For God to Listen to our Prayers, we need to Aim our Prayers at God’s Interests

In order for God to listen to our prayers, we need to pray toward God’s interests, signified by the Holy Land, the holy city, and the holy temple; no matter what we are praying for, our prayers should be aimed at the interests of God – at Christ and the church as God’s interests on the earth, for the fulfilling of God’s economy.

Lord Jesus, we want to learn to pray in such a way that You hear our prayers and fulfill them. Keep us open to You. May we pray one with You for what is on Your heart. May we pray toward the interests of God, even utter the prayers that God prays in us for what He wants to do. We open to You. Keep us one spirit with You today, and especially keep us one with You in our prayer! Amen!

This week we have been prayerfully considering the prayer that is critical to the kingdom life, as seen in particular in Matthew chapter six, and also in Luke chapter 11.

The Lord Jesus was a man of prayer, and He taught His disciples concerning prayer. He wants us to pray. He wants the church to be the Father’s house, a house of prayer. When the disciples of the Lord saw Him praying, they asked Him to teach them to pray.

The pattern of prayer that the Lord taught His disciples in Matthew chapter six is the prayer that expresses the will of God.

We need to pray in this way, not by mindlessly repeating the Lord’s prayer but by exercising our spirit to pray related to the Divine Trinity, pray protective prayers, and have reverent praises as extolling prayers.

As we pray in this way, seeking God and His kingdom, bringing our needs before Him, asking for His protection, for we are weak, and praising Him, we have an increased seeking of the kingdom of the heavens.

We simply desire what God desires, and we are supplied with the grace we need to fulfil the supreme and strict requirements of the kingdom of the heavens.

If we read Luke 11, where the Lord speaks more concerning prayer, we realise that our prayer should bring us into God. We need to learn to pray in such a way that we pray ourselves into God.

Every day we are easily distracted, but we can come to the Lord and spend time with Him to pray ourselves into God.

When we do this, when we are brought into God by means of our prayer, we receive His riches into our being for our supply, and we also have something to supply others with.

Our hearts are enlightened and we shine the Lord as light to others also. As we pray, we realise that we’re nothing, we can do nothing, and we depend on the Lord and on prayer. Prayer is the real denial of the self; by prayer, we declare, Not I but Christ! Amen!

For God to Listen to our Prayers, we need to Pray toward God’s Interests, signified by the Holy Land, the Holy City, and the Holy Temple

We pray a lot of prayers, and human beings in general pray a lot of prayers; many of these are not real prayers but rather, a list of things we want from God, things we blame God for, questions we ask Him, and many kinds of conversations with Him.

What is the kind of prayer do we need to pray so that God will listen to us?

The Bible shows us that, for God to listen to our prayers, we need to pray a particular kind of prayer.

In 1 Kings 8, after Solomon built the temple and dedicated it, he prayed a long prayer, and as part of this prayer he asked God to listen to His people if they did certain things.

Verses 48-49 say, And if they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies, who have carried them captive, and they pray to You toward their land that You have given to their fathers, the city that You have chosen, and the house that I have built for Your name; Then hear their prayer and their supplication in the heavens Your dwelling place and maintain their cause.

Solomon was very wise, and he also touched the heart of God when he prayed; he realised that God would answer His people when they pray toward God’s interests, signified by the Holy Land, the holy city, and the holy temple.

The Holy Land typifies Christ as the portion allotted by God to us, the believers in Christ (Col. 1:12; 2:6-7; Deut. 8:7).

When we pray, if we want God to listen to our prayers, we need to pray toward the Holy Land, that is, for Christ to be wrought into us, for Him to grow in us, for Him to be everything to us, and for us to partake of the riches of Christ. The holy city signifies the kingdom of God in Christ (Psa. 48:1-2).

When we pray, we need to pray for the kingdom of God to come in us, around us, in the church life, in our family life, and in society.

The holy temple signifies the house of God, the church, on the earth (Eph. 2:21; 1 Tim. 3:15).

If we want God to listen to our prayers, we need to pray toward the holy temple, that is, pray for the church, which is the house of God on the earth.

We pray for the church to be built up, for the kingdom of God to come, and for Christ to be our portion and the preeminent One in us.

During the Babylonian captivity, Daniel prayed three times a day by opening his windows toward Jerusalem.

