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Scripture Reading: Eph. 6:18; Jude 20; Zech. 12:10; 1 Tim. 2:8
In this chapter we will fellowship concerning how the serving ones can blend in spirit with one another and how they can lead the brothers and sisters to fellowship and blend in spirit.
We must realize that prayer is the means by which we exercise our spirit. This can be likened to walking in order to exercise our legs or to looking at objects in order to exercise our eyes. If a person’s eyes are covered and not used for a long time, his eyes will eventually lose their function. Every organ in our body needs some form of basic exercise in order to function. The more exercise that an organ receives, the more skillful it will be in its function. If it is not exercised, it will lose its function. The function of our spirit is not an exception to this principle. Our spirit needs to be exercised through prayer. The human spirit was created so that man could contact God; this contact mainly involves prayer. Hence, if we want to exercise our spirit, we must pray. If we desire to release our spirit so that our spirit can be uplifted and come forth to fellowship and blend with others’ spirits, we must not neglect the basic exercise of prayer.
If we do not pray for several days or a week, our prayers will become very feeble and formal because our spirit will not be strong, fresh, uplifted, or keen. If we want to pay attention to fellowshipping in spirit, releasing the spirit, and blending in the spirit, we must learn the basic lesson of praying consistently. If we do not have an adequate practice of prayer, we should not expect that our spirit would be released or able to blend and fellowship with the spirits of the saints.
During the ten days prior to Pentecost the apostles prayed continually every day. As they prayed, their spirits became strong and living, and their spirits were released and manifested. Eventually, their spirits were blended and mingled together. This situation can be likened to pouring water from several bottles into one vessel. When the water is poured out, spontaneously the water is mingled and blended together. The Bible says that we have a treasure in our earthen vessel. This treasure is God as the Spirit (2 Cor. 4:7; John 4:24). Since we have the living water of the Holy Spirit in us (7:38-39), we need to focus on letting this living water flow out from within us. The best and most proper way to let the water flow is to pray.
When we speak of prayer, our attention should be focused on the release of our spirit as much as on the matters that are the subject of our prayer. The prayers of a Christian typically involve two functions. Prayer often includes petitioning; that is, prayer involves asking God for something. For example, when we encounter a certain problem, we ask God to remember us in the midst of this problem. Similarly, if we have a certain need, we petition God to meet this need, whether the need relates to our work or our finances. Even prayers for the church, the gospel, the Lord’s work, the co-workers, the elders, or the serving ones involve the matter of petitioning. There is, however, a more fundamental aspect of prayer—the exercise of the spirit. Prayers of petition can be likened to walking to a destination by exercising our legs. On the one hand, we will reach our destination by exercising our legs, but on the other hand, our exercise will train our legs to become stronger and more agile. Prayer must involve not only petitioning but also exercising and releasing our spirit.
Regrettably, many believers do not exercise their spirit when they pray, and thus, their spirit lacks the proper exercise that is needed in order for it to be released. Their prayers mainly reflect their thoughts and considerations. As such, their prayers are related mainly to the soul. They pray about matters that other people have entrusted them with, about matters that they remember, or about items listed in a prayer book. We cannot say that these kinds of prayer are not acceptable to God, because our God is too great. Sometimes He even listens to and takes care of the Gentiles. He is a God who cares for people. However, prayer related to our thoughts and memories do not result in our spirit being exercised. In other words, normal prayer involves the exercise of our spirit, whereas the prayer that involves only our mind does not touch our human spirit. This can be likened to a person who moves by pulling himself forward with his arms rather than walking with his legs. Although he may reach his destination in this way, his legs will not be properly exercised, and if he continues to use only his arms, his legs will gradually lose their ability to walk. The prayer of many saints mirrors this example. We cannot say that the Lord does not hear their prayer, because the Lord does, but their spirit is not exercised in their prayer. This kind of prayer only takes care of the function of petitioning, and even though some of their petitions are answered, their spirit has not been exercised.
