SHORT AND VERY EASY METHOD OF PRAYER

SHORT AND VERY EASY METHOD OF PRAYER; WHICH ALL CAN PRACTICE WITH THE GREATEST FACILITY, AND ARRIVE IN A SHORT TIME, BY ITS MEANS, AT A HIGH DEGREE OF PERFECTION

By Jeanne Guyon (1647 - 1717)

Direct excerpts from this above text have been curated here by Stephanie Lyra Lin

I would like to address you as though you were a beginner in Christ, one seeking to know Him. In so doing, let me suggest two ways for you to come to the Lord. I will call the first way “praying the Scripture;” the second way I will call “beholding the Lord” or “waiting in His presence.”

“Praying the Scripture” is a unique way of dealing with the Scripture; it involves both reading and prayer.

Here is how you should begin.

Turn to the Scripture; choose some passage that is simple and fairly practical. Next, come to the Lord. Come quietly and humbly. There, before Him, read a small portion of the passage of Scripture you have opened to.

Be careful as you read. Take in fully, gently and carefully what you are reading. Taste it and digest it as you read.

[I]n coming to the Lord by means of “praying the Scripture,” you do not read quickly; you read very slowly. You do not move from one passage to another, not until you have sensed the very heart of what you have read.You may then want to take that portion of Scripture that has touched you and turn it into prayer.

After you have sensed something of the passage and after you know that the essence of that portion has been extracted and all the deeper sense of it is gone, then, very slowly, gently, and in a calm manner begin to read the next portion of the passage. You will be surprised to find that when your time with the Lord has ended, you will have read very littlle, probably nomore than half a page.

“Praying the Scripture” is not judged by how much you read but the way in which you read.

If you read it quickly, it will benefit you little. You will be like a bee that merely skims the surface of a flower. Instead, in this new way of reading with prayer, you must become as the bee who penetrates into the depths of the flower. You plunge deeply within to remove its deepest nectar.

Of course, there is a kind of reading the Scripture for scholarship and for study – but not here. That studious kind of reading will not help you when it comes to matters that are divine! To receive any deep, inward profit from the Scripture, you must read as I have described. Plunge into the very depths of the words you have read until revelation, like a sweet aroma, breaks out upon you.

The second kind of prayer, which I described as “beholding the Lord” or “waiting on the Lord,” also makes use of the Scripture but it is not actually a time of reading.

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In “beholding the Lord,” you come to the Lord in a totally different way. Perhaps at this point I need to share with you the greatest difficulty you will have in waiting upon the Lord. It has to do with your mind. The mind has a very strong tendency to stray away from the Lord.

Therefore, as you come before your Lord to sit in His presence, beholding Him, make use of the Scripture to quiet your mind.

The way to do this is really quite simple.

First, read a passage of Scripture. Once you sense the Lord’s presence, the content of what you have read is no longer important. The Scripture has served its purpose; it has quieted your mind; it has brought you to Him.

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(You should always remember that you are not doing this to gain some understanding of what you have read; rather, you are reading in order to turn your mind from outward things to the deep parts of your being. You are not there to learn or to read, but you are there to experience the presence of your Lord!)

While you are before the Lord, hold your heart in His presence. How? This you also do by faith. Yes, by faith you can hold your heart in the Lord’s presence. Now, waiting before Him, turn all your attention toward your spirit. Do not allow your mind to wander. If your mind begins to wander, just turn your attlention back again to the inward parts of your being.

You will be free from wandering – free from any outward distractions – and you will be brought near to God. (The Lord is found only within your spirit, in the recesses of your being, in the Holy of Holies; this is where He dwells. The Lord once promised to come and make His home within you. (John 14: 23) He promised to meet those who worship Him and who do His will. The Lord will meet you in your spirit. It was St. Augustine who once said that he had lost much time in the beginning of his Christian experience by trying to find the Lord outwardly rather than by turning inwardly.)

Once your heart has been turned inwardly to the Lord, you will have an impression of His presence. You will be able to notice His presence more acutely because your outer senses have now become very calm and quiet. Your attention is no longer on outward things or on the surface thoughts of your mind. Instead, sweetly and silently, your mind becomes occupied with what you have read and by that touch of His presence.

Oh, it is not that you will think about what you have read, but you will feed upon what you have read. Out of a love for the Lord you exert your will to hold your mind quiet before Him.