He prayed toward God’s interests, and God heard his prayer. God will listen to our prayer when our prayer is toward God, the kingdom of God, and the house of God as the goal in God’s eternal economy (Dan. 6:10).

In Daniel 9:3-23 we see that Daniel received the vision of the seventy weeks, the last days; the reason he received it was his desperate seeking of the Lord God in prayer and supplications with fastings.

He confessed his own sins and the sins of the kings, the chief men, and the fathers of Israel, and of all the people of Israel.

He confessed the sins of the people of Israel, and he supplicated in his prayer for the holy city of Jerusalem, the holy mountain of God, and the holy people of God.

He not only opened his windows toward Jerusalem but also prayed toward God’s interests, repenting for his people’s sins and praying for God’s interests on earth, that is, for God’s house, His kingdom, and His people.

Daniel asked the Lord to forgive them not based upon their righteousness but based upon God’s great compassion (vv. 18-19).

Daniel prayed desperately, for he knew the prophecy in Jeremiah that the captivity in Babylon would be only of seventy years, so he requested that God would recover the Holy Land, send His people back, and rebuild the holy city (vv. 15-19).

God’s answer to him was the report through the angel Gabriel of the seventy weeks (vv. 20-27); such an answer exceeded what Daniel requested, and he was comforted and encouraged. We need to learn to pray in such a way, toward God’s interests on the earth.

Lord Jesus, we want to pray in such a way that You listen to our prayers. We open to You, and we exercise our spirit to be one with You today. Oh Lord, we pray for Your kingdom to come and for Your will to be done. May Your kingdom come in our life today. May Your kingdom spread in our being and also in the church life. May the church life be the reality of the kingdom of the heavens today. Amen, Lord, we love You and we want to enjoy You more today! May Christ become so real, so rich, and so near to us. We give ourselves to You for You to work Yourself into us and for You to grow in us. Amen, Lord, bring us into the enjoyment of the all-inclusive Christ as the reality of the good land! Be our rich enjoyment today for the building up of the church! Yes, Lord, build up Your church today! Bless the church. Build up the saints together in love. Gain the building, Lord. We are one with You, Lord, to pray toward God’s interest on earth – Christ, the kingdom of God, and the church as the house of God!

Aim our Prayers at God’s Interests, Christ and the Church, so that God would Listen to our Prayers Today

Thank the Lord for giving us a pattern of prayer; He not only left us a pattern of Him being a man of prayer, but He also taught us how to pray.

Today we can follow the Lord’s pattern and pray one with Him. As we pray, we want to have our prayers be listened by the Lord, even for Him to do according to what we pray.

The principle is that, if we want God to listen to our prayers, our prayers should be aimed at the Holy Land, the holy city, and the holy temple.

This means that we should not aim our prayers at people, at situations, at events, or at things; we should aim our prayers at the interest of God on earth, that is, at Christ and the church as God’s interest on earth.

When we pray concerning Christ and the church, God will listen to our prayer.

In Daniel’s prayer in Daniel 6, he didn’t just beg that God would have mercy on His people and help them go back to Israel; he appealed to God’s forgiveness and mercy by confessing their sins, and he prayed for God’s house, His kingdom, and His temple. Such a prayer will be answered by God.

When we pray toward Christ, the kingdom of God, and the church as the house of God, God will listen to our prayers.

This is something we all need to learn today. In Ephesians 3:14-21, Paul prayed for the saints in Ephesus not by asking God to help them come back to the right way and not let them go astray after some heresies.

Rather, he prayed that the Father would strengthen the saints through His Spirit into the inner man so that Christ may make His home in their hearts, and together, they would be built as the church, God’s fullness and corporate expression.

In our daily living, in our church life, and in our personal life and family life, we need to pray; we need to live a life of prayer in the church as the house of prayer.

If a brother is sick, we may naturally want to pray that God would heal him.

As we pray in this way, we aim our prayer at the brother, and his situation may not be improved but rather, it may even worsen, and even though he may recover, he may not gained much of Christ.

Our prayers should not be aimed at people, situations, matters, or things; our prayers should be aimed at God’s interests. We may pray, Lord, this brother has some needs: please remember him. You know his need.

As You work in him, Lord, may You gain him. May he gain more of Christ and may he live Christ for the building up of the church!