The main result of prayer should be the exercise of the spirit; praying for and obtaining things should be supplementary. Every time we pray, our spirit should be exercised. Hence, whenever we go before God, we should not rely on the thoughts in our mind or on matters that have been entrusted to us. We should rely on our spirit. We must turn to the depths of our being to touch the feeling in our spirit. Then our utterances will be according to this deep feeling. If we have a sense related to some sins, we should confess our sins; if we have a sense of joy, we should praise; and if we have a sense of sorrow, we should be willing to be sorrowful. We should always touch the feeling in the deepest part of our being and pray according to this feeling.
This does not mean that we cannot pray for our affairs or for the requests that we have received from others. However, these items should not be the initial focus of our prayers. Instead, we should touch God in our spirit. After we utter some words according to the feeling in our spirit, our spirit will be uplifted, and we will enter into the Spirit of God and be able to bring these items to God in a spirit of fellowship. We can say, “Lord, I need Your leading in regard to praying for my affairs and for the requests that I have received.” After coming to the Lord in such a spirit of fellowship, we will have a further sense within as to the content of our prayer. If there is an inner sense to pray for these things, we should pray for them, but if there is no feeling within, there is no need to pray for them. In short, we must pray according to the feeling in our spirit. If we pray in this way for five minutes, our spirit will be exercised for five minutes. If we pray for ten minutes, our spirit will be exercised for ten minutes. If we pray in this way every day for a week, our spirit will be fresh, uplifted, skilled, living, and released. Hence, in order for our spirit to be released and to blend with the spirits of the other saints, we must practice to pray in the spirit.
Every genuine spiritual transaction with God comes out of prayer involving the exercise of the spirit. When we exercise our spirit to pray, God is able to shine upon us, examine us, deal with us, rebuke us, break us, and come to us with a particular grace. Although it is possible to receive answers to prayers related to our affairs, this does not mean that we have received the shining and dealing that we need in order to grow. If we do not learn to touch God with our spirit in prayer, we will have little experience of touching God in a genuine way. Consequently, God will only be able to supply us with outward things, according to His mercy, but He will not be able to work on our person inwardly so that we can grow.
As a person receives more of God’s grace and learns to fellowship with God through prayer in spirit, he will touch God more in spirit and will also let God touch him as he prays. He will be enlightened by God’s light, and he will experience the condition of fellowship described in 1 John 1:7. As he fellowships with God according to the life of God within him, God, as light, will enlighten him about his condition. This enlightening will do a work of sanctifying, dealing, and stripping, and God will be able to make demands and lead him in certain ways. This kind of prayer is precious; it is much more valuable than just asking for things. This kind of prayer will cause us to touch God, taste God, and fully receive God’s element, and this kind of prayer will cause our spirit to be strong, living, fresh, and released.
We should not allow circumstances related to time or place affect our prayer. As we learn to exercise our spirit and to pray in spirit, circumstances related to time or place should not hinder us from releasing our spirit in prayer. In the past we have allowed circumstances of time and place to influence our concepts and our willingness to pray. Although many brothers and sisters realize the need to fellowship with God by praying in spirit, they do not see that they allow their fellowship and prayer to be affected by considerations related to time or place. Our exercise should not change simply because we are by ourselves or because we are with other brothers and sisters. Our exercise in the prayer meeting should be the same as our exercise in our morning time with the Lord. If we allow circumstances of time and place to affect our prayers, we will encounter many situations in which our spirit is closed.
For example, when we attend a message meeting, we often have a concept that only the brother who is giving the message and the brothers who are leading the Scripture reading and singing need to pray, because we are there only to listen to a message. Thus, from the very beginning our spirit is closed and our mind does not consider the matter of prayer. Sometimes we even behave in this way in the prayer meeting. Some brothers and sisters come to the prayer meeting determined not to pray. One brother may feel ashamed to pray because he did something in the flesh. Another brother may feel he should not pray because he is a new believer, who has little experience of praying and who is not familiar with the Bible. A sister may feel exhausted from her busy day and be willing to let others pray, while she only says Amen. Another sister may feel that it is not her place to pray. When many brothers and sisters do not open their mouths, the entire meeting is heavy and dead.