When you have come to this state, you must allow your mind to rest.

How shall I describe what to do next?

In this very peaceful state, swallow what you have tasted. At first this may seem difficult, but perhaps I can show you just how simple it is. Have you not, at times, enjoyed the flavor of a very tasty food? But unless you were willing to swallow the food, you received no nourishment. It is the same with your soul. In this quiet, peaceful, and simple state, simply take in what is there as nourishment.

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So, dear Christian, as you come to your Lord to pray, do not come for spiritual enjoyment.

Do not even come to experience your Lord.

Then what? Come just to please Him.

Once you are there, if He chooses to pour out some great blessing, receive it. But if, instead, your mind wanders, receive that. Or if you have a difficult time in prayer, receive that.

Joyfully accept whatever He desires to give. Believe that whatever happens is what He wants to give you!

Let me repeat that, for it is very important! It is especially important to you for any future growth in experiencing Christ. Believe by faith that whatever happens is His desire for you at that time.

When you have come to the Lord this way, you will find that your spirit is at peace no matter what your condition. When you have learned to come to the Lord with this attitude, you will not be upset if the Lord withdraws Himself from you. The times of spiritual dryness will be the same to you as the times of spiritual abundance. You will treat them both the same.

Why? Because you will have learned to love God just because you love Him, not because of His gifts, nor even for His presence.

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You will have times of spiritual dryness. It is part of the Lord’s way.

But the fact you will have spiritual dry spells is not the issue. The important question is what you will do in a time of spiritual dryness? At this point you must learn something about your natural tendencies. It will be the natural thing for you, during a dry season, to try to prove your love to the Lord. During a spiritually dry season you will find that you will try to prove to the Lord your faithfulness toward him; you will do this by exerting your strength.

Unconsciously you will be hoping by such self effeort to persuade Him to return more quickly.

No, dear Christian, believe me, this is not the way to respond to your Lord in seasons of dryness.

What then shall you do?

You must await the return of your Beloved with patient love. Join with that love self denial and humiliation! Even though the Lord has hidden Himself, remain constantly before Him.

There before Him, pour out your love upon Him passionately and yet, I would add, always peacefully.

Spend time with Him in worship and in respectful silence.

By waiting upon the Lord in this way, you will demonstrate to Him that it is He alone whom you are seeking. You see, you will be demonstrating that it is not the selfish enjoyment which you receive from being in His presence that causes you to love Him. You will be showing that it is not the pleasure which you experience, but your love that motivates you.

There is a quotation from the Apocrypha that speaks of such seasons:

Do not be impatient in times of dryness and darkness; allow the removals and delays of the consolations of God; draw near to Him and wait upon Him patiently that your life may be increased and be renewed.

So, dear children of the Lord, be patient in your prayer during those seasons of dryness.Let me ask you a question. What if the Lord called upon you to spend your whole lifetime waiting for His return to you? How would you conduct yourself if this were the lot the Lord should mete out to you for all the rest of your life? What would you do?

Do this.

Wait upon Him in a spirit of humility, in a spirit of abandonment, with contentment and resignation. Spend your time in that wonderful kind of prayer which I have mentioned in Chapter 4. Come before Him quietly and peacefully, recalling your mind to His presence even though His presence may evade you.

As you do these things, accompany them all with pleas of sorrowful, plaintive love and expressions of yearnings for your lover’s return.

I wish to assure you that if you will conduct yourself this way, it will please the heart of God greatly. Such an attitude will compel Him to return to you much more quickly than any other.

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We have spoken to abandonment. Abandonment is a matter of the greatest importance if you are to make progress in knowing your Lord. Abandonment is, in fact, the key to the inner court – the key to the fathomless depths. Abandonment is the key to the inward spiritual life.

The believer who knows how to abandon himself to the Lord will soon become perfect.

(*footnote: Jeanne Guyon did not have in mind sinless perfection, but a life lived and a will lived in absolute, perfect concert with the will of God – constantly, under all circumstances, at all times.).

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Abandonment is casting off all your cares. Abandonment is dropping all your needs. This includes spiritual needs. Let me repeat that, for it is not easily grasped. Abandonment is laying aside, forever, all of your spiritual needs.

