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In this chapter we will fellowship concerning pray-reading. When we pray-read, we must first exercise, use, our spirit, because the substance of the Bible as the word of God is Spirit. The Chinese classics are excellent, but no matter how we read them, we cannot feel the Spirit, because the Spirit is not in them. The Spirit is in every sentence and every word of the Bible. However, if we do not read the Bible with our spirit, we will not be able to touch the Spirit. But once we use our spirit, we can touch the Spirit in the Bible.
We also need to read the Bible with our mouth because our human spirit is released through spoken words. The words that we speak are the outlet of the spirit. If we do not speak, there will be no way for the spirit to come forth. In order to light a match, we must strike it. Once we strike it, the phosphorus on the match will catch fire. One can say that the fire in the phosphorus is waiting for us to strike it. We must strike the match in the right place in order for fire to be kindled. The fire in the phosphorus is an example of the spirit within us. This fire comes forth when we open our mouth to utter something, to speak. When we say something, our spirit will come forth. Our spirit coming forth will “ignite” the Spirit in the Bible. In this way the two spirits respond to each other; our spirit draws out the Spirit in the Bible, and the Spirit in the Bible strengthens our spirit and causes our spirit to burn. This is the way to eat the word and be satisfied, to receive light, and to be built up.
I hope that this illustration will help us to exercise diligently when we pray-read. Whether privately or in the meetings we must exercise our spirit. We must not be mechanical or depend on methods that we have observed. Rather, we must be living in spirit. Our observations should leave us only with an impression of our need to use our spirit. The Lord is the Spirit, the words in the Bible are Spirit, and we have a spirit within us. Therefore, when we read the Bible, our spirit must be living.
We are still too mechanical because of the influence of Christianity. The way that we meet is still mechanical, not living. When we come to the meeting, we can begin to sing prayerfully or pray-read even before the scheduled time of the meeting. We still are not exercised in our spirit.
Some saints are attending this training because they like to listen to messages or to the expounding of Scriptures. However, this training is not focused on such matters. The burden of this training is neither to give messages nor to promote spiritual cultivation. Our burden is to conduct a Christian training. It is not a light thing to hand oneself over to the training. We should break our old concept concerning listening to messages. This training is for us to exercise to have a living spirit and to live in our spirit. There should no longer be any forms in our meetings; we must drop all forms. Of course, this does not mean that we can do things in a disorderly way. The Bible says, “The wind blows where it wills” (John 3:8), but the wind does not always blow wildly.
We should not pray-read in an old way. For example, we should not pray-read Genesis 1:26-28 by repeating the words mechanically. Rather, we should read one word at a time in order to taste the words. There are no formal rules. Whether we are loud or quiet, fast or slow, our spirit must come forth as soon as we begin reading.
Someone once told me that every substance has atomic energy, but a correct method is needed in order to access this energy. The “energy” of the Bible is the Spirit. We must draw out the Spirit in our reading. For this reason, we need to practice reading the Bible. We should not always be scholarly, mechanical, or dead. We should not expect to always listen to messages. Instead, we should diligently exercise to read the Bible until we touch the Spirit in our reading.
This Christian training is not boot camp for new soldiers, nor is it orientation for new students. Physical exercise trains a person’s body and helps a person to gain physical skills. We may think that a Christian training is to train the spirit. That is right. However, if a Christian has only a spirit, he is more like an angel than a person, because an angel has only a spirit. Christians have a soul in addition to their spirit. Does this mean that we should also exercise our soul? The Bible does not speak of exercising our soul but of denying it because of its contamination due to the fall. The soul needs to be put on the cross, to be put to death.
While the purpose of this training is to train our spirit, our heart and our mind also need to be trained. Our heart needs to be trained, because if our heart is not right, our person will not be proper. Therefore, the heart needs to match our spirit. Our mind is also very important. Our mind is a part of our soul. Although the Bible says that we should deny and forsake the soul (Matt. 16:25; Luke 9:23-24; John 12:25), it does not say that we should forsake the function of the mind. Instead, the Bible says that we should be “transformed by the renewing of the mind” (Rom. 12:2). Hence, in order to be trained to be proper Christians, our spirit, our heart, and our mind need to trained.
Have we paid attention to our heart? Does our heart love the Lord? Love is entirely a matter of the heart. What is the direction of our heart? It is possible to shout Hallelujah while our heart is occupied with something else. This means that our heart, as well as our love, is not focused in the right direction. The Chinese phrase translated “absent-hearted” adequately describes this situation. Maybe you came from Tainan to attend this training, but your heart is still in Tainan. This means that you should deal with your heart. This same principle applies to the Lord. If our heart is on something other than the Lord, there is a problem with our heart, and we should deal with it. We should also ask whether our heart is upright or crooked. A crooked heart is also a heart with a problem, and it is in need of the Lord’s dealing.
All the saints in Taiwan are exercising to release the spirit. However, after our spirit is released, we must not forget about our heart. We should deal with the problems related to our heart. We should take care of not only releasing the spirit but also of having a proper heart. We should train our spirit as well as our heart. In order for us to be proper Christians, we need a spirit that is strong, living, fresh, rich, and bright; we also need a heart that is upright, single, and pure. Matthew 5:8 says, “Blessed are the pure in heart.” To be pure in heart is to want only the Lord and nothing else. It is also to have no impure motives but to be as clear as crystal. This is the proper condition of the heart.
