The Meetings and Spiritual Exercise of the Local Church

Additional Local Church Quotes by Witness and Watchman Nee

5. Thanksgiving

Concerning our coming to the Lord in a bread-breaking meeting of a local church, Watchman Nee encourages us to offer thanksgiving to the Lord:

When we come to the Lord, we find out that we were sinners. We were sons of disobedience, sons of wrath under God’s judgment. We had no way to save ourselves. But because the Lord Jesus shed His blood for our redemption, we can come before the Lord to receive His life. When we were sinners, we came to the Lord. When we saw how our sins were forgiven, we also came to Him. Hence, during the first part of the bread-breaking meeting, all our hymns, thanksgiving, and praises should be directed toward the Lord.

When we come to the Lord, we should offer thanksgiving and praises to Him. Strictly speaking, we should not do anything other than offer thanksgiving and praises. It is improper to petition for anything in this meeting. We cannot ask the Lord to shed His blood for us. This has already been accomplished; there is no longer any need to ask for this. We just have to praise and give thanks. Whether it is through praying or singing, we should only thank and praise Him. Thanksgiving is directed at the Lord’s work, while praise is directed at the Lord Himself. We give thanks for what He has done, and we praise Him for what He is. At the beginning there is more thanksgiving. But gradually we turn to praise. As we give thanks we also praise. We see what a wonderful work He has done for us, and we also see what a wonderful Savior He is. After we have offered up enough thanksgiving, we should begin to praise. When our praise reaches the peak, then is the time for us to break bread.

(Watchman Nee, Collected Works, Set 3, Vol. 48, 200-201)

On a note from Ephesians 5:20 which says, “Giving thanks at all times for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to our God and Father,” Witness Lee shares:

We should give thanks to God the Father not only in good times but at all times, and not only for good things but for all things. Even in bad times we should give thanks to God our Father for the bad things.

(Witness Lee, Footnotes, 884)

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