Prayer Summary For January 24

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The following excerpt is taken from Rightly Dividing the Word by Clarence Larkin:

The Reciprocal Indwelling of Christ and the Believer

The thoughtful and observing reader of the New Testament will notice a number of paradoxical statements that clearly teach a “Reciprocal Indwelling.” First of the Father and Jesus. “I am in the father and the Father in Me” (John 14:8–11). “The Father in Me, and I in Him” (John 10:38). “That they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee” (John 17:21). Secondly as to Christ and the Believer. “He that eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, dwelleth in Me, and I in him” (John 6:56). In the Parable of “The Vine,” we read —“Abide in Me, and I in you . . . He that abideth in Me, and I in him . . . If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you” (John 15: 4,5,7). It is botanically true that the branches abide in the vine, and the vine in the branches. As the two grow, they grow into each other. Any attempt to separate them will tear the fibers that interlock with each other and mutilate both. This “Reciprocal Indwelling” is beautifully illustrated in nature. Take the four elements, earth , air, water, and fire. The plant is in the soil, and the soil is in the plant. The bird is in the air, and the air is in the bird. The fish is in the water, and the water is in the fish. The iron is in the fire, and the fire is in the iron. The mutual interrelation of the plant to the soil, the bird to the air, and the fish to the water, is necessary to the Spiritual life of the Believer. When Jesus was about to depart He said, “Because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I in you” (John 14:19–20). Let us look at these two “Cardinal Facts” of the mutual indwelling of Christ and the Believer.

I. IN CHRIST

This is the position the soul that has accepted Christ as its personal Savior, and has been regenerated by the Holy Spirit. This particular phrase with its equivalent “In Christ Jesus,” or “In Him,” or “In Whom,” etc., occurs over 130 times in the New Testament, and means organic union with Christ, as the vine to the branches, and the heat to the body…If you should draw a circle on the floor and step within
it, it would surround you, but only on one plane, but if you were to take a position in the center of a spherically shaped room you would be surrounded on all sides, and equally protected in every direction from all external foes, and perils, and dependent upon the atmosphere of that spherical room for your life and safety. To illustrate, the unborn infant is encompassed within the mother, and is protected from all outside perils, and its life is sustained from the mother’s life, as her life blood flows through it, and it can be said of it that it is in the mother and the mother in it.

This phrase, “In Christ,” is the “Key” that the “Heavenly Interpreter” uses to unlock every separate book in the New Testament, from Matthew to Revelation. For illustration take the Epistles of Paul, counting the Epistles to the Corinthians as one, and the Epistles to the Thessalonians as one:
Romans—“In Christ JUSTIFIED.” Rom. 3:24.
Corinthians—“In Christ SANCTIFIED.” 1 Cor. 1:2.
Galatians—“In Christ CRUCIFIED.” Gal. 2:20.
Ephesians – “In Christ ASCENDED.” Eph. 1:3.
Philippians – “In Christ SATISFIED.” Phil. 1:11.
Colossians—“In Christ COMPLETE.” Col. 2:10.
Thessalonians – “In Christ GLORIFIED.” 2 Thess. 1:10–12.

The Believer’s POSITION “in Christ” is the same as that of Christ Himself. Believers “In Christ” are —
1. CRUCIFIED together “with Him.” Rom. 6:6.
2. BURIED together “with Him.” Col. 2: 12.
3. QUICKENED together “with Him.” Eph. 2:5.
4. RISEN together “with Him.” Col. 3:1–3.
5. HEIRS together “with Him” Rom. 8:17.
6. SUFFERERS together “with Him.” Rom. 8:17.
7. GLORIFIED together “with Him.” Rom. 8: 17.

This does not mean that when Christ was crucified, like one of the thieves, I was crucified on a separate cross with Him, or that when He rose from the grave I also arose from a nearby grave, but it means that when He was crucified and arose I was so identified as a Believer in His Crucifixion and Resurrection as to be said to be crucified, etc., with Him. When Adam sinned he died to God, and as I am by nature the child of Adam, I died “in Adam” to God. But the very moment I accept Christ as my personal Savior, I am born into the family of the Second Adam (Christ), and thus become a partaker of the Christ life, and it follows that whatever was done by Christ was done in and for me, so that when He died on the Cross I died with Him, when He was buried I was buried with Him, when He arose from the grave I arose with Him, when He ascended I ascended with him, when He was glorified I was glorified with Him, and when He shall come again I will come with Him.

When a child is born into a family, the law of heredity entitles that child to all the past history, tendencies (good or bad), social and political rights and privileges of the family as far back as the lineage can be traced. And there is another law, the law of inheritance that guarantees to that child the future possession of the family inheritance. So the person who is born by the Holy Spirit into the family of God, and thus becomes a “partaker of the Divine Nature,” is not only entitled to the future inheritance of a Child of God, but to all the past experiences of Christ.

