2025 ITEROF Message Five

Scripture reading:

Matt. 6:5-6 And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners, so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you pray, enter into your private room, and shut your door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

I. “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners, so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you pray, enter into your private room, and shut your door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you”—Matt. 6:5-6: (Monday)

A. To pray in secret results in the killing of the flesh and the self; we need some secret growth in life, some secret experiences of Christ—Matt. 6:6.

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B. If we are serious about being the people of the kingdom, we must learn to live by the hidden life of our Father—Matt. 6:5-6. (Tuesday)

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II. We need to learn from the Lord’s pattern to go up to the mountain privately to pray and thus live a hidden life—Matt. 14:23: (Wednesday)

A. The Lord constrained the disciples to leave so that He could have more time to pray to the Father alone in order to contact the Father alone—Matt. 14:22-23.

B. We must learn to leave the crowds and earthly things to be with the Father alone and in secret in order to have intimate communion with Him—Matt. 14:23.

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III. Psalm 42:7 says that deep calls to deep; the kingdom life is a life in the depths, a life that can take root downward and bear fruit upward—Psa. 42:7; Isa. 37:31: (Thursday, Friday)

A. On the one hand, we need to let Christ as the seed of life take deep root in the good soil of our heart; on the other hand, we, as living plants in Christ, need to be rooted deeply in the soil of the All-Inclusive Christ, who is the reality of the good land.

B. To have no root is to have no hidden treasure, no hidden life, and no hidden experience; we should ask God to work in us so that we may take root downward—Matt. 13:5-6.

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IV. To have a life in the depths, we must have a direct and intimate communion with the Lord; Song of Songs 4:12 says, “A garden locked is My sister, My bride”—S. S. 4:12: (Saturday)

A. The seeker becomes a locked garden; all that she has is for the pleasure of her Beloved, not for the pleasure of men—S. S. 4:12.

B. May the Lord allow the cross to do a deeper work in us so that we may be deeply rooted and live a hidden life in the depths to satisfy God’s requirements—Isa. 37:31.

OPENING WORD OF THE PROPHESYING MEETING

Reading the verses in each day.

Reading the main points in the outlines.

Pray-reading the verses:

But you, when you pray, enter into your inner room, and shutting your door, pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you—Matt. 6:6.
And after He had sent the crowds away, He went up to the mountain by Himself to pray. And when evening fell, He was there alone—Matt. 14:23.
And the remnant of the house of Judah that has escaped will again take root downward and bear fruit upward—Isa. 37:31.

Word of Appetizer

Why must we have the experience of praying personally in our inner room with the door shut?
Our Father is “in secret,” and He “sees in secret.” The kingdom people, as the children of the heavenly Father, must live in the Father’s secret and hidden presence and care for the Father’s secret and hidden presence. Under the heavenly rule of the kingdom, the kingdom people, living in a poor and humble spirit and acting with a pure and single heart, should not do anything in the flesh to be praised by men. Rather, they must do everything in their spirit to please their heavenly Father.

Spiritual Burden

The kingdom people must have the experience of praying in their inner room, contacting their heavenly Father in secret, experiencing the secret enjoyment of the Father, and receiving the secret answer from Him. We must leave the crowds and earthly things and be alone and in secret with the Father so that we may have intimate fellowship with Him.
May the Lord be gracious to us that the cross may do a deeper work in us so that we may be deeply rooted and live a deep, hidden life to meet God’s need and to satisfy His heart.

Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting

The Revelation of the Truth

And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites, because they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners, so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, They have their reward in full. But you, when you pray, enter into your inner room, and shutting your door, pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
Psalm 42:7 says, “Deep calls to deep.”

The Experience of Life

Psalm 42:7 says, “Deep calls to deep.” Without a deep life, we can only touch people’s outward feeling with our outward work. Only “deep calls to deep.” The kingdom life is a deep life, a life that can “take root downward and bear fruit upward.”
We have been planted into the reality of the good land, Christ, and we need to spend time (especially time with the Lord in the morning) to absorb Him.

Practice and Application

We need to learn the Lord’s pattern of going up to the mountain by Himself to pray and thus to live a hidden life. We must leave the crowds and earthly things and be alone and in secret with the Father so that we may have intimate fellowship with Him.
In order to have a deep life, we must have a direct and intimate fellowship with the Lord. Song of Songs 4:12 says, “A garden locked is my sister, my bride, / A spring shut up, a fountain sealed.” May the Lord be gracious to us that the cross may do a deeper work in us so that we may be deeply rooted and live a deep, hidden life to meet God’s need and to satisfy His heart.

PROPHESYING TOPICS—TWELVE TOPICS PER WEEK

Day 1

T1 The People of the Kingdom, under the Rule of the Kingdom, Must Do Everything in Spirit to Please Their Heavenly Father (Matt. 6:5-6)

(Please illustrate that man’s flesh, which seeks its own glory, always wants to do good before men to receive their praise.)

T2 Whatever the People of the Kingdom Do in Secret for the Father’s Kingdom, the Father Sees in Secret (Matt. 6:5-6)

(Please illustrate that the result of practicing righteousness in secret is the killing of the self and the flesh.)

Day 2

T1 The Real Growth in Life Is the Removal of the Self (Matt. 6:1, 6)

(Please illustrate that if our righteous deeds are done in secret, we can be sure that we are growing in life and are healthy.)

T2 God’s Life Is of a Secret and Hidden Nature (Matt. 6:6)

(Please illustrate that the universe indicates that God is a hidden God, a secret God.)

Day 3

T1 It Is Good to Pray with Others, but Often We Need to Pray Alone (Matt. 14:23; Luke 6:12)

(Please illustrate that the Lord did not remain with the crowd in the result of the miracle He performed, but left them to be with the Father alone in prayer on the mountain.)

T2 Do Not Labor for the Food Which Perishes, but for the Food Which Abides unto Eternal Life (John 6:27)

(Why did the Lord Jesus go up to the mountain to pray immediately after performing this miracle?)

Day 4

T1 To Help Others in Spiritual Matters, Something Must Come out from the Depths (Psa. 42:7)

(Please illustrate what “deep calls to deep” means.)

T2 People Lack a Life That Is Hidden in the Depths (Matt. 13:6)

(Please illustrate with examples what kind of person has only leaves but no root, that is, a person of shallow soil.)

Day 5

T1 Bearing a Testimony Is One Thing; Liking to Display One’s Own Experiences Is Another (2 Cor. 12:1, 5)

(Using the Lord Jesus and the apostle Paul as examples to explain that liking to speak and wanting to benefit others are two completely different things.)

T2 Satan’s Attacks Come Especially When a Person Is Exposed (2 Sam. 24:1; 2 Cor. 12:1)

(Please illustrate with examples that whatever covers its roots, God protects; whatever exposes its roots, God does not protect, but rather it will be attacked.)

Day 6

T1 To Have a Life in the Depths, One Must Have Direct and Intimate Communion with the Lord (S.S. 4:12-13)

(Using “a garden locked up” and “a spring shut up” to explain that all the beauty, pursuits, and experiences of a Christian should not be displayed or intentionally shown to others.)

T2 We Must Have Something Shut Up for Our Most Beloved Lord (S.S. 4:12-13)

(Please illustrate that Christians who seek with their heart must, in the matter of experiencing Christ, have something private, hidden, shut up, and enclosed only for Christ.)