How to Enjoy God

BEHOLDING

Most people understand beholding the Lord to mean looking up at a God who sits far above in the heavens and who sends His light down to men. They consider beholding God to be looking up to such a light. According to our spiritual experience, however, this is not the meaning of beholding God. Beholding God is to gaze and look at God.

When I meet with a friend, we typically look each other in the eye and measure each other before we say anything. Sometimes after speaking, we look at each other again before we depart. Our looking at each other conveys a kind of warmth and intimacy. It is impossible for two persons to speak to each other without looking at each other. In the same way, beholding God means to gaze on Him when we pray. After we pray a few sentences, we should turn to gaze on Him again. If we do not turn to God or do not fix our gaze on Him but instead hastily utter a few words, it will be difficult for us to enjoy God. When we pray, we must be calm, turn to our spirit, and gaze on Him. Then according to the feeling within, we can speak to Him under His gaze. We should continually behold Him. Such beholding is very precious.

Of course, beholding transpires only in our spirit. We do not behold with our physical eyes. Our eyes are closed when we pray; we do not see anything. In our spirit, however, we are before God and look at Him face to face. We gaze on God by exercising our spirit.

WAITING

Many people think that they need to wait on God when He does not answer their prayers. Generally speaking, this can be considered as waiting on the Lord. This is an outward waiting. However, we are speaking of the waiting that transpires in our spirit. Suppose we are calm and turn to our spirit, but we do not sense that we have the presence of God. As a spiritual fact, God never leaves us, but in our experience we may sense that He is far away or that He is near us. At times we may feel that He is near, but He has not initiated anything. When this happens, we should not say anything quickly. Rather, we should spend some time to wait in His presence.

God should always take the full initiative in our prayer, and we should simply follow. We should pray according to the feelings He gives us. In the same principle, sometimes He purposely delays His coming so that we learn to wait on Him. We cannot care merely for our convenience. We must care for His convenience and wait. We should never be rash or impatient. For this reason the psalms say that we should wait on the Lord.

This kind of waiting is not an easy matter. We would not consider two hours to be too long to converse with a close friend, but we would consider two hours to be a long time to wait. Waiting requires patience. When we pray, there is also the need to wait on God. Sometimes God likes to test us in our prayer. If He does not seem to be near us after we turn to our spirit, and there are no feelings within, we should not initiate anything. If there is no feeling within, there can be no prayer. We should learn to wait. When He moves, we should follow, and when He does not move, we should wait on Him.

Can we spend half an hour to quietly wait on Him without uttering any words? Can we happily tell others that we spent our morning waiting on the Lord in this way? Can we wait for a long time without praying to Him? Perhaps after waiting for some time, we may need to say, “Lord, I must go to work. I am unable to wait on You any longer.” Can we do this?

If we desire to enjoy God in prayer, we must learn these lessons. It is difficult for rough and rash people to pray. In the Old Testament the priest’s garment had bells at the hem. The sound of the bells was to warn the high priest not to be careless (Exo. 28:34-35). Those who come before God must not be careless. The Lord prefers us to listen to Him. Hence, He rebuked Martha for being so anxious and troubled about many things (Luke 10:41). I do not believe Martha could wear the priestly garment without there being the sounds of bells everywhere. Many people are like Martha. Those with quick and rash temperaments cannot pray. We have to learn to wait patiently on the Lord.

MUSING

Good prayer often does not need many words. At times we do not need to say anything when we pray. We can simply muse on God. He cares for our musing. Psalm 104:34 says, “May my musing be sweet to Him.” Prayers in which we continually speak to God may not be good prayers. In good prayer we behold God and muse upon Him.

We may think that musing is something of our mind, but it is actually connected to our spirit. We actively muse upon the attributes of our God in our spirit. He is fine, tender, careful, dignified, glorious, and great. We muse upon His dealings with us and His promises to us. As we muse, our inner being is filled with much feeling. Our musings are prayers, and at the same time they are not prayers. They are like words, yet they are not like words. They are thoughts that arise from our inner being and are a delight to God.

