Day: March 27, 2022

LEARNING TO BEHOLD GOD BEFORE WE PRAY

If we are able to restrict ourselves and turn to the Spirit in this way, we should not immediately open our mouths to pray. In chapter 5 we considered ten points we should pay attention to when we pray. After being calm we should behold God. This means that in order to pray, we must first touch God. We must first touch God before we can pray. This means that our spirit must touch the Spirit of God. When we are busy with many outward things, there is no way for us to touch God. When we want to pray, we must free ourselves from all affairs, stop our mental activities, and turn our entire being from outward things to our spirit. We must learn to exercise our spirit to touch God’s Spirit. Then we will learn to behold God. Because God is Spirit and dwells in our spirit, it is not difficult to touch Him. When our entire being is occupied, and we live in our mind, God seems to disappear. However, He has not disappeared; rather, we have turned our backs on Him. We are not beholding Him. But as soon as we are free from our thoughts and turn from the outward things to our spirit, we touch God immediately. This is to behold God, and this is to touch His presence in our spirit. As soon as we touch God in our spirit, we feel solid within; we feel that we have the anointing and the moving of the Holy Spirit. At this point we can open our mouths to pray.

BEING AIDED TO TURN TO OUR SPIRIT 
BY READING THE WORD

Some may say that it is difficult to turn to their spirit and behold God in this way. New believers may find it difficult to practice praying in this way. If a person cannot turn to his spirit or be calm, he can start by reading the Word. He can then use the words of the Bible to calm his thoughts in order to turn to his spirit. He can turn any words that touch him into prayer. This is an easy way to turn to our spirit.

Some saints are able to turn directly to their spirit without any help. Whenever they want to pray, they only need to close their eyes, and they can stop their entire being. Sometimes they do not even need to close their eyes; they can turn to their spirit even while others are talking beside them. They are not bothered by distractions. One brother said that he had learned to pray even while others were fighting in front of him. He could calmly pray to touch the Lord, sense His presence, and be brought into the Holy Spirit, no matter how loudly they shouted. Such a person is very experienced in his spirit; his spirit is very strong. He is able to control himself and is not bothered by anything. When he wants to pray, he can turn his entire being to his spirit.

However, many brothers and sisters have not learned to pray in this way. They cannot even be calm when they are alone, not to mention being calm when others argue and fight in their presence. This shows that they are not restricted before God and that they are immature in the Lord. We should never think that a person is mature simply because they have been a Christian for many years. Maturity does not depend on the number of years one has been a Christian, and it does not depend on the amount of teaching a person knows. Rather, maturity is related to our ability to be calm and turn to our spirit when we pray. If we can do this, we are somewhat mature. If we cannot, we are still quite young and cannot restrict ourselves. For this reason we must continue to exercise until we can stop ourselves and turn to our spirit when we are ready to pray.

We may not find it easy when we begin to practice, and we may need to use the Bible. If so, we can read through the Bible slowly, allowing God’s Word to touch our inward being. We can then turn the words of the Bible into prayer. In this way it will be easy for us to be calm and turn to our spirit. Then we will behold God, we will see God; our spirit will contact God, and we will be able to offer genuine prayers.

As we utter such prayers, we still need to pay attention to the matter of touching God. Once we stop touching God, we should not force ourselves to pray. We should, rather, continue reading the Word. We should use the Bible as a support to help us enjoy God through prayer. When we are calm and can touch our spirit through reading the Word, we can start praying again. In short, we do not need to force ourselves to pray whenever our spirit is dry and we cannot touch God. If we force ourselves, our spirit will receive no benefit but may actually be harmed. We should rather stop our prayer and continue reading the Word.

PRACTICING TO PRAY BY TOUCHING GOD 
IN THE SPIRIT AT ALL TIMES

The only prayers that touch God are those offered in the Spirit. Only through such prayers can we receive God. We should pray in this way, not only in the morning when we contact God but also in our time of prayer during the day. We should always feel the watering, anointing, and divine presence while we pray. But if we feel dry and void of God while we pray for a particular matter, we should stop praying and change the direction or subject of our prayer until we touch God. Then we can continue praying. In this way we can remain in the spirit while we pray.