All Christians have spiritual needs; but the believer who has abandoned himself to the Lord no longer indulges in the luxury of being aware of spiritual needs. Rather, he gives himself over completely to the disposal of God.

Do you realize that all Christians have been exhorted to abandonment?

The Lord Himself has said, “Take no thought for tomorrow, for your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things.” (Matthew 6:32, 34) Again the Scripture says, “In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:6) “Commit your works unto the Lord, and your thoughts shall be established.” (Proverbs 16:3) Again, in the book of Psalms it says, “Commit your ways to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will bring it to pass.” (Psalm 37: 5)

True abandonment must cover two complete worlds, two complete realms.

There must be an abandonment in your life concerning all outward, practical things.

Secondly, there must also be an abandonment of all inward, spiritual things. You must come to the Lord and there engage in giving up all your concerns. All your concerns go into the hand of God. You forget yourself, and from that moment on you think only of Him.

By continuing to do this over a long period of time, your heart will remain unattached; your heart will be free and at peace!How do you practice abandonment? You practice it daily, hourly, and by the moment.

Abandonment is practiced by continually losing your own will in the will of God; by plunging your will into the depths of His will, there to be lost forever!

And how do you begin? You must begin by refusing every personal desire that comes to you just as soon as it arises – no mattler how good that personal desire is, and no matter how helpful it might appear!

Abandonment must reach a point where you stand in complete indifference to yourself. You can be sure that out of such a disposition a wonderful result will come.

The result of this attitude will, in fact, bring you to the most wonderful point imaginable. It is the point where your will breaks free of you completely and becomes free to be joined to the will of God! You will desire only what He desires, that is, what He has desired for all eternity.

Become abandoned by simply resigning yourself to what the Lord wants, in all things, no matter what they are, where they come from, or how they affeect your life.

What is abandonment? It is forgetting your past; it is leaving the future in His hands; it is devoting the present fully and completely to your Lord. Abandonment is being satisfied with the present moment, no matter what that moment contains. You are satisfied because you know that whatever that moment has, it contains – in that instant – God’s eternal plan for you.

You will always know that that moment is the absolute and total declaration of His will for your life.

Remember, you must never blame man for anything. No matter what happens, it was neither man nor circumstances that brought it. You must accept everything (except, of course, your own sinfulness) as having come from your Lord. Surrender not only what the Lord does to you, but surrender your reaction to what He does.

Do you wish to go into the depths of Jesus Christ? If you wish to enter into this deeper state of knowing the Lord, you must seek to know not only a deeper prayer but also abandonment in all realms of your life. This means branching out until your new relationship includes living 24 hours a day uttlerly abandoned to Him. Begin to surrender yourself to be led by God and to be dealt with by Him. Do so right now. Surrender yourself to allow Him to do with you exactly as He pleases – both in your inward life of experiencing Him and also in your outward life of accepting all circumstances as from Him.

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Christians have sought to find many ways to overcome their desires. Perhaps the most common approach has been discipline and self-denial. But no matter how severe your self- denial may be, it will never completely conquer your senses.

No, self-denial is not the answer!

Even when it appears to have worked, what self-denial has actually done is to change only the outward expression of those desires.

When you deal with the externals, what you are really doing is driving your soul father outward from your spirit. The more your soul is focused on these outward things, the farther it is removed from its center and from its resting place! The result of this type of self-denial is the opposite of what you sought. Unfortunately, this is what always happens to a believer when his life is lived out on the surface. If you dwell on the desires of your outward nature – paying attention to them – they, in turn, become more and more active. Instead of being subdued, they gain more power. We can conclude from all this that although self-denial may truly weaken the body, it can never take away the keenness of your senses.

Then what is your hope?

There is only one way to conquer your five senses, and that is by inward recollection. Or, to put it another way, the only way to conquer your five senses is by turning your soul completely inward to your spirit, there to posses a present God. Your soul must turn all of its attention and energies within, not without! Within to Christ, not without to the senses. When your soul is turned within, it actually becomes separated from your external senses; and once your five senses are separated from your soul, they receive no more attention. Their life supply is cut off!

They become powerless.

Of course, the closer you are drawn to God, the father you are removed from the activities of your natural man. The natural man, to be sure, is very opposed to your inward drawing toward God. Nonetheless, there will come a point when you will finally be established in having turned within. From that point on, it will be natural for you to live before the Lord!