Christian experience is the making real in our lives of what is true as to our standing in Christ, and means that we are to make actual in practice that which we in the Scriptures are declared to be. That is, we are to act in accordance with our standing. A king will act like a king, a millionaire like a millionaire, a beggar like a beggar, and a child of God like a child of God. When our Lord arose and came out of the tomb He had no further use for grave-clothes and so He left them behind. They would have been unbecoming and hindering to the risen body of Christ. But He went not forth naked, He was clothed upon with garments befitting His Resurrection state. Have you been crucified, buried and risen with Christ? Then leave in the grave the garments of the “Old Man.” “PUT OFF all these, anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing ye have PUT OFF THE OLD MAN WITH HIS DEEDS…and PUT ON therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering, forbearing one another, and forgiving one another,…and above all these things PUT ON CHARITY (love) which is the bond of perfectness.” Col. 3:8–14.

How am I to get into this “Sphere of Life” in Christ Jesus? By regeneration. But it is not enough to get into this sphere, I must have capacity to live and breathe in its atmosphere. Every form of life has its sphere for which it is adapted, as the bird to the air, the fish to the water. To live in these spheres there must be conformity to their laws. To pass from one to the other needs a new creation. So if I am to pass from the Natural to the Spiritual, I must be recreated. “Therefore if any man be ‘in Christ; he is a NEW CREATURE” (2 Cor. 5:17). It is a great privilege to be “Insphered in Christ”—to have the security that position insures to the Believer, and to be sure of the glorious inheritance that awaits us in Christ, and to know that “when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall we also appear with Him IN GLORY” (Col. 3:4).

II. CHRIST IN YOU

While the “New Life” is conditioned on our being “In Christ,” the manifestation of that “Life” is dependent on “Christ being in us.” The only way we can manifest life is by activity or fruitfulness. The test of true Discipleship is FRUITBEARING. “By their ‘FRUITS’ ye shall know them” (Matt. 7:16,20). To illustrate this, Jesus spake His last and Master Parable of “The Vine” (John 15:1–8). As much as to say, “What that vine is in the ‘Vegetable World,’ I am in the SPIRITUAL WORLD.” The first thing that the vine suggests is UNITY, not mechanical unity but organic unity. From the lowest root to the tip of the highest branch, the root, the trunk, the branches, the leaves, the blossoms, and the fruit are ONE. Jesus said, “I am THE VINE, YE are THE BRANCHES…WITHOUT ME (apart from me) ye can do NOTHING.” The mission of the vine is to bring forth fruit. The mission of the child of God is the same. Here we must distinguish between “Works” and “Fruit.” “Works” are external, such as Christian service of various kinds. “Fruit” is internal and is the work of the Holy Spirit in the Believer. “The ‘Fruit of the Spirit’ is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance” (Gal. 5:22–13). Here we have nine kinds of “Fruit” that the “Child of God” is expected to bear. To some of God’s dear children, the effort to be good and fruitful is a continuous strain, but they have not learned the secret; it is not trying to be good, but it is to let the Holy Spirit have His way with us. It is His business to bring forth fruit in our lives if we will let Him. The branch is not responsible for fruit bearing; that is the work of the Vine. It is the “sap” that produces fruit. All the branch has to do is to let the “sap” flow through it and do its office work and fruit will of necessity follow. But if something prevents the proper flow of the sap, then there is little or no fruit. So the obstruction of worldliness, pride, covetousness, or other things may prevent a child of God from bearing much fruit. This leads to the use of the “Pruning Knife.” “Every branch that beareth fruit, He PURGETH (pruneth) IT, that it may bring forth more fruit.” Vs. 2 Here we have the secret of chastisement. Notice that the pruning is not because the branch bears no fruit, but that it may bear MORE fruit.

There are two things peculiar to the vine. (1) It has the largest capacity for producing SAP, and (2) the largest capacity for producing WOOD. If you would have fruit, then you must prevent the sap from producing wood, and compel it to produce fruit. This is done by pruning. That is, pinching off the end of the stem back to the bud. So the “Divine Husbandman” when He would produce “More Fruit” in our lives, pinches off by chastisement the excess of woody growth of riches, undue love of worldly things, etc. This is a very precious thought, that while our faithfulness depends on our abiding in the vine, the AMOUNT of our fruitfulness is largely due to the careful pruning of the “Divine Husbandman.”

