Praying Persistently to the Hidden God
“Surely You are a God who hides Himself, O God of Israel, the Savior.” (Isa. 45:15)
“He told them a parable to the end that they ought always to pray and not lose heart…there was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, Avenge me of my opponent.” (Luke 18:1-3)
Today we need to realize that the omnipotent God whom we are serving is still hiding Himself, especially when He is helping us. We cannot see Him, and apparently He is not doing anything for us. Actually, He is with us all the time and, in a hidden way, He is doing many things for us.
The widow in [Luke 18:3] signifies the believers. In a sense, the believers in Christ are a widow in the present age because their Husband, Christ, is apparently absent from them. Like the widow in the parable, we believers in Christ have an opponent, Satan the devil, concerning whom we need God’s avenging.
While our opponent is persecuting us, it seems that God is not righteous, for He allows His children to be unrighteously persecuted. The widow in the parable kept coming to the unrighteous judge and asking him to avenge her of her opponent. We ought to pray persistently for this avenging and should not lose heart. Although He appears to be unrighteous, we still must appeal to Him, pray persistently, and bother Him again and again, for He will carry out quickly the avenging of His chosen ones, who “cry to Him day and night.”
What shall we do in a situation when we are persecuted and it seems that our God is not living, present, or just? From this parable we learn to be a bothering widow, one who prays to God persistently…We need to say to Him, “Lord, praying is up to me, not up to You. You never told me that I should not pray. On the contrary, You charged me to pray. Therefore, Lord, I am praying now for Your vindication.” (LS Esther, ch. 1; CS Chronicles, Nehemiah, and Esther, msg. 12, III.A, B, C, D, 2; LS Luke, ch. 40)
May we all know our God as He is revealed in this parable—a God who hides Himself—and learn to pray to Him persistently without losing heart.
July Semiannual Training
The 2023 July Semiannual Training will be held next week in Anaheim from July 3 to 8 and by webcast in Los Angeles and around the world. The general subject is “An Overview of the Central Burden and Present Truth of the Lord’s Recovery before His Appearing.” Please pray for the release and receiving of the Lord’s present speaking, that the Spirit will operate through the Lord’s speaking to build up the Body and prepare the bride for His return.
FTTA Graduation
“Because out from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.” (Rom. 11:36)
This Saturday, July 1 at 9:30 am, the graduation meeting for the 2023 Spring Class of the FTTA, including a recognition of the FTTA-XB (Boston Extension) trainees, will be held at the Ministry Conference Center on the LSM campus. This meeting will also be streamed live at www.ftta.org.
Please pray for the Lord’s leading of:
- all graduating trainees—73 FTTA and 13 XB—to follow the Lamb wherever He may go;
- some to join in His move in one of the GTCA cities and cities with new campus teams;
- many saints to answer God’s call to go to the training next term.
NACT – 30 Days of Prayer
The North America College Training, July 16 to 22, begins in less than a month. For this special training the coordinating brothers have prepared 30 days of prayer requests for saints all around the globe to enter into together. Let us pray for:
- Safety and Security – Many brothers will serve as ushers for the entire week, as well as a number of privately hired security officers to make sure the training is secure and distraction-free. We need to pray for the safety and security of all of the trainees for the entire duration of the training (Deut 32:10b).
- Hearts – Pray that the heart of each trainee would be prepared for the training. May each one’s heart be the good earth to hear and understand the word and bear fruit (Matt 13:32).
- Oneness and One Accord – 950 serving ones representing 320 churches from around the globe are registered. Pray that each one would enjoy the anointing of the Spirit and the supply of grace to be kept in absolute oneness and the one accord so that there would be a way for the Lord to command His blessing (Psa 133:1-3).
- Speaking brothers – There will be many brothers, including some senior co-workers, who will be ministering the Word during the training week. Please pray for the rich anointing and outpoured Spirit of power upon each of the brothers (Acts 2:4).
For a complete list of the 30 Days of Prayer for the NACT, click here.
Poland – European Games
The European Games are currently taking place from June 21 to July 2 in Kraków and a number of other cities in southern Poland. For many of the sports represented, this competition will serve as the qualifications for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Around 7,000 athletes from 48 European countries are participating. The churches in Kraków and nearby Sosnowiec are using this opportunity to preach the gospel to both visitors and the local people.
Please pray that the gospel of the kingdom will be preached to many and that the chosen ones will believe and enter into the kingdom of God. Pray for some remaining fruit and that, ultimately, our God the Father would be glorified and the incense of Christ would permeate the entire city of Kraków.
Meeting Halls in Munich, Stuttgart and Malaga
Saints are invited to remember these needs in prayer and give as the Lord leads. Saints in LA who are burdened to contribute may give through the Church in Los Angeles designated for ‘Munich Meeting Hall’, ‘Stuttgart Meeting Hall’, and ‘Malaga Meeting Hall’. For more information, see the reports and presentations at lme.org/reports.html.
Ukraine
Please continue to pray for the saints in Russia and Ukraine to be kept in the oneness of the Body and the reality of the new man, where Christ is all the members and in all the members, and for the preservation and shepherding of all the saints in their tripartite being.
A reminder from the footnote on 1 Kings 8:48: “No matter for whom we are praying, our prayers should be aimed at the interests of God, i.e., at Christ and the church as God’s interests on earth, for the fulfilling of God’s economy.”
Announcements
- Morning Revival: Week 12 of Crystallization-study of 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther. Next week, REPEAT Week 12 or focus on semiannual training material. On July 10, we will begin Making Ourselves Ready for the Lord’s Coming (ICSC).
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Wednesday Night Ministry Meeting: The final ministry meeting for this semester on “The Crucial Points of the Truth in Paul’s Epistles” will be held this Wednesday, June 28 at 7:25 pm.
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LSM Newsletter: The June issue of “Having This Ministry…” includes a report on the ministry and the Lord’s move in Ethiopia and mentions resources to prepare for the semiannual training. Go to newsletters.lsm.org/having-this-ministry.
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LSM YouTube: To help the saints who would like to prepare for the upcoming semiannual training, videos of Brother Lee’s speaking on The Divine and Mystical Realm are being made available at www.youtube.com/@LivingStreamMinistry.
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Bibles for America‘s recent post, “2 Corinthians 3:18—Beholding and Reflecting the Lord with an Unveiled Face,” is available to read and share at blog.biblesforamerica.org.
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500 Life-studies App: To learn more about the burden for the Life-studies, including the 500 Life-studies app, please visit 500lifestudies.org.
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Ways to Give: Information about the church’s online giving platform, Subsplash, and where to mail checks, are at www.churchinlosangeles.org/members/offerings.