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May I remind you that you are like the vapors ascending to the heavens; you must not think that you can bring all this about by exerting your efforts. The only thing you can do –actually the only thing you should attlempt to do – is to keep withdrawing yourself from external objects. Keep turning from external objects and keep turning within to your spirit.

There is very littlle you should ever do, but that one thing you can do! Yes, you are capable of that much cooperation with divine grace.

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At the outset of this venture, all this may seem somewhat difficult to you; but be assured that this kind of inward turning becomes very easy. You will advance spiritually very naturally and effortlessly.

Again, this is because God has a magnetic attraction. He is within you, always drawing you to Himself.

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Your soul, once it begins to turn inward, is brought under this same law of central tendency.

It too gradually falls toward its proper center, which is God. The soul needs no other force to draw it than the weight of love.

The more passive and peaceful you remain, the more quickly you will advance toward God.

The freer you are from exerting your own effort, the more quickly you will move toward your Lord.

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Jesus Christ is the great magnet of your soul, but of your soul only. He will not draw the impurities and mixtures that are mingled with it. Any such impurities prevent His full power of attraction.

If there were no mixture in your soul, the soul would instantly rush toward the all-powerful, irresistible God within to be lost in Him. But if you are loaded down with many material possessions – or anything else – this attraction is greatly hindered. Many Christians seize some part of this world or some part of the self with so tight a grip that they spend their whole lives making only a snail’s progress toward their Center.

Thank God, sometimes your Lord, out of His boundless love, strikes the burden violently from your hand. It is then that you realize just how very much you had been hindered and held back. Dear Christian, only allow everything to drop. How? Simply withdraw your hands from self; withdraw your hands from every other person and all things. Of course, that is something of a sacrifice. It can even be called a crucifixion. But you will be amazed to find that there is only a very short space between your sacrifice and your resurrection!

Is it proper for the soul to become so completely passive?

Some seem to feel that, according to what I have said, the soul is required to become dead – dead like some lifeless object – before God has His will in it. Actually, the very opposite is true.

The main element of the soul is the will, and the soul must will to become neutral and passive, waiting entirely upon God. Can you see that this condition of utter passivity, this state of doing nothing and waiting upon God, is actually the highest activity of the will?

Listen to your soul as it says, “I am willing with all the power of my being that the desire of God be accomplished within me. I am willing to be here, ceasing from all my activity and all of my power, so that God might have His desire of fully possessing me.” When the soul has done this, it has actually exerted the highest possible action of the will.

The soul has taken the action of total surrender to another will, the Divine Will!

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When a baby is born, it draws milk from its mother’s breast by moving its lips. However, once the milk begins to flow, the child simply swallows without any further effort. If the baby continued any effort, it would hurt itself, spill the milk, and have to quit nursing.

This must be your attlitude in prayer. You must act this same way, especially in the beginning.

Draw ever so gently. But as the Lord flows out of your spirit into your soul, cease all activity.

How do you begin? By moving your lips, by stirring up the affeections of your love for the Lord. As soon as the milk of divine love is flowing freely, be still – do nothing. Rather, very simply and sweetly, take in that grace and love.

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What becomes of the little baby after it has nursed?

It falls asleep on its mother’s breast.

It is the same way with your soul. When the Christian has become calm and peaceful in prayer, he frequently sinks into a sort of mystical sleep; or to put it another way, the powers of his soul are completely at rest.

It is here, at this point, that you begin to be introduced to yet a deeper level of experience.The Christian now begins to touch on an experience of complete rest before the Lord.

The mind is at rest; the soul is at rest; the whole being has come to a gentle, quiet and peaceful calm before the Lord. Nothing disturbs it. At first you will experience this only occasionally, but eventually your soul will come to experience this state of rest frequently.

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The interior life, that is, the inward life of the spirit, is not a place that is taken by storm or violence. That inward kingdom, that realm within you, is a place of peace. It can only be gained by love.

If you will simply pursue the path I have pointed out until now, you will be led to this quiet place of rest.

Ans beyond this rest lies yet another experience – that of continual prayer.

When we speak of continual prayer, we are speaking of a prayer that originates fro within. It originates there and works out, filling and permeating your whole being. Nor is this a difficult matter. Actually God demands nothing extraordinary. On the contrary, He is very pleased by a simple, childlike conduct.