We need to practice praying in the Holy Spirit. May the Lord be gracious to us so that we learn to pray in the Holy Spirit. May we have prayers that touch and absorb God.

PRAYING IN THE HOLY SPIRIT 
BEING TO PRAY IN THE MUTUAL FELLOWSHIP 
OF THE TWO SPIRITS

To pray in the Holy Spirit is to pray in the mutual fellowship of the two spirits. Our spirit must touch the Spirit, and the Spirit must touch our spirit. It must involve the two spirits mingled together. When we follow the Spirit to pray in this way, we are praying in our spirit, and we are praying in the Holy Spirit.

We often say that prayer brings us God’s presence. But what does this mean? Our prayers bring us God’s presence when we pray in the Spirit. Then every sentence of our prayer is solid and touches God. When we pray in this way, our prayer has touched God’s presence.

Perhaps some brothers and sisters do not understand what it means for our prayer to be solid and to touch God. Here is an illustration. If I attempt to hit Brother Hwang but miss him, my blow is not solid. But if I hit him blow after blow, my blows are solid. The more I hit, the more excited and satisfied I will be, because my hitting is not in vain. We have probably had the same experience when praying. When we pray, we may sometimes feel that the words are lost in the air. They do not hit the mark. None of the words seem to touch God, and it seems as if God is not present. This means that our prayer is not solid. This is an indication that we are not praying in the Spirit. It also shows that we are not abiding in the Spirit. Because we are praying apart from the Spirit, our prayer seems to hit only the air; it is not solid, and it does not touch God. However, when we pray in the Spirit, we feel that the more we pray, the more we touch God, and our words touch God. We feel as if we are filled with God. Our God is not only in heaven; He has also entered into us. This is wonderful. The more we pray in this way, the more we are inwardly enlightened, comforted, satisfied, nourished, joyful, and anointed. These feelings indicate that we have received God in our prayer; we have breathed in God. Only this type of prayer is genuine, spiritual, and of value. Only this kind of prayer should be offered up in the universe. All other prayers are religious, formal, and outward, having no value.

The brothers and sisters should now understand what it is to pray in the Holy Spirit. If someone still does not understand, he may not be saved; he may not have the Spirit of God within him. Any person who is saved has the Spirit of God within him and should have had such experiences. There should be an Amen within him, witnessing that the more he prays, the more he touches God and is filled with God. The more we pray, the more satisfied and comfortable we feel.

There are, however, times when our prayers seem to chase God away. At such times we may be forcing ourselves to pray. We, therefore, feel empty and dry within and have a desire to finish our prayers. If we have all had this experience, we know the difference between these two conditions and consequences of prayer.

LEARNING TO RESTRICT OURSELVES 
AND TO TURN TO OUR SPIRIT IN PRAYER

Some brothers and sisters may be clear concerning praying in the Holy Spirit, but they might not know how to enter the Spirit. Every person who learns to pray encounters this problem. We often have distracting thoughts when we kneel down to pray. When we try to reject one thought, another comes. While we are dealing with the second thought, another one invades our mind. The thoughts come like a swarm of bees. They buzz around in our mind and prevent us from praying. If we are unable to control our thoughts, we may become angry and declare that we will not pray any more. In this situation we have failed. Many times our distracting thoughts are a frustration to our prayers. They cause us to turn away from our spirit so that we cannot pray.

Our thoughts distract us because we are loose persons before the Lord. An undisciplined and loose person has distracting thoughts. If we are undisciplined and loose before God, we will be unable to be calm. We will have wandering and distracting thoughts if we are loose before the Lord. The looser we are before the Lord, the more distracting our thoughts will be. By the Lord’s grace, if we learn to control ourselves, our thoughts will come under control. When we stop to pray, we will immediately be calm, and it will be easy for us to turn to our spirit.

Please allow me to say that I have seen many brothers and sisters—sisters more so than brothers—who are very loose in their speaking. This does not mean that they use unclean words, but they are undisciplined in their speech. When they converse with others, they do not seem to be able to stop speaking. Since they are undisciplined and loose in their speaking, their thoughts fly all over the world. After speaking in this way, they may need to wait until the next day before they are able to pray since they are unable to be calm and turn to their spirit. Even if they wake up early in the morning, they may still have all kinds of thoughts racing through their mind, and therefore, they still cannot pray. Everyone who is plentiful in words cannot pray. When a person speaks continuously, his entire being is led astray. His entire being is captured by thoughts that wander all over the world. He has no way to stop his being, and he cannot pray. Therefore, a person who learns to pray must learn to control his speaking. He must learn to restrict his being, not only in one thing but in everything.