But not only is our “Fruit-bearing” dependeth on “Christ being in us,” but also our “prayer Life.” “If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” (John 15:7). Here are two conditions of prayer and one promise. The conditions are – “If ye abide in Me,” and “My words abide in you.” The Promise is – “Ye shall ask what ye will and it shall be done unto you.” Here is the “Magna Charta” of prayer. The first condition then of answered prayer is that we be IN CHRIST – “If ye abide in Me.” The second is that “CHRIST BE IN US” – “My words abide in you.” The Apostle John tells us – “that if we ask anything ACCORDING TO HIS WILL He heareth us” (1 John 5:14). Now how can we know the “Will of God” or the “Mind of Christ,” or the “Mind of the Spirit” unless we know the “Word of God,” the Holy Scriptures. We cannot pray for a certainty unless we know what God has promised to give. Jesus promised His Disciples that after His Ascension, He would send the “Holy Spirit” to them and that He would bring all things to their remembrance. That is He would recall to their memory all the sayings and promises of Christ. Then they would be able to pray with certainty and whatsoever they should ask the father in “Christ’s Name” at that Day (the Day of Pentecost), He would give unto them (John 16:23–26). So we not only have the Scriptures to tell us what we may ask for with certainty, but we have the “Spirit of Christ” (the Holy Spirit) to make intercession for us. In Rom. 8:26–27 (R. V.), we read – “The Spirit (Holy Spirit) also helpeth our infirmity; for we know not how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit Himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered; and He that searcheth the hearts knoweth the ‘MIND OF THE SPIRIT,’ because He maketh intercession for the saints according to the ‘WILL OF GOD,’” “Now we know that if we ask anything according to HIS (God’s) WILL, HE HEARETH US, and if we know that He hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know THAT WE HAVE the petitions that we desired of Him” (1 John 5:14–15). To pray the “Prayer of Faith” then it is necessary that not only shall we be IN CHRIST, but that CHRIST SHALL BE IN US.

There is a promise that all Christians love to quote for their assurance in prayer – “If TWO of you shall AGREE ON EARTH as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 18:19). The common opinion of this promise is that when two or three persons mutually agree to pray for a certain person or object, that their prayer will be answered. But that is not the idea at all. The work here translated “AGREE” is a very suggestive one. It is the Greek word from which our word “SYMPHONY” comes. The thought is, if two shall “ACCORD” or “Symphonize” in what they ask they have the promise. Ananias and Sapphira “agreed together” to tempt the Spirit of the Lord (Acts 5:9). There was mutual accord, but guilty DISCORD with the Holy Spirit, for as in tuning a musical instrument all the notes must be keyed to the standard pitch, else harmony were impossible, so in prayer, it is not enough that two persons agree with each other, they must accord with a third – THE LORD, and the Holy Spirit the “Divine Tuner” must put them in accord. The “key” to the promise is found in the next verse – “For where two or three are gathered together IN MY NAME, there am I in the MIDST OF THEM” (Matt. 18:20). That is to say, if there are two persons present and praying, there is also a third, if there are three persons present, there is a fourth. But this fourth person is invisible and is none other than the Lord Jesus in the person of the Holy Spirit, who causes the supplications without previous agreement to symphonize and thus accord with the “Divine Will” and the condition of “My Words abide in you” being fulfilled the prayer is answered.

When Jesus said – “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father ‘IN MY NAME,’ He will give it you” (John 16:23), and the expression “IN MY NAME” is six times repeated, it was a new teaching. No one in Old Testament times asked in “JESUS’ NAME,” neither has the Disciples had time, because the unity of Jesus with His Disciples had not yet been revealed, and it was not until Jesus spake the “Parable of the Vine” that the Disciples understood their union with Him. When I ask anything in another’s name, not I, but they are the Asker. It follows then that when I ask in “Jesus’ Name” He is the suppliant and not I. But Jesus is not supposed to ask anything that is not according to the “Will of God,” therefore to have my prayers answered when I ask in “Jesus’ Name” I must not only be “In Christ,” but He must be “In Me,” or our wills will not be in accord. To illustrate, if I am to paint like Raphael, it is not enough for me to copy his paintings and try to imitate him, I must have him in me and it must be he who uses my brains and hands. And if I am to pray as Christ would pray, I must have Christ in me to enlighten me how to pray as He would pray, otherwise my prayer in “His Name” will be of no avail.

Prayed…

Father, we thank You that You have called us to be ONE
Let Your revelation of this unfold to a greater degree
Help us to come to a holy place of drawing nearer to You
We pray for a greater esteeming in the Church
That the people would be inseparable from Your Word to produce more fruit!
We must be intertwined with You
Thank You that You are working in the pray-ers in a new way
We will not compromise in any way
Divine interventions in circles of believers—a fresh cleaning up by the Spirit
Thank You that there is activity going on behind the scenes
Help us to rightly divide the Word of truth!
If we want different results, we must walk in a new and right way
We must sit at the feet of the Father and drink of Him—Lord, You lead us to still waters
You have called us to walk along the higher way
Adjustments and fine tunings by the Spirit
The field of vision must be defined by You
We will not quit or cave in for Your strength is within us
Coming into a season of power and Your presence
Father, address and fill in the gaps
Strengthen the foundation, for that is our stability
We are looking for the liberty of the operation of Your gifts
Calling the fruit forth now is Jesus’ name!
Applying the blood over those who are walking along the edge
We pray they will choose the right way
Everything will move together
Father, let us not miss even one opportunity
We call on You, Father, right in the middle of that situation and circumstance

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