In summary, we should turn to our spirit to touch God in prayer. These prayers do not require many words. Sometimes it is best to spend some time to look at God or remain silent in His presence. We should learn to pray in this way. We should never pray with our own burdens; rather, we should set aside our burdens. We should say, “Lord, I give all my burdens to You and come to You with an unloaded spirit.” We should be calm, turn to our spirit, and behold Him. We should then pray according to the inward sense. As we pray, we should continue to behold Him. We should also wait and muse on Him. If we do this, we will touch and absorb God richly through prayer.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

THE PRACTICE OF INTERCESSION, 
BEHOLDING, WAITING, AND MUSING

Scripture Reading: John 15:7; Eph. 6:18-20; Ezek. 22:30; Psa. 27:4, 14; 104:34

We will now consider intercession, beholding, waiting, and musing in relation to prayer.

We are familiar with the terms intercession, beholding, waiting, and musing. However, with spiritual matters, the most common things are often the most crucial and difficult to achieve. It is often difficult to thoroughly and genuinely fulfill an apparently simple spiritual task. Many Christians know what intercession means, but not many are able to intercede. Many know what it means to wait on God and muse upon Him, but few have truly learned to wait on God and muse on Him. These are very common matters among Christians, but they are also things that are seldom done well. May we all practice not only to enjoy God through reading the Word and prayer but also to intercede, behold, wait, and muse in our prayers.

INTERCESSION

Let us first consider intercession. Genuine prayers are prayers in which man is mingled with God in spirit. Hence, all genuine prayers are initiated by God. All prayers that are mingled with God are surely initiated by Him. In such prayers, God prays in man, and man prays in God. These prayers involve two levels.

In order to pray in this way, a person must be calm and turn to his spirit. He must learn to drop his own concepts and enter into God. When a person drops his concepts and enters into God, it is easy for him to sympathize with God’s heart, to be concerned for God’s interest, and to live in complete conformity to God’s desires. When this is a person’s condition, the Lord will surely be pleased to open His heart to him, and it will be easy for him to know the Lord’s will. He does not need to exert much effort to touch the Lord’s desire. He merely needs to contact the Lord, and he will know what is of concern to the Lord today.

This is the source of all genuine prayers. When the Lord’s mind becomes ours, we know what He wants, and we begin to care for His desires. Once we care for the Lord’s desires, we will intercede for them. Knowing God’s desire forces us to bear the work of intercession before Him.

Let us consider Abraham’s intercession for Lot. Abraham learned to live before God. He was one who knew God’s desire. When God visited Abraham, He said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?” (Gen. 18:17). Since God and Abraham were intimate friends, God opened His heart to him, and He told Abraham that He had come down to look at the condition of Sodom and to judge it. When Abraham heard this, he knew that God’s heart was focused on Lot, who was in Sodom. Although God did not mention Lot by name, the fact that He spoke of the place where Lot was gave Abraham a hint of God’s heart. Abraham knew that God cared for Lot, who was living in the city of Sodom.

As soon as Abraham understood God’s heart, he knew that God needed someone to be one with Him to pray for Lot. Abraham knew that if there was no one on earth to communicate with the God in heaven, God would have no way to communicate His heavenly will to earth. God needed a man on earth who was in touch with Him and in harmony with Him. There was a need for harmony between heaven and earth. In order for God to work on earth, He had to find someone who would echo His heart, who would be concerned for what was on His heart. Abraham was God’s friend; he not only sympathized with God but also was one with Him. Hence, God could confide in Abraham what He was about to do on earth.

As soon as Abraham knew God’s heart, he tarried before God and began his work of intercession. When we read Genesis 18:22-33, we see that every word of Abraham touched God. Abraham reminded God that He is the Judge of all the earth, who needed to act justly, and asked if He could destroy the righteous with the wicked. Abraham did not mention Lot by name, but Lot was one of the righteous ones. Strictly speaking, his prayer was not for Sodom but for Lot who lived in Sodom, in the same way that God’s heart was not on Sodom but on saving Lot who dwelled in Sodom.

