The Second Step— 
Applying the Principle of Incarnation

The second step that God took is incarnation, in which God is mingled with man. This is the great mystery of godliness. The second step that we take to contact God must be related to the manifestation of God in the flesh. This word may not be easy to understand initially. In order to understand how God’s manifestation is related to contacting Him, we must clearly see the principle that God’s will and fundamental desire are for us to provide Him with opportunities to mingle Himself with us. According to the common religious concept, God is far away in the heavens, and man on earth needs to worship Him. But this is not God’s desire. According to the Bible, God’s desire is entirely different from this concept. His unique desire is to enter into man and to be mingled with man. He has no desire to remain far away on His throne in heaven and receive man’s worship from earth. This is absolutely not His intention. His sole intention is to come down from heaven to earth, enter into man, dwell inside of man, and mingle Himself with man.

God’s desire can be seen in the New Testament and in the Old Testament. Although God dwells in His sanctuary in the highest and no one can touch Him, He desires to dwell with the contrite (Isa. 57:15; 66:1-2). While God desires that we praise Him, He does not desire one-sided praise. He is pleased with praise that comes from His being mingled with us. God wants us to worship Him, but He is not happy when we are the source alone. God desires worship in which He is mingled with us, and He worships through and with us.

The Christian life must be a life of two natures. Worship and service that has only one nature, the human nature, will not please God. Our worship must be mingled with God, and our service must also be mingled with God. Even our prayer must be mingled with God. If we are the only ones praying, and God is not mingled in our prayer, praying together with us, our prayer has only one nature. Such prayer will never be acceptable to God. Every prayer that is acceptable to God involves two natures. Outwardly, we are the ones praying, but inwardly, God is praying through us. This prayer is the mingling of divinity with humanity.

Every prayer of worth that touches God, that touches the throne, is a prayer in which God is mingled with man. Outwardly, we are praying, but inwardly, He is praying. Andrew Murray once said that every prayer of true worth is a prayer in which the Christ within us prays to the Christ on the throne. This is a mystery. The God within us prays to the God on the throne. In such prayer God prays through us in our prayer. This prayer touches His throne and causes Him to respond. God never hears prayers that involve only one nature. All prayers that do not have the element of God’s mingling are prayers that miss His heart’s desire.

I believe many saints have experienced this. Sometimes when we go to God, we are the ones praying. Such prayers are absolutely our own prayers, originating from our own thoughts. In the example of a sister who thinks about her husband and children when she prays, the prayer was with the mind. In her prayer her spirit is not motivated, and the Holy Spirit is not invoked. Similarly, some people often pray according to their own choices and preferences. If they want to go and study in America, they pray, “Lord, be gracious to me and bless this endeavor.” They never ask God His desire. This prayer is absolutely from the self. The Holy Spirit cannot move within such persons. The more they pray, the drier they will become, the farther they will be from God, and the harder it will be for them to sense God’s presence.

This is not proper prayer. In proper prayer, either before or during our prayer, the Holy Spirit will initiate something within our spirit. He will operate first within our spirit. For example, many saints prayed for this meeting during the day. While they were busy with their work, the Holy Spirit was operating within them. Although they had many obligations in the world, there was a prompting in their spirit to pray for the meeting. When the Holy Spirit prompts us in our spirit, we must stop what we are doing and come to the Lord to pray, not according to our feeling or our thoughts but according to the moving within our spirit. Our outward prayer is the result of the inward moving of the Holy Spirit in us. I cannot enter into Brother Hwang and push him from within, but I can stand behind him and push him. When I push him once, he moves forward one step. As long as I push him, he will move forward. Although it appears as if he is walking by himself, I am actually pushing him forward. This is the way we should pray. We pray by the Holy Spirit pushing us from within. When the Holy Spirit pushes, we pray, “Lord, remember tonight’s meeting.” When the Holy Spirit pushes us again, we will pray further, “Lord, open our eyes to see that You are enjoyable.” It seems as if we are the ones uttering these words, but actually the Holy Spirit is prompting us inwardly to utter these words.

