ground, several brothers gathered together to pray daily. One brother lived about half an hour from where they gathered to pray, so he would rise up at five in the morning in order to make it to the prayer time. These brothers continued in prayer for about two years. Shortly after they began to meet, we visited them in order to strengthen the atmosphere of prayer. We did not focus on preaching the word. I have never seen a local church with such a prayer meeting. In the meeting there were no announcements or singing, only prayer. During the three years that I was in Los Angeles, the saints also would fast and come together to pray every New Year’s Eve. These prayers were not only answered by God, but they also brought in the Spirit in a strong way. The more they prayed, the stronger their spirit became; the more they prayed, the more active their spirit became. This is the strength of that church.

Among the workers the spirit of prayer is not adequate, and among the elders it is even worse. As a result, the spirit of prayer in the churches is not good, and our service before the Lord is not sweet. If we desire our service to be fresh and sweet, we must pray. Prayer is the first matter; it is more important than preaching the word. In the meetings we should not emphasize listening to messages but emphasize prayer. The church in Los Angeles pays more attention to the matter of prayer than to listening to messages on the Word. It is good for the saints to listen to a message, but the saints in Los Angeles pay more attention to prayer, knowing that prayer is more precious than listening to messages.

“Praise the Lord that He does have some marked-out ones! At the beginning of the Lord’s recovery in this country, in 1962, some brothers and I prayed day after day for all the seeking ones. We prayed that the Lord would bring the seeking ones to His recovery. Who are the seeking ones? They are the ones marked out by God.”

In the 1960s when we were in Elden Hall in Los Angeles, at least seventy to eighty percent of those who attended the Lord’s Day morning meeting also attended the prayer meeting.