When we enjoy God in prayer, we also enter into intercession. When we drop our thoughts and care for God’s inward parts, it is easy for us to know His heart. Once we know His heart, we must call on Him and intercede. In Ephesians 6:18-19 Paul says that we should petition concerning all the saints and, in particular, to petition for him the apostle. Few people can petition concerning all the saints. A person who can petition for God’s church and His servants is one who drops his concepts and ideas, turns to his spirit, and cares for God’s heart. Such a person knows God’s will and can pray for God’s desire. God cares for His church, His saints, and His servants. It is easy for believers who live in their spirit, who have dropped their concepts, and who have God’s mind to touch God’s heart concerning the church, to understand His care for His children and His expectation of His servants. Such persons can intercede and will intercede because God’s Spirit is moving in their spirit and stirring them up to pray for God’s concerns. God is concerned about the church, and they pray for the church. God is concerned about the saints, and they pray for the saints. God cares for His servants, and they pray for God’s servants.

Those who intercede for the church, the saints, and God’s workers can do so because they live in their spirit and touch God. It is difficult for a person who does not live in his spirit and who only hears reports and exhortations to approach God or intercede for others. If he tries to intercede, it will be apart from God. He will become drier and emptier as he prays, and he will not have the assurance that his prayers will be answered. Such intercession is a labor apart from God. It can be compared to Peter’s labor when he went fishing in John 21. His nets were empty even though he labored all night. His labor was in vain.

This is not proper intercession. If we learn to enter into God by dropping our concepts, turning to our spirit, and caring for His desire, we will touch His heart and know His interests. Spontaneously, we will be motivated by God to intercede. Such intercession is solid and touches God. Moreover, we are inwardly fed and established in our faith, and we have the assurance that God has heard our prayer. We have the faith that God will bless the church, the saints, and the workers according to our prayers. These prayers are initiated by God. This is what the Lord meant when He said that if we abide in Him and His word abides in us, whatever we ask will be done for us. Such asking does not originate from us. When we enter the Lord’s presence, live in Him, abide in Him, and touch His heart, we have His desire. Then our asking is fulfilled because it comes out of His desire.

A brother once said that he had been praying for a long time according to the Lord’s promise in John 15:7 of giving us whatever we ask. However, his prayer to graduate from the university, marry a college graduate, and have a wonderful family had not been answered. He could not understand what was wrong and wondered whether the Lord’s word had failed. I asked him to read the verse again. He read, “If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.” I responded, “We cannot delete the first two clauses from the sentence. First we abide in Him and His words abide in us. Then we ask, and it is done for us. You would not have such desires if you learned to abide in Him, and His words were in you. Rather, you would know God’s heart. His will would be your will, and His desire would be your desire. Then whatever you asked would be done for you.”

Many of our prayers are not the issue of abiding in Him. We pray according to our concepts and desires. These prayers do not touch God and are not answered. In order for our prayers to touch God and receive answers, they cannot be initiated by us. We must first be mingled with God and allow Him to initiate and motivate our prayers. Only these kinds of prayers are worthwhile and receive answers.

In the Old Testament God wanted to bless the Israelites and to perform wonderful works among them. Yet He could not find one person to pray for this. Then He spoke using an illustration of the need for someone to stand in the breach of the wall. However, He could not find anyone (Ezek. 22:30). To stand in the breach is to be one who touches God’s heart, lives in God, cares for God’s desire, and prays accordingly.

In this verse God could not find anyone on the earth who would stand on the earth for this. There was no one who would be joined to Him and echo His heart by praying for what concerned Him. Consequently, He had no choice but to give up on the nation of Israel. He could not find anyone who would echo His heart, anyone who would learn to live in Him, to care for His desire, or to respond to His desire and call on Him to do something on earth. As such, He could only sigh in resignation in heaven.

