Matt. 18:18 Truly I say to you, Whatever you bind on the earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on the earth shall have been loosed in heaven. Matt. 16:19 I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of the heavens, and whatever you bind on the earth shall have been bound in the heavens, and whatever you loose on the earth shall have been loosed in the heavens.
This passage [in verses above] explains clearly the relationship between prayer and God's work. God in heaven will only bind and loose what His children on earth have bound and loosed. Many things that God should bind, He will not bind alone; instead He wants His people to bind them on earth first, and then He binds them in heaven. Many things that should be loosed, God will not loose them alone; instead He has to wait for His people to loose them on earth before He will loose the same for them in heaven. Every action in heaven is directed on the earth! All the moves in heaven are restricted on the earth! God is willing and happy to let all of His works be managed by His people. In Isaiah there is one passage which says the same thing as it says here: "Thus says Jehovah, The Holy One of Israel and the One who formed him, Ask Me about the things to come. And concerning the work of My hands, command Me" (45:11). When we read this, we should be fearful and not allow the flesh to come in. God wants us--the humble human beings--to command Him! His work is carried out through our commanding. Whether it be binding or loosing, all of God's work in heaven is carried out according to our command on earth. It must first be bound on earth before heaven will bind. It must be loosed on earth before heaven will loose. God will not do anything against His will. It does not mean that when something is bound on earth God will be forced to bind what He does not want to bind. God in heaven is binding what has been bound on earth because He has already intended to bind what has been bound first on earth. He is waiting all the time. When His people on earth bind what He in heaven intends to bind, He will follow their command and bind according to their requests. The fact that God is willing to follow His people's command to bind what they are binding shows that it has been God's will all along--which is eternal--to have such things bound.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from "What is Prayer" in the Collected Works of Watchman Nee, Vol. 8, pp. 7-8. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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