I.　A prayer ministry is the prerequisite for the administrating and shepherding of a local church—1 Tim. 2:1, 8:

A.　In a local church the leading ones must have a prayer life to set an example of prayer for all the members to follow by praying always in every place—v. 8a.

B.　If we would have a prayer life and pray unceasingly, our emotion and mind must be regulated to be in a normal condition, under the control of the Spirit in our spirit—v. 8b.

II.　Our prayer should be altogether for God's interest to fulfill God's economy—1 Kings 8:48:

A.　The holy land, the holy city, and the holy temple are three crucial things regarding God's economy:

1.　Christ is our good land; Christ is our city, our kingdom; and Christ is the temple, God's dwelling place.

2.　Our prayers should be aimed at the holy land, the holy city, and the holy temple; this means that our prayers should be aimed at the interest of God, that is, at Christ and the church as God's interest on earth.

3.　Daniel prayed for the holy land, the holy city, and the holy temple three times a day by opening his window toward Jerusalem—Dan. 6:10.

B.　We need to pray for the saints, but we should pray for them because of God's interest; no matter for whom we are praying, we should aim our prayer at God's Christ, who is God's interest in His economy—Col. 4:12; Eph. 6:18-20.

C.　To pray properly, we must pray to God in the name of the Lord Jesus, aiming at God's interest for His economy; to pray in the name of Jesus is to pray for the interest of God on earth, which is Christ as God's portion to us, as God's kingdom, and as God's dwelling place—John 16:24; 14:13-14; 15:16.

III.　In His heavenly ministry, Christ is interceding, ministering, and executing God's administration, and we need to be those who respond to Christ's activities in His heavenly ministry—Heb. 2:17; 4:14; 7:26; 8:1-2; Rev. 5:6; Col. 3:1-4; 1:9; 4:12:

A.　As the High Priest He intercedes; as the heavenly Minister He ministers; and as the Redeemer with the sevens eyes of God, He administers the government of God for the accomplishment of God's purpose.

B.　For centuries Christ has tried without adequate success to get a people to respond to His ministry in the heavens.

C.　Christ's ministry in the heavens requires our response—3:1-4:

1.　We need to become on earth the reflection of Christ's heavenly ministry.

2.　To seek the things which are above means that we correspond to Christ's heavenly ministry—v. 1.

3.　When we seek the things which are above, we respond to Christ's heavenly ministry and reflect it.

4.　The purpose of our living with Christ is to be one with Him in His intercession for the churches, in His ministry of the heavenly life supply to the saints, and in His administration of God's government.

D.　Through our prayer, Christ, the Head, is given a way to carry out His administration through His Body—1:18; 2:19; 3:1-2:

1.　As the Head is working in heaven by interceding, ministering, and administrating, we, the Body, are working on earth responding to the heavenly ministry of Christ and reflecting what He is doing—Heb. 2:17; 4:14; 7:26; 8:1-2; Rev. 5:6.

2.　When we pray, we are a heavenly ambassador on earth as the extension of God's kingdom—Col. 1:9, 12-13; 4:11-12.

E.　If we seek the things which are above and have one life and one living with Christ, we shall be wholly occupied with the enterprise of our Master—3:1-4, 17:

1.　Our heart will be with Him in heaven, where He is interceding for the churches, supplying the saints, and administrating God's government.

2.　We should aspire to be one with the Lord in His heavenly ministry and to have a heart that is one with His heart, and we should long to be one with Him in His priesthood, ministry, and administration.

F.　In order for the recovery to be the Lord's recovery, it must be under His direction—Rev. 5:6; Eph. 1:19-23:

1.　Between Christ in heaven and us on earth, there is a divine transmission, a heavenly current—v. 22:

a.　If we are receiving this transmission, we will respond to Christ's work in heaven.

b.　If in our experience we are not continuously connected to Him or if we allow insulation to build up between us and Him, the transmission will cease.

2.　If we continuously receive the divine transmission, being infused with a supply from heaven and experiencing the transaction between the heavenly Christ and us, we will respond to Christ's interceding, ministering, and executing of God's administration.