This is the principle of incarnation. This is the Holy Spirit moving within us to the point that we pray outwardly. This is the great mystery of godliness. This is God manifested in the flesh. Whenever a brother or a sister truly prays this way, God is manifested in the flesh. God moves within them, and such moving is manifested in their speaking. I can testify that I once visited a brother who was praying in his room. Even though I did not see his face, I heard his prayer, and his prayer gave me the sensation that God was being manifested in the flesh. He was praying, yet I heard God’s voice in his prayer. I heard God’s sighing and God’s yearning, and God’s heart was fully revealed through such a prayer. This brother was God’s mouthpiece and God’s expression. God was manifested through his prayers.

This does not apply only to individual prayers. When the church comes together in the bread-breaking meeting, a fellowship meeting, or the prayer meeting, some brothers and sisters pray these kinds of prayers; their prayers are the result of the moving of the Holy Spirit. Their prayers do not involve merely one nature but two. Their prayers are prompted by the moving of the Holy Spirit within them. These saints are the mouthpiece of the Holy Spirit. When they pray, there is a sense that God is being manifested. Their prayers are an expression of God, a revelation of God, and a manifestation of God. These prayers are in the reality of the principle of incarnation, of God manifested in the flesh. A man in the flesh is praying, but he fully expresses God. God is manifested. God’s desire, wish, and yearnings are expressed through man. It is difficult to say whether a man or God is praying. We can say that a man is praying, but we can also say that God is praying. In fact, God is praying in man and through man. Praying this kind of prayer is the way to touch God.

Whenever we draw near to God in prayer, we should first exercise our spirit. Second, we should learn not to pray by ourselves. Rather than praying simply by ourselves, we should let God move us in our prayer. When He wants to pray within us, we should pray with Him. I would like to offer a shameful testimony. Many times the Lord wants to pray, but I do not want to pray. It seems as if He is saying, “I want to pray now. Do you want to pray?” At times I reject Him, and He has to wait. At other times I immediately respond by praying, and the result is very sweet. At still other times I do not want to pray but quickly regret this and say, “Lord, please forgive me. I am ready to pray now.” At such a time it is not unusual for Him to indicate His displeasure, seeming to say, “You are ready; I am not ready.” Do not think that I am exaggerating. Those who have had intimate fellowship with the Lord have experienced this. Sometimes we can take the initiative and say, “Lord, I am ready to pray. Can we please pray?” We can inquire of Him, and God likes us to inquire of Him. If we sense that He does not want to pray, it is mainly because our condition is not that proper. If our condition is proper, He will respond, “Yes, I want to pray with you. I have been waiting to pray with you. I have been hoping that you could be My prayer partner.” If we touch this key, we will realize the value of prayer. We will no longer utter vain prayers, uttering a mouthful of words that do not touch His heart. Such prayers are neither the Lord joining our prayer, nor our joining His prayer. These prayers involve only one nature. They are not prayers in the principle of God manifested in the flesh.

In matters great or small, the entire Christian life is altogether a story of God mingling with man. If I am the only one speaking, and God is not speaking in me, even this message is empty. It will not minister a spiritual supply to the brothers and sisters. God must be pushing and motivating me while I speak. Every word I speak must be one that He has already spoken within me. His speaking within me should constrain me to speak. Such words involve two natures; they are words uttered as a result of God being mingled with man. You may forget the words that are spoken, but something within the words will touch your inner being, and you will have no choice but to turn to God and draw near to Him. It is not the words themselves that convict us, but it is the very element of God, the element of the Spirit, behind the words that touches our inner being. This principle must govern every aspect of our Christian life. Whenever we draw near to God, we must seize the principle of incarnation. We must allow God to mingle Himself with us before we can enjoy Him in a practical way.