God created our mind. The mind is a part of the heart. Our mind is the organ with which we think, understand, and remember. Some brothers and sisters have a sound spirit and a good heart, but the condition of their mind is not keen. In their view Romans 8 is the same as Matthew 8. In their view the two chapters are about the same. Consider Romans 11:36, which says, “Out from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.” Some believers are confused by the three occurrences of Him in this verse. They cannot differentiate between from Him, through Him, and to Him. We are all from Him, because all things are created by Him. Hence, “from Him” is the beginning, “through Him” is the process, and “to Him” is the result. “From Him” was in the past, “through Him” is in the present, and “to Him” refers to the future. In order to comprehend these distinctions, our mind must be sober to understand, comprehend, and remember.
When we read the Bible, we must use our spirit, our heart, and our mind. Some believers do not exercise their mind when they read the Bible. As a result, they forget what they read. We must exercise our heart to treasure the Bible and to love what we read, and we must also exercise our mind. For example, after reading Romans 11:36, we can say, “Lord, I love You! How wonderful You are. All things are out from You, through You, and to You.” If our spirit is strong, our mind is sober, and our heart is exercised, this verse will become ours.
Perhaps some may respond by saying that I have not emphasized our need to pray-read for the sake of mere understanding. This is true. However, this does not mean that we should not use our mind. John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word.” Do you understand this verse? I do not fully understand it, but this sentence is very clear to me. Even when I sleep at night, I can say, “In the beginning was the Word.” Although I do not fully understand it, I am clear. We have a problem if we are still confused after pray-reading John 1:1 ten times. It is wrong to say that we should not use our mind. Pray-reading the Word without using our mind can be compared to not eating breakfast. Therefore, our mind must be sober, and we must use our mind. When we pray-read with an exercised mind, we are not seeking understanding but rather nourishment; nevertheless, something enables us to understand. Such an understanding comes from the spirit and becomes a supply to us.
Therefore, we need to train these three organs: the spirit, the heart, and the mind. Ephesians 1:7-10 says, “His grace, which He caused to abound to us in all wisdom and prudence, making known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Himself, unto the economy of the fullness of the times, to head up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, in Him.” We must exercise our mind in order to read these verses. Verses 8 through 10 speak of the issue of the grace that God has caused to abound to us, and according to the context of verses 6 and 7, the riches of His grace, including the forgiveness of offenses, produces glory. God has caused this grace to abound to us in all wisdom and prudence.
Wisdom is deep within, and prudence is the application of wisdom. Wisdom is related to planning and purposing, and prudence is related to the execution of the plan. Instead of saying, “Which He caused to abound to us,” the Chinese Union Version says, “Which He rewarded us bountifully.” The word reward implies that we have some merits. However, God’s grace is a free gift, not a reward. According to the Greek this is more than a gift. It means that in His wisdom and prudence God caused grace to abound to us. His causing grace to abound to us is according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Himself. His purpose involves His plan. God has a good pleasure, which He decided, planned, arranged, and determined in Himself in eternity, that we would know the mystery of His will. He purposed and planned this good pleasure in Himself unto the economy of the fullness of the times for the heading up of all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, in Him.
If we can remember and speak these points in a living way, we will have a spiritual mind. Hence, it is not enough to have a strong spirit; our mind must match our spirit. Then a sense of love will spontaneously rise in our heart, and Ephesians 1:8-10 will become a prayer to the Lord: “Lord, cause this grace to abound to us in all wisdom and prudence. This grace is also according to Your good pleasure, which You purposed in eternity so that we may know the mystery of Your will. You purposed this in Yourself unto the economy of the fullness of the times, to head up all things, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, including us, in Christ. O Lord, we thank and praise You.” When we speak to the Lord in this way, we will sense that the Lord is sweet and precious. By using our spirit and our mind to pray-read these three verses, we will be satisfied and full of joy.
Our need to use a sober mind can also be illustrated in relation to other verses. For example, Revelation 4:11 says, “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power, for You have created all things, and because of Your will they were, and were created.” It is possible to pray-read this verse with a strong spirit and yet be confused in our mind. When we read the phrase You have created all things, some might say that the meeting hall was created by God and the benches were also created by God. Such an understanding shows that we must exercise to have a sober mind.
Genesis 1:26-27 says, “God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of heaven and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. And God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” These two verses are long, but it is easy to remember the main points. First, God created man in His image and according to His likeness. Second, God wanted man to have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven, the cattle on the earth, and every creeping thing upon the earth. In other words, God wanted man to have dominion over the sea, the heaven, and the earth. We must use our mind to remember these two points.
Lastly, Romans 8:29-30 says, “Those whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers; and those whom He predestinated, these He also called; and those whom He called, these He also justified; and those whom He justified, these He also glorified.” These verses speak of foreknowing, predestinating, calling, being justified, and being glorified. We need to remember these points and pray-read them. When we pray-read these verses with a strong spirit, a sober mind, and a pure heart, we will receive the riches in the Word.