Many saints have learned some lessons in the matter of restricting themselves. Some are able to stop themselves in the midst of their temper and turn to God to confess and pray. Such prayer and confession are altogether a matter in their spirit. Such a person can easily pray in his spirit. This does not mean that a person who readily loses his temper can easily pray in his spirit. Rather, a person who can control himself even while he is losing his temper tends to find it easy to turn to his spirit to pray.

There are, of course, many brothers and sisters who cannot control themselves once they lose their temper. Even when others try to stop them, they are unable to control themselves once they lose their temper. They do not know what it means to be under control. They can be compared to a car that has no brakes; they are unable to stop themselves. It is not easy for such a person to turn to his spirit and pray. He may need to wait for a week before he can pray again. His entire being has been expended through his temper.

This illustration should help us to see that if we want to learn to pray, we must learn to control ourselves before God. If we control ourselves in ordinary things, it will be easy for us to control our thoughts when we pray. Our thoughts will be submissive, and it will be easy for us to stop, be calm, and turn to our spirit. We will easily be disentangled from our thoughts in order to turn to our spirit. A person who wants to learn to pray in spirit must learn to control himself at all times.

We often classify people as either extroverts or introverts. It is difficult for those who are extroverted to learn to pray. They seem to be able to do everything, but it is difficult for them to be calm in order to pray. It is, therefore, difficult for them to absorb and enjoy God, not to mention the fact that they have many unanswered prayers. This is a great loss. It is profitable for a person to devote some time every day to calm his thoughts and turn his entire being to God in order to contact Him. However, such a person must be one who restricts himself. If we want to learn to pray in the Holy Spirit, we must learn the lesson of restricting ourselves in our daily life, controlling ourselves in everything. If we can control ourselves in this way, it will be easy for us to stop our activities and pray.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

EXERCISING TO PRAY IN THE HOLY SPIRIT

Scripture Reading: Jude 20

THE NECESSITY OF PRAYING IN THE HOLY SPIRIT

In this chapter we will practice praying with Jude 20. This verse speaks about two things. First, it speaks of being built up in the most holy faith. This is related to reading the Word. Second, it speaks of praying in the Holy Spirit. This is related to prayer. No other verse in the Bible is as concise as this verse in the matter of prayer. Prayer should be in the Holy Spirit. We should pray in the Holy Spirit. Prayer, which is a matter of man cooperating with God, must possess two natures. Prayers that come only from man, which are not mingled with God, are merely religious prayers. They do not touch God, breathe in God, or reach God. This is the reason that Jude says we should pray in the Holy Spirit. The words in the Holy Spirit are very good. In Ephesians 6:18 the Chinese Union Version translates this portion as “praying by the Spirit.” The meaning of praying by the Spirit is unclear. Jude 20, however, is translated correctly; we should pray in the Holy Spirit. Praying in the Holy Spirit means that we and the Holy Spirit must pray together.

The secret to the Christian life is to be mingled with the Holy Spirit. The spiritual life of a Christian is absolutely a matter of man being mingled with the Holy Spirit. When we are in the Holy Spirit, we have a spiritual life. When we are not in the Holy Spirit, we do not have a spiritual life. It is possible for us to have all kinds of religious activities, but if we are not in the Holy Spirit, there is no way for us to have a genuine spiritual life. This particularly applies to prayer. Apart from the Holy Spirit we only have religious prayers that are commonly found in Christianity. These prayers have no spiritual worth before God. If we want genuine, spiritual prayers, prayers that reach God, touch God, breathe in God, and are in God, we must pray in the Holy Spirit.

