Watchman Nee
1903-1972

Good is not always God's will, but God's will is always good.

The Spirit is both a builder and a dweller. He cannot dwell where he has not built; He builds to dwell and dwells in only what he has built.

Our prayers lay the track down which God’s power can come. Like a mighty locomotive, his power is irresistible, but it cannot reach us without rails.

How true it is that without the guidance of the Holy Spirit intellect not only is undependable but also extremely dangerous, because it often confuses the issue of right and wrong.

How dangerous a master human emotion is!

How we need the Lord to enlighten our eyes that we may comprehend afresh the importance of prayer and know anew its value. Furthermore, we must recognize that had Satan not deceived us we would not be neglecting prayer so much. We should therefore watch and discover therein all the various wiles of Satan. We will not allow him to delude us any more in relaxing in prayer.

Negligence in prayer withers the inner man. Nothing can be a substitute for it, not even Christian work. Many are so preoccupied with work that they allow little time for prayer. Hence they cannot cast out demons. Prayer enables us first inwardly to overcome the enemy and then outwardly to deal with him.

You cannot minister beyond your prayer life.

If there is no burden in secret, there will be no breakthrough in public. The greatest victories are won in the secret place.

Burden is a 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.

Spiritual authority begins in the secret place.

The inner man is strengthened in the closet of prayer.

The spirit of prayer is the spirit of power. Prayer makes us vessels for power.

Prayer is not only a weapon; it is a womb.

Prayer is the acid test of the inner man’s strength. A strong spirit is capable of praying much and praying with all perseverance until the answer comes. A weak one grows weary and fainthearted in the maintenance of praying.

Prayer is the union of the believer’s thought with the will of God.

Prayer is work. The experiences of many children of God demonstrate that it accomplishes far more than does any other form of work.

Have we not consumed a great deal of time in the past asking for what we wanted? Why not now ask for what God wants?

Why do so many Christians pray such tiny prayers when their God is so big?

God gives His Own Self totally to us that we may offer ourselves completely to Him.

Lord, I am willing to break MY heart that I might satisfy THY heart.

This is a fact, Satan does not attack just prayer; he also attacks the praise of God's children. Whenever we praise, Satan flees.

Therefore, Satan hates our praising the most. He will use all his strength to stop our praising.

Living in the Spirit means that I trust the Holy Spirit to do in me what I cannot do myself. This is completely different from the life I would naturally live myself. Each time I am faced with a new demand from the Lord, I look to Him to do in me what He requires of me. It is not a case of trying but of trusting; not of struggling but of resting in Him.

If we throw ourselves open to God, He will reveal. The trouble comes when we have closed areas, locked and barred places in our hearts, where we think, with pride, that we are right.

A Christian who makes great progress is one who decreases daily.

The Holy Spirit is the best aid in approaching our work. We do not find there anyone consecrating himself as a preacher nor anyone deciding to do the Lord's work by making himself a missionary or a pastor. What we do see is the Holy Spirit Himself appointing and sending men out to do the work.

Death is our emancipation.