We must turn this around. From this time forward, we must learn to pray at every time in spirit (Eph. 6:18), regardless of the situation. As long as there is an opportunity, we should pray; we should seize every opportunity to pray. Whenever we arrive at a meeting, we should begin to pray. We should begin to pray no matter how many people are present and whether or not it is time to begin the meeting. It is not necessary to begin with singing. We can pray until there is a sense to call a hymn. If it is a familiar hymn, we do not even have to call the number; we can simply begin to sing, and others will spontaneously follow. In this way the meeting will be very living.
Presently, our meetings are very rigid. We wait until it is the meeting time before we begin. We sing a hymn first, but the singing often is without much life or dead. Then a responsible brother prays in a perfunctory manner. When no one uses his spirit, the meeting falls entirely into formality and ritual. Frankly, this dead formality in a meeting is tiresome. We must drastically change the way we meet. We should not focus on changing outward things; rather, we should focus on strengthening the exercise of the spirit in the meeting. We must exercise to the extent that our spirit can come forth at any time and at any place. When we go to a meeting, whether it is a message meeting, a bread-breaking meeting, or a prayer meeting, we should be able to use our spirit to pray.
A brother recently said to me, “We have been blending in spirit for several weeks now. Is this enough?” I smiled and said, “We need to blend in spirit until the Lord comes back.” We must blend continually, until the brothers and sisters can release their spirits to pray regardless of time and place. We must be able to use our spirit to contact God and worship Him as soon as we arrive at a meeting. Furthermore, our worship should involve worshipping in one spirit with all the saints. All the saints should be released in spirit. We should blend in spirit with others, and we should enliven the spirit of others. If we practice these matters, the whole church will advance.
We have also been influenced by the erroneous concept that we need to wait for inspiration before praying. Hence, some who come to the meeting are waiting for inspiration from the beginning until the end of the meeting. If someone asks a saint why he did not pray, he will say, “I was not inspired to pray.” This word may sound very spiritual, but it is not practical. If a soccer player does not kick the ball when he is on the field, claiming a lack of inspiration, his explanation will not be taken seriously. What is the purpose of a player being on the field if not to kick the ball? If he is on the field, he should kick the ball. When the ball comes to him, “inspiration” should not even be a consideration. Similarly, if the ball does not come to him, he should actively seek an opportunity to kick the ball. When we come to a meeting, we should be focused on worshipping God in spirit. Hence, when we come to a meeting, we should use our spirit and actively look for opportunities to pray. We should not come to a meeting and keep our mouth closed because we have a lack of “inspiration.” Just as a soccer player should kick the ball when he is on the field, we should exercise our spirit in the meeting.
Since the purpose of opening our mouth and praying in the meeting is to release our spirit, we should not be limited to the use of stereotypical phrases. Over the years we have unconsciously generated many stereotypical phrases in our prayers. As soon as we open our mouth, these phrases come forth. These phrases may sound nice, but they restrict the spirit. Hence, it is not easy for people to utter the feeling within them. Also, when new believers hear these prayers, they feel that they cannot match them. Thus, they become too timid to open their mouth. If we want to learn to pray and release our spirit, we must discard these phrases and simply follow the sense in our spirit when we utter our prayers.
We should not limit our prayer to a specific topic. Since the emphasis of prayer is on the exercise of the spirit, the topic is not the most important item. We can pray when there is a specific topic, and we can also pray when there is not a specific topic. Actually, there are many matters that can be the focus of our prayer. For example, the building of the church, the gathering of students during winter break, the release of the spirit, the blending of the spirit, and the fellowship in the spirit are all worthwhile matters for our prayer. Hence, it does not matter whether we have a particular topic but whether our spirit is released. If we are skilled in our exercise, we can always release our spirit and blend in spirit, no matter what the topic is. Often we feel that there is no topic, burden, or leading in regard to our prayer simply because we have not exercised our spirit. As we exercise our spirit, we will become more skillful in sensing a topic of prayer, and there will be opportunities for prayer in every meeting. As long as our spirit is living and we are diligent, we should not be concerned about a topic for prayer.