BEING IN THE HOLY SPIRIT INVOLVING 
THE FELLOWSHIP AND MINGLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT 
WITH OUR SPIRIT

Since many brothers and sisters still may not understand what it is to be in the Holy Spirit, let me explain further. God is Spirit, and we have a spirit. Our spirit is the same in nature as the Spirit of God. God’s Spirit is invisible and nonmaterial. Our spirit is also invisible and nonmaterial. We have a spirit within us that enables us to contact God who is Spirit.

The Lord Jesus said that “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit” (John 4:24). This means that we must turn to our spirit and exercise our spirit in order to worship and touch God who is Spirit. These two spirits, the Spirit of God and our spirit, need to fellowship with one another, live with one another, and be mingled together. For this reason Romans 8:16 says, “The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God.” The word with reveals that the Spirit and our spirit are mingled as one.

We were created as men, and we have a spirit within us. At the time of our salvation, the blood washed us, and the Holy Spirit entered into our spirit. In the Gospel of John the Lord Jesus said that when the Spirit comes, He will be with us forever (14:16-17). He will abide within us forever. Every believer has the Spirit of God in his spirit. God’s Spirit is in our spirit, and our spirit is in His Spirit. The expressions You in Me and I in you are both found in the Gospel of John (v. 20). This transpires in our spirit. You in Me means that our spirit is in His Spirit, and I in you means that His Spirit is in our spirit. The phrase abide in Me and I in you means that our spirit abides in His Spirit, and His Spirit abides in our spirit (15:4). These portions of the Scriptures describe a condition in our spirit.

Some may ask how we know that such a condition exists in our spirit. How do we know that the Spirit of God abides in our spirit and that our spirit abides in His Spirit? In other words, how do we know that there is a fellowship and mingling between the two spirits within us? This is something every believer can easily know. For example, even though our outward circumstances may be painful and difficult to bear, we have a sweet sense of consolation and unspeakable joy deep within us. This sense of comfort and joy comes from experiencing God. It is a sense of being before God, of being together with Him. At other times we may be bewildered, not knowing what to do. If we would look to the Lord, the condition within us would be bright and transparent. We would spontaneously be clear concerning how to proceed. This condition deep within us is the story of God’s Spirit being mingled with our spirit.

Sometimes we may feel dry, empty, and unsure of ourselves even though we are lacking in nothing outwardly. We may feel ill at ease whether we are sitting, walking, or lying down. This reveals that our spirit is short of God’s presence; our spirit is lacking the nourishment of the Holy Spirit. There is a lack between our spirit and the Spirit.

These examples help us to understand what it means for God’s Spirit to be in our spirit and for our spirit to be in His Spirit. Once we understand the story of mutual fellowship between these two spirits, we can understand what it means to be in the Holy Spirit. To be in the Holy Spirit is absolutely a matter in our spirit.

There is a story about a brother whose countenance was glowing with an indescribable joy as he was working. He was so happy that he was even laughing. This caused his colleagues to ask what was happening to him. They thought that it was something psychological. He responded that since they did not have Jesus within them, they could not understand what was happening. He said that his joy was the issue of his spirit fellowshipping with the Spirit of God within him. Hence, he could not help but be happy. He said that if his happiness was merely something psychological, it would be unnatural and forced. When his spirit fellowshipped with the Spirit of God, all his burdens disappeared. He could not help but have a happiness that came from the depth of his being.

This is a story about being in the spirit. As long as we touch God’s Spirit with our spirit, such an experience will follow. Although we cannot see the Spirit of God with our eyes or feel Him with our hands, we can clearly sense Him when He touches us within. On the evening of His resurrection the Lord Jesus breathed into the disciples and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (20:22). The Lord Jesus used breath to represent the Holy Spirit. This is very meaningful. Although we can neither see nor touch air, we know that it has entered us because we feel inwardly relieved, refreshed, and comforted. In contrast, when there is insufficient air in a room, we feel stuffy and uncomfortable. This is a good illustration. This also applies to the Holy Spirit within us. When we are short of the Holy Spirit, we feel oppressed, bound, and constricted within, but when we fellowship with the Holy Spirit, we are immediately relieved and refreshed. This condition indicates that the Holy Spirit is within us and that He is mingled with our spirit. This proves that our spirit abides in God’s Spirit and that His Spirit abides in our spirit. In other words, we are abiding in God, and God is abiding in us. This is absolutely a matter in the spirit.