THE PRACTICAL WAY TO WALK IN THE SPIRIT
Galatians 5 tells us that we have to walk in the Spirit (vv. 16, 25), but how do we do this? Today we know the secret. It is by calling on the name of the Lord. In our family life it is rather hard to walk in the spirit. Before we talk to our children or to our spouse, we had better say, "O Lord Jesus," first. Then we will see the difference. We should not consider this as some kind of superstition. Calling on the name of the Lord is spiritual breathing. Breathing is not superstitious. In doing everything, you just breathe. If you do not breathe, you stop living.
The Bible says to pray unceasingly (1 Thes. 5:17), but how can we do this? Praying unceasingly is like breathing unceasingly. We can pray unceasingly by continually calling on the Lord. In doing everything, we need to say, "O Lord." We have to call on the name of the Lord Jesus without ceasing. To call on the name of the Lord by saying, "O Lord," will keep us in the spirit all the time. This is the secret of walking and living in the spirit.
Learn to breathe the Lord continually by calling on His name. If you do not call on the name of the Lord, whatever you have read or studied concerning spiritual things is mere knowledge in your mind. You may know that you have been crucified with Christ, but that is mere knowledge. If you call on the Lord’s name by saying, "O Lord," this brings you into the spirit, and the death of Christ will be effective in your being through the spirit. All the truths you read and know must be realized by a living spirit. When you say, "O Lord," you keep yourself in a living spirit. Then all the knowledge from the Bible will be prevailing to you. It will become your reality. Regardless of how much you know, as long as it is the mere letter, it does not help. Instead, your knowledge kills you. The letter kills (2 Cor. 3:6). You need to turn from the letter to the spirit. You need to turn from your mind to the spirit by saying, "O Lord."
When you call on the Lord, you should not do it lightly or loosely. You should sincerely mean business with Him. Then when you call, you are connected with Him to enjoy Him as the heavenly electricity. Right away you have the inward transmission of the reality of the all-inclusive Spirit. You have to contact the living Lord, not by using your mind, but by using your spirit. The best and simplest way to use your spirit is to say, "O Lord." If you open up yourself by using your spirit to call on the name of the Lord Jesus, you will get into the spirit and be in the spirit. Whenever you call on Him, you are refreshed and empowered.
Romans 8:6 says that to set our mind on the flesh is death, but to set our mind on the spirit is life and peace. The main part of the soul is the mind. The mind is between the spirit and the flesh. There are two places for us to set our mind. When we exercise our mind to think apart from the spirit, we are setting our mind on the flesh. When we call on the name of the Lord, we are setting our mind on the spirit. To say, "O Lord," is not a small thing. Whenever we say, "O Lord," right away we turn our mind to the spirit. By continually calling on His name, we set our mind on the spirit, and that is life and peace. But when we turn our mind to the flesh, right away that is death.
Praise the Lord that by His mercy He has shown us the secret. It is so marvelous, real, and effective to call on the name of the Lord in every place (1 Cor. 1:2). When we say, "O Lord," we set our mind on our spirit, and we have the inner sensation of life and peace. The New Testament tells us that we have to walk in and according to our spirit (Rom. 8:4b). The way to do this is by calling on the name of the Lord all the time. Then we are really one with the Lord. Saying "O Lord" continually keeps us in the spirit so that we can walk and live in and according to our spirit.
Ephesians 2:22 says that we are being built together into a dwelling place of God in spirit. The issue of such a living is the church life where God has a dwelling place among us. Our living in the spirit is not only the victorious Christian life but also the marvelous, wondrous church life. I am looking to the Lord that you all would take this and put it into practice. Then you will see that the Christian life and the proper church life are altogether a matter of life in and by the spirit.
(The Fulfillment of God's Purpose by the Growth of Christ in Us, Chapter 10, by Witness Lee)