There were probably many people praying at that time, but their prayers did not touch God. They lived outside of God and did not touch His heart. In the same way many believers pray outside of God, and their prayers do not count in the eyes of God. They have not learned to turn to their spirit or to enter into God. They have not learned to drop their concepts and care for God’s desire. They have not touched God’s heart or allowed God to initiate their prayers. As a result, their prayers, whether they are for themselves, for others, for the church, or for the work, are all outside of God. Since their prayers are initiated by themselves, God does not pray in their prayers, He is not mingled with them, and He does not respond to their prayers. These prayers do not touch God or reach God, and they do not receive many answers or see much result.

If we want to learn the work of intercession, we must learn to turn to our spirit, enter into God, drop our concepts, and care for God’s heart. When we do this, spontaneously He will show us His desire, and He will motivate us to pray. The more we pray this way, the more we will touch God’s heart. We will touch God and be filled, and something solid will remain in us. After we pray this way, we will have the faith and the deep assurance that our prayers have been answered. Intercession is fully a matter of being in the spirit.

We will now consider beholding God, waiting on God, and musing on God. Some brothers and sisters consider these to be difficult exercises. The key is being in our spirit. As long as we are in our spirit, these are easy. If we are not in the spirit, they are difficult.

THE PRINCIPLE OF ENJOYING GOD THROUGH PRAYER BEING TO FOLLOW THE SENSE OF THE SPIRIT

Regrettably, many brothers and sisters are ignorant of these inward experiences. Although they long for prayer that enjoys God and occasionally have enjoyable experiences, they do not know the key to prayer and are ignorant of the principle that governs prayer. Therefore, they are never sure when they touch God. Sometimes they touch God accidentally, but they do not realize that they have enjoyed God. Moreover, they cannot describe such an experience as enjoying and breathing in God. They only know that they prayed for twenty minutes in the morning, and that they had the savor of heaven while they prayed. The next morning they try to enjoy God by praying in the same way, but it may not work. They try to repeat the experiences of the previous day, but it does not work. They muster their will, exercise their mind, act according to their memory, and try to repeat their prayer from the previous day. The more they try, the drier they become. After praying for a while, they are depressed and empty within, and they do not understand what has happened. This experience is the issue of not praying according to the sense in their spirit. The prayer they offered the previous morning was according to the sense of their spirit, even though they might not have known what they were doing. However, when they tried to consciously repeat the experience, they fall into a formality and are no longer in their spirit.

After this, the brothers and sisters lack assurance in their prayers. They no longer know how to pray to obtain peace in their spirit. Whenever they try to repeat an experience, it is usually a failure. Such failures usually lead to discouragement and a lack of desire to pray. Eventually, their prayers become somewhat routine and unnatural. After a few weeks they may accidentally touch God again. They may sense His presence and inwardly feel satisfied. However, they are unable to repeat this the following day and are thus confused. These experiences are the issue of not touching the key to prayer. They do not know the principle that governs prayer.

There are principles that govern the matter of touching God in our prayer. This is like tuning a radio. If we want to listen to a particular broadcast, we must turn to the right frequency. Those who do not know the right frequency can only search blindly. When they stumble upon it, they listen to the broadcast. When they do not stumble upon it, they are not able to listen to the broadcast. They have no certainty. However, those who know the frequency simply turn the dial and immediately listen to the broadcast. The same is true with prayer. In order for us to touch God in our prayer, we must follow the principle that governs prayer. Those who do not know the principle may only experience it accidentally, but those who know the key to prayer find it very easy to touch God in their prayers.