This is not a “spiritual prayer” or a “lofty prayer” that people utter when they don’t care for someone; this is to care for God’s interest first, and we pray for someone by aiming at God’s interest.

Our wife may give us a hard time, or the boss at work may demand so many things from us, and we may want God to help us be a bit more patient or kind; instead of praying for more patience and kindness, we can ask the Lord to gain us more in this time and for us to grow in Him so that the church may be built up.

No matter for what and for whom we are praying, our prayers should be aimed at the interests of God; our prayers should be aimed at Christ and the church as God’s interests on earth, for the fulfilling of God’s economy (Eph. 5:32).

We need to realise that, when we pray for people and aim our prayer at them, we may actually open the way for the enemy to attack them; this is an important principle in the spiritual warfare.

We pray for people, we pray for situations, and we pray for ourselves, but we do not aim our prayer at people, at situations, or at ourselves, but at God’s interests.

We pray for the saints who are sick for the sake of God’s interest. We pray for the saints who are backsliding for the sake of the church as the Body of Christ. We pray for our spouse who may be unwell for the sake of Christ and the church.

We remind the Lord that the saints who are sick would glorify Him in their sickness, that His will may be done.

We express our desire for Him to heal the saints for the sake of the church. God listens to our prayers when we aim our prayers at God’s interests – Christ as the allotted portion of the saints (Col. 1:12) and the church as the house and kingdom of God on earth (Rom. 14:17; Eph. 1:22-23; 5:25-32; Rom. 12:4-5; Matt. 16:18).

We pray for the saints for the sake of the kingdom of God, and we uplift certain sick ones, some backslidden ones, and some who are not well spiritually or physically to God for the sake of Christ and the church, for the fulfilment of God’s economy. Our prayers involve three parties: us (the praying ones), God, and Satan.

When we pray for a certain person, we need to aim our prayers at God’s interests, otherwise Satan may come in to attack him, and his situation may become worse.

No matter for whom we’re praying, the aim of our prayer is the Christ of God and the church of God, the interest of God on earth.

Lord Jesus, may we be those who aim our prayers not at people, at events, at things, or at situations but at the interests of God on earth! Amen, Lord, we are here for You to carry out what is in Your heart. We are here for Christ and the church. We give ourselves to You, Lord, to enjoy the all-inclusive Christ for the building up of the church. We pray for ourselves and for all the saints that we may grow in life for the building up of the Body of Christ. We bring to You the situations in which some saints are; we bring to You the ones who are sick or backslidden. Oh Lord, may You advance in the saints. May You grow in them and may they gain You more. We aim our prayers at God’s interests, Christ and the church! Amen, Lord, may Your kingdom come in the church life today. May Christ be preeminent among us. May the church be built up to be the kingdom of God on earth. Amen, may our prayers be aimed at the Christ of God and at the church of God, for God to fulfil His economy on the earth today! Amen!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by the brothers on this topic, and portions from, Life-study of 1 & 2 Kings, msg. 6, by Witness Lee, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crucial Aspects of Matthew 5 through 7 (2025 September ITERO), week 3, The Prayer That Is Critical to the Kingdom Life, and of Those Who Are the Peacemakers, Called the Sons of God – day 6.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – Lord, to know Thee as our Person, / Earnestly we seek and pray; / To experience Thy fulness / In a constant inner way. / Never longer only outward / Or with soulish thoughts obsessed, / But, O Lord, in realest contact / We by Thee would be possessed. / Lord, Thou art our Person, / In our inmost being, / May we constantly experience / This reality. (Hymns #1181 stanza 1 and chorus)
  – The churches are the Body / Of Christ on earth today. / They are His testimony, / That He may have a way. / They are the golden lampstands / In cities far and wide. / They are His fighting army, / And His beloved Bride. / The churches, the churches, / Upon the earth today; / Lord, stir our hearts for Thy desire, / And build us, oh, build us, / Lord, we pray. (Hymns #1265 stanza 1 and chorus)
  – Pray with one accord in spirit, / Pray and watch persistently; / For God’s kingdom and His glory, / Pray and watch in harmony. / Pray with one accord in spirit / Seeking God in unity; / In the Spirit of the Body / Ever pray in harmony. (Hymns #779 stanzas 5-6)