God’s heart’s desire is to gain a group of people who would be an expression of Himself!
When I was twenty years old I prayed a prayer that I will never forget. It was the Lord Jesus that taught us to pray in this way: “Our Father, who is in the heavens. Your name be sanctified; Your kingdom come; Your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth.” I did not pray any further. I asked God, “What is Your kingdom that is coming on this earth? I am on earth, but I don’t know what Your kingdom is. Please show me what Your kingdom on earth is, and give me a husband that will also want Your kingdom on earth.” With tears in my eyes, I rose up from my knees. I believed that the Lord had heard my prayer and that the Lord was going to answer my prayer.
Soon, I met my husband-to-be. Six months later, just a few weeks after we were married, I received the assurance of my salvation. (Though I was saved when I was seven years old during the Second World War, I had no assurance of my salvation.) Six years later when I met the local church, I felt like I had come out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of His light (Colossians 1:13)—out of spiritual confusion into the oneness of the Body of Christ.
Through reading Watchman Nee’s books I had seen that Christ has one Body in this universe. I also had seen that the Lord wanted such an expression of His Body on this earth in whatever city we live in (Revelation 1:11). To participate in such an expression my husband and I moved from Canada down to Los Angeles to meet with the local church there. That was 35 years ago. During these years I have experienced, enjoyed and gotten to know a wonderful Christ through the ministry of Witness Lee and Watchman Nee. I will be forever grateful to the Lord for their ministry.
The Lord Jesus is every day dearer than He was the day before. I have really been attracted to Him, and I love Him with all of my heart. I feel so grateful to have been brought into such a great enjoyment of our dear Lord Jesus and to be a joint-partaker of all His riches. I have a personal and intimate relationship with Him, which I pray will continue to grow. The Lord has done superabundantly above all that I could ask for or even pray for (Ephesians 3:20). Even this morning my husband and I prayed that the Lord would grant us His mercy to be faithful to Him at any cost for His satisfaction. O Lord, fulfill Your heart’s desire and gain a group of people that will express You!
Karen Bright