Some often say that they pray in the Lord’s presence. This, however, is the speaking of a novice. Our prayer is not a matter of the Lord being present with us but a matter of inwardly touching the Lord. For example, radio waves are always in the air. As long as we adjust a radio to the correct frequency, the radio waves will be received. Similarly, the Holy Spirit is present in every place at every time. He is with us at all times and in all places. Regrettably, the “radio” in our spirit is not always adjusted to the right frequency. In one instant we may be in our mind and not touch anything. The next instant we may be in our spirit and immediately touch the Spirit.

We should now understand that the governing principle to touching God is to follow the sense in our spirit when we pray. If we do this, it will be easy for us to absorb God and enjoy Him in our prayer. We should pay attention to understand and exercise according to this principle.

THINGS TO CONSIDER CONCERNING 
THE SENSE OF THE SPIRIT

Those who are experienced in prayer know that there are many things to consider related to the sense of the spirit. If the sense in our spirit is for us to pray rapidly, we should pray accordingly; otherwise, we may lose the Spirit. Sometimes the sense in our spirit may be to pray slowly, requiring us to utter the words one by one; otherwise, we may lose the Lord’s presence. At other times the sense in our spirit may be to stop praying. If we do not stop, we will be cut off from the sense in our spirit. There are also times when the inner feeling does not allow us to stop, even if we have other matters to take care of. We should always follow the inner feeling when we pray, not praying according to ourselves.

There are times when the inner feeling may lead us to weep, even if we are not accustomed to crying. If we try to hold back the tears, we will lose the Spirit, but if we weep or cry, the Spirit will be released. We should follow the leading in our spirit regardless of our environment.

At other times we may not be led to cry, and if we do, we will lose the leading of the Spirit. Sisters, however, seem to be more prone to cry. Some sisters cry whenever they pray. These tears may actually frustrate the Spirit and cause them to lose the sense of the Spirit.

These are not exaggerations. One basic lesson in prayer is that we must always follow the initiation of the Spirit. If we follow Him, He will follow us. This experience is altogether in the realm of our spirit. May we all practice this kind of prayer. Whenever we pray, we must stop and turn to our spirit. Next, we must not initiate prayer from ourselves. Rather, we must allow God to deposit His feelings within us and pray according to these feelings. Whether the feeling is to pray rapidly or slowly, to cry or to laugh, we should follow the feeling absolutely. All experienced believers know that we absorb God in such prayers, and we are brought into God; God fills our being, and we are saturated with Him. This is genuine prayer to which the Lord hearkens.

Regrettably, we are not always able to follow the leading in our spirit. Our memory, will, thoughts, and opinions form the biggest inward barriers. For example, we may decide to pray for certain matters or persons regardless of the feeling in our spirit. When we set ourselves to pray, we do not care for the feeling in our spirit. We care instead about what we have decided and what we can remember. There is a problem if we are unwilling to surrender our mind, memory, and decisions to the Lord. In our prayer we must surrender ourselves to the Lord and cooperate with Him. We must let Him lead us in our prayers; we should not take the initiative. We must be active only in following the Lord, in being submissive to Him, and in not taking the initiative. Even if the greatest enterprise in the world is about to fall upon us, we should not pray for it without the leading of the inward feeling. We should only follow the feeling in our spirit.

When we enjoy God through reading the Word, we need to drop our views and concepts in order to receive the central matters in God’s Word. This principle also applies to prayer. When we pray, we need to drop our decisions and thoughts in order to pray according to the sense in our spirit. Regrettably, since most of our prayers are initiated by us, they are apart from the Spirit. If the Lord is not one with us in our prayers, we will not touch and absorb God in our prayers.

When we pray, we must learn to turn to our spirit. We must learn to set aside our feelings, opinions, ideas, memory, and decisions and pray solely according to the feeling in our spirit. Only then will God follow us in our prayer. As we follow the sense in our spirit, God will follow our prayer. We may utter a sentence, and the Lord will give us more feelings, which will lead us to utter another sentence. This sentence will lead to more feelings. This kind of prayer is breathing prayer, prayer that reaches God. The more we pray, the more we touch God’s presence and the more we absorb God Himself. The more we pray, the more we are filled with God. This is to enjoy God. The matters in our petitions are secondary. The important thing is that we have reached God, gained God, and absorbed God. This should be our experience every time we pray.

