Burden-Directed Prayer

Here's a brief thought about corporate prayer from dear brother Watchman Nee, the Chinese Christian martyr. Nee viewed praying until the prayer burden is lifted as a key principle of praying in the Spirit.

Here he applies that principle to the church praying together. I found this thought-provoking, and I quote it here as food for thought and discussion:

In a prayer meeting, never think that since a matter has already been prayed for by a certain brother it does not need my prayer anymore. There needs to be prayer till the burden is discharged.

Let us not allow our prayer to jump about like a grasshopper, hopping to another matter before the first one is throughly prayed through, and before this second matter is thoroughly prayed for, we are found skipping back to the very first matter. Such hopping-around prayer does not discharge burdens, and is therefore difficult to obtain God's answer.

Let us recognize this one thing: burden is the secret of prayer. If a person does not feel within him a burden to pray for a particular matter, he can hardly succeed in prayer.

Hence in a prayer meeting the brethren must learn to sense the feeling of the gathering. For some items, praying once for each of them enough. There is no need to pray again, since the assembly has no longer any burden for it. But for other items, praying once is not sufficient. Each of these matters needs to be prayed for again and possibly a third or fifth time.

Before one burden is discharged, no one should commence to pray about another item. All must wait until the first burden has been lifted and then someone can change to another subject as the Lord gives another burden for prayer.

-- Watchman Nee, Let Us Pray