Prayer is our greatest work before God, and it is also the greatest threat to God’s enemy. For this reason, Satan seeks to weaken our prayer life and the church’s prayer ministry. Knowing this, the apostle Paul joined perseverance and prayer (Rom. 12:12; Eph. 6:18; Col. 4:2; cf. 1 Thes. 5:17). Consistency and persistence in the face of obstacles are crucial to building up a prayer life and prayer ministry. This is not only the apostle’s teaching; it is also extensively illustrated in the Word of God.
As Joshua led the Israelites into battle against Amalek, Moses stood on a hill with his staff uplifted (Exo. 17:9-10). Verse 11 says, “And when Moses lifted his hand up, Israel prevailed; and when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed.” Moses lifting up his hand on the mountaintop typifies the ascended Christ interceding in the heavens (Rom. 8:34b; Heb. 7:25; cf. 1 Tim. 2:8), and Joshua typifies Christ as the indwelling Spirit fighting against the flesh, typified by Amalek (Rom. 8:9-11; Gal. 5:16-17). This means that victory in spiritual warfare depends very much on Christ’s intercession. However, verse 12 tells us that Moses’ hands became heavy and in need of support. As one whose hands became heavy, Moses represents not Christ but us, signifying that while Christ is praying in the heavens, we too need to pray on earth (1 Tim. 2:8). A stone, which typifies Christ as our strength and steadiness in prayer, was brought in for Moses to sit on. Moreover, his hands were supported on one side by Aaron, representing the priesthood, and on the other side by Hur, representing the kingship. This means that to persevere in intercessory prayers of warfare, we must be priests who exercise to pray in our spirit, today’s Holy of Holies, and we must be in full submission to the Lord under His authority.
Daniel was a person who, knowing the promise of God regarding Israel’s return from captivity (Jer. 29:10), persevered in prayer for the Lord’s desire (Dan. 9:2-3). He had the habit of praying three times daily (6:10) and would not let anything frustrate his prayer, not even the threat of death (vv. 7-9). Daniel was thus a channel of prayer the Lord could use to carry out His desire. Regarding Daniel chapter 6, Brother Lee said, “God desires to carry out His economy, but man is needed to pray for His economy on earth. God carries out His economy on the earth through His faithful channels of prayer. Satan's strategy is to frustrate the prayer which is for God's move...There is no other way to bring God’s economy into fullness and into fulfillment except by prayer” (Life-study of Daniel, p. 45). Daniel’s cooperation with the Lord in prayer afforded the Lord a way to take a great step in His move.
Today the Lord is seeking prayers of dispensational value, prayers that match God’s heart, prayers for the advancement of God’s move, prayers for the preparation of the bride, prayers for the producing of the overcomers as the Lord’s army, prayers for the defeat of God’s enemy, prayers that change the age. The prayers of the saints and of the church are a significant factor in effecting the dispensational change from the present age to the kingdom age (Luke 18:1-8; Rev. 6:9-10; 8:3-5). To persevere in such prayers, we surely need the Lord’s empowering (Eph. 6:10).