In order to have prayers that enjoy God, we must reject everything that disrupts the feeling in our spirit. In particular, we should not be occupied with many thoughts. Sometimes we should even avoid considering many Bible passages. Instead, we should use the Word to calm our thoughts. However, under normal circumstances, we should exercise to be calm without relying on the Bible. Even praying with the words of the Bible can be a frustration if it is not according to the sense in our spirit. We may lose God’s presence.

ALL PRAYERS NEEDING TO BE 
ACCORDING TO THE FEELING OF THE SPIRIT

I hope that we would all see that when we turn to our spirit, are calm, and pray according to the feeling in our spirit, God will entrust many important matters to us for supplication. All we need to do is to follow the feeling in our spirit and pray the prayers that He initiates one by one. We will fulfill a great ministry of supplication in this way. Not only do we need to touch God in the morning when we eat, drink, and enjoy Him through reading and prayer; we need to touch God, pass through God, and allow Him to pass through us in our ministry-fulfilling prayers, our supplicating prayers. In our prayers, God and we, we and God, should be mingled together. Whenever we pray, our prayers should be inward prayers that come from touching God. All normal prayers are prayers according to the sense of the spirit. Such prayers come from our enjoyment of God and are actually an enjoyment of God. The more we pray this way, the more we will absorb God and enjoy Him.

CHAPTER TWENTY

PRACTICING TO PRAY 
ACCORDING TO THE SENSE OF THE SPIRIT

Scripture Reading: Rom. 8:26

We need to say something more concerning the matter of prayer.

TRUE PRAYER BEING A MINGLING OF GOD 
AND MAN IN THE SPIRIT

True prayer involves two parties—God and man. Such prayers are the issue of the Spirit of God being mingled with man’s spirit and of man’s spirit being mingled with the Spirit of God. When a man exercises his spirit to pray, he is praying with his spirit in God’s Spirit, or we can say that God’s Spirit is praying in his spirit. In such prayers it is difficult to differentiate whether man’s spirit is praying or God’s Spirit is praying, because man’s spirit and God’s Spirit are fully joined together. The human spirit and the divine Spirit are intimately joined during prayer. As we pray, God and man are joined together in the most thorough and perfect way. However, there are many prayers in which God and man are not joined together. These are prayers in which man is not praying in his spirit but rather praying by himself with his mind. These prayers are outside of God; they are merely human prayers in which God is not mingled with man. I hope we all understand that prayer is absolutely a matter of God being mingled with man. Our prayers must be in the Spirit.

TRUE PRAYER BEING MAN’S RESPONSE 
TO GOD’S INITIATION

Since prayer is an expression of the union of God and man, no true prayer can be uttered without God’s initiation. If a prayer is not initiated by God, it is not genuine prayer. All those who truly know the meaning of prayer know that prayer is not merely a matter of God being mingled with man but a matter of God initiating something within man. Hence, when we pray, we must learn to be calm and not follow our thoughts. Instead, we should turn from our mind to our spirit and follow the sense within our spirit. In genuine prayer a person has a certain sense in his spirit even before he prays. This sense in the spirit is initiated by God’s Spirit within our spirit. When the Spirit of God mingles with our spirit, He initiates or suggests something in our spirit, which is not necessarily in the form of intelligible words. Many times it is merely a sense or a feeling in our spirit.

Therefore, when we pray, we must not only turn to our spirit, but we must also wait on God’s initiation. We should be calm and turn to our spirit. At the same time we should not be too quick to utter something. Rather, we should wait for God’s initiation and the sense in our spirit. Please remember that everyone who opens his mouth quickly speaks invariably from himself and from his own initiation. Whenever we pray, we must learn to turn to our spirit. Then we must learn to wait for God’s initiation. We should be calm and touch the sense in our spirit in order to pray according to that sense.

THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS 
FOLLOWING THE SENSE 
THAT GOD HAS INITIATED IN THE SPIRIT

In genuine prayer the initiation and the entire process must be from God’s urging. An electrical sound system is driven by electricity to transmit sounds. Not only are microphones and loud speakers driven by electricity, but the entire process, including the amplification and transmission, is driven by electricity. In the same principle, God should be the initiator of our prayer, and the entire process of our prayer should be an experience in which God prays with us and mingles Himself in our prayers.

Since the presence of God and our mingling with Him are absolutely related to the sense in our spirit, we should learn to allow our inner sense to be the initiating and motivating element within us when we pray.

It is wonderful that we are often able to comprehend the feeling in our spirit when we pray. At times a feeling may lead us to confess our failures and shortcomings or to pray for the church. Another feeling may lead us to pray for a brother in difficulty or to pray for the message meeting on the Lord’s Day. We may even have a feeling to praise Him, thank Him, or exult in Him. Sometimes we may have a feeling not to pray for anything, or even to praise or thank Him, but simply to bow down before Him and worship Him. There is no need for words or sounds. We simply prostrate before God in silence and worship Him. The more we worship, the fresher our spirit becomes, and the more we are satisfied. As we worship, we feel that we are touching God in our spirit. This is a prayer of worship that is generated by the feeling of the Holy Spirit within us.

As soon as we understand the meaning of these feelings from God, we should follow them in prayer. We should never restrict ourselves to the topic that we decided on prior to our prayer. If we restrict ourselves in this way, we will be in our mind, and we will be the initiator and motivator of our prayer. Our spirit is not the only requirement for proper and genuine prayer. Prayer must be a joint prayer in which God is mingled with our spirit. In this prayer God and man mingle together, and God is the Initiator and Motivator. Spiritual prayer is never directed by our mind, memory, or thoughts. It is directed by the sense in our spirit, and this sense comes from God’s initiation.

Hence, in genuine prayer we pray together with God; we pray by accompanying Him. We pray according to the feeling that God gives us. This enables God to pray with us in our prayer. We are praying, and He is also praying. He and we pray together. He is within us; He is praying one with us. This is indeed an amazing matter.

Whether or not such prayers are answered is secondary. The primary matter is that we pray by following the sense in our spirit; we allow God to pass through us and to mingle Himself with us. In this way we enjoy God and absorb Him. Even though we may offer supplication for the church, for a brother in dire need, or even for ourselves, our main sensation will be that we have absorbed God and have been filled with Him.

Of course, there are times when we misunderstand the feelings from God. For example, when the inward feeling urges us to pray, we may think that we should pray for our children. But as we begin to pray for our children, the inner sense wanes, and we feel that something is not right within. This is similar to when a brother likes what he is hearing, his countenance is bright, and he is happy, but if something is said that he does not like, the expression on his face will change. If there is a change in our conversation, his countenance may become bright once again. We have all experienced this. This also happens in our fellowship with the Lord. Sometimes we may sense God’s presence, as if He is smiling within us. If our prayer is against the inward sense, we feel cold and withdrawn within. When this happens, we should change the direction of our prayer. We should never think that we must finish our own prayers before responding to the sense from God. If God is not praying with us, and our prayer is not touching God, we should stop praying as soon as the sense within begins to wane, in order to check the inner sense. If the sense is leading us to pray for the church, we should immediately pray for the church. If we do so, the inner sense will become bright, and we will touch God’s presence again. This is the way to continue in prayer. If we follow the inner sense, God’s Spirit will follow our prayer, and we will receive more feelings. Our responsibility is simply to pray according to these feelings. Verbalize the feelings one by one. This is genuine prayer that breathes in God. Through such prayer we are in God, we breathe Him in, and God is in us. In such prayers we obtain God even before our prayers are answered. This is what it means to enjoy God and absorb Him through prayer.

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.