A lazy person sees little need to do anything, and even if he sees a need, his laziness keeps him from acting on the need. A diligent person, however, is altogether different. Wherever he goes, he will have a sense that many things need to be done. Similarly, if our spirit is living and we are diligent, we will feel that there are many things that need to be covered in our prayer. For example, when we go to a message meeting, we will feel the need to pray for the Lord’s servant so that the Lord may release His word to the saints. This is a very good topic for prayer. Being diligent, we will look for a few saints with whom to pray. At the end of such prayer, our spirits will be released and blended as one. This kind of blending is so spontaneous. This can be practiced not only in a meeting but even when we are riding on a bus. If our spirit is living and diligent, those who ride with us on the bus will become a topic for our prayer. When we see those who are not saved, we will pray for their souls, looking to the Lord to save them. Thus, even riding the bus is an opportunity to exercise our spirit. As long as we are willing to practice and exercise our spirit, there will be an unending list of items for prayer. We should not be limited by prescribed topics. If we limit ourselves to a certain topic, our spirit will not be released.
When we pray, we must have the faith that our released spirit will touch and open up the spirits of others. Each time we open our mouth to pray, we should believe not only that our prayer will be heard by God but also that it will touch the spirits of the saints. Every person who exercises his spirit in prayer must have such faith. This again can be compared to playing soccer. As long as we are willing to put the ball in motion, others will follow. As soon as we open our mouth to pray, others will follow. Once our spirit is opened and released, the spirits of the saints will be stirred up.
I would ask the brothers and sisters to exercise diligently related to the points outlined above. We should all exercise to the extent that we know how to pray in spirit so that we can pray at any time and in any place with any person. We should exercise to the extent that we are not bound by stereotypical phrases or limited by prescribed topics. As soon as we open our mouth, our spirit will come forth and touch the spirit of others. We must learn this lesson. This is especially true for the responsible ones who need to take the lead to exercise. This is a basic exercise. We must make an effort to exercise.
When we practice, we must blend from the “center to the circumference.” We should not call all the saints together to practice blending in the spirit, because it will not work. We must begin with a few saints who have been blended and who are skilled in the release of the spirit, and then we can include some who have less experience in this matter. Gradually, everyone will be blended. Hence, the responsible brothers and sisters must first be blended together. After they are blended, they can include responsible ones from the small groups. After these are blended, they can return to the small groups and blend with the other brothers and sisters. Blending should begin with those who have a heart to blend and then gradually include others. Eventually, even those who have not been meeting for a long time will be included in this blending. In this way the whole church will be blended.
When we come together to blend in spirit, we should try our best to avoid unnecessary talk. Everyone should come for the purpose of praying. Whoever arrives first should begin to pray, and those who arrive later can join in the prayer. In short, as soon as a person comes, he should pray. There is no need for talk, because talking often kills the Spirit. If there is still time after we have prayed, perhaps there can be some fellowship in the ministry of the word.
Being open means to let our spirit come forth; it does not mean to speak frankly with others and to point out their wrongdoings. In these days we often speak of being open. However, some saints think that this means to speak forthrightly and to be willing to point out wrongdoings. This kind of “openness” only opens up a tomb and spreads death. The more that one speaks in this way, the more he is filled with death. We should never practice this. The openness that we speak of involves the release of the spirit. We should not close our spirit; rather, we should try our best to let our spirit come forth. When we are meeting together, our spirit should be open; when everyone’s spirit is open, the saints will be blended spontaneously.
This is wonderful. When we pray with an open spirit, there is no need to point out the wrongdoings of others because everyone will see their own wrongdoings in God’s light and receive correction from one another in spirit. When we begin to pray, we may have different opinions concerning a matter, but as we pray and our spirits are released, we will become of one mind. Actually, it is not that our opinions will automatically become the same but that we will become one in spirit. When our spirits are in one flow and fully blended, spontaneously we will be one, and we will not be governed by different opinions. If we do not pray in this way and instead spend time talking about this and that, we will end up insisting on our respective views. Thus, our spirits will be further and further apart, and problems will definitely rise up.
We must exercise to pray with an open spirit. Saints who serve together should regularly pray and fellowship with an open spirit. Eventually, differences in opinion will be harmonized, problems will be eliminated, weaknesses and shortcomings will be exposed, and there will be a mutual burden and blessing. I hope that from this time forward, we will exercise in this matter in every meeting, releasing our spirit until we are blended. We should pursue this kind of exercise ourselves and lead others into this exercise as well.