I would even put it this way: The highest spiritual attainments are really the ones that are the most easily reached. The things that are the most important are the things that are the least difficult!

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What is there for you to fear? Dear child of God, why do you not instantly cast yourself into the arms of Love?

The only reason He extended those arms on the cross was so He might embrace you. Tell me, what possible risk do you take in depending solely upon God? What risk do you run by abandoning yourself completely to Him? The Lord will not deceive you (that is, unless it is to bestow on you more abundance than you ever imagined.)

However, those who expect all of these things from the Lord by self-effort will hear the Lord’s rebuke: “You have wearied yourselves in the multiplicity of your ways, and have not said, Let us rest in peace.” (Isaiah 57:10)

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In the past when you have confessed your sins to your Lord, you have most likely felt regret for those sins, have you not?

There is a higher experience of repentance, and there is a deeper experience of confession of sin that the feeling of regret. In fact, you will find those feelings of regret replaced by something else – replaced by a love and a tranquility. That love, that tranquility sweetly saturates your soul and, having saturated it thoroughly, takes full possession of it.

Repentance that is sweet? Confession of sin that brings love and tranquility? If you have never been instructed in such matters, you will naturally want to resist this love. You will, instead, have a human inclination to try to produce a sorrowful, contrite attlitude before God.

It has often been told you that a sorrowful, contrite heart over your sins is a thing well-pleasing to God. This is true. But consider this: Trying by your own effort to produce a contrite heart causes you to lose genuine repentance. What is genuine repentance? Have you ever had the experience of real, genuine repentance? Think back. Was it not a deep feeling of love pouring itself out within you?

It is that love, that deep sense of love within you, which is a much purer and much higher expression of repentance; higher than anything you could produce by your own effort. This love takes all other feelings of repentance, sums them up into one, and expresses the totality of repentance much more perfectly than if each part of repentance were individually expressed to the Lord.

When the Lord has established this relationship in your life, you will not need to trouble yourself to produce your feelings about your sin. God is working His expression of repentance into you in such a pure way.

God hates sin and to experience a repentance which is given to you wholly of God will bring you to hate sin as He hates it.

Dear reader, do not be anxious and do not be so eager for action. The purest love you can ever know is that love which comes to you when the Lord is working on your soul. So let Him work. You must just remain in the place He assigns to you. Agree with the instruction of a very wise man who said:

Put your confidence in God; remain quiet where He has placed you.

- Ecclesiastes

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As you continue in this venture with Christ – this venture that began as a simple way of prayer – yet another experience may await you. It is this: Do not be too surprised if you find you are no longer able to offer up prayers of petition.

You may find that prayers of request become more difficult. Yes, it is true that in the past you offered up petitions and requests with complete ease. Until now, praying this way was never difficult. But in this new relationship with your Lord, it is the Spirit who prays! And as the Spirit prays, He helps your weakness. He is making intercession for you. And He is praying according to the will of God.

For we do not know how to pray as we should; but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. (Romans 8:26)

There is your will; there is God’s will. There is your plan; there is God’s plan. There is your prayer; there is his prayer. You must agree to His plans. He takes from you all your own workings so that His may be substituted in their place.

Therefore, yield.

Let God do in you what He will.

In His prayers, which He prays, there is also His will. Let Him pray. Give up your own prayers; give up your own desires and your own requests. Yes, you have a will; yes, you have desires and requests. Nevertheless, let Him have the will, the desire, that is in the prayers He prays.

But this relationship goes even deeper.In order for God to have that which is found in His prayer, then you, the one praying, must give up your attachment to everything. This means you must live a life in which there is nothing you want! Be attached to nothing, no matter how good it is or appears to be.

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What is prayer? Prayer is a certain warmth of love. Ah, but more! Prayer is melting! Prayer is a dissolving and an uplifting of the soul. This warmth of love, this melting, this dissolving and uplifting causes the soul to ascend to God.

As the soul is melted, sweet fragrances begin to rise form it. These fragrances pour forth from a consuming fire of love . . . and that love is in you. It is a consuming fire of love in your inmost being, a fire of love for God.

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Dear reader, there are, in fact, only two truths: the All and the Nothing.

Everything else is a lie. God is All; you are nothing. The only way you can pay due honor to

God is by your own annihilation. As soon as this wonderful work is done, God moves in.

There is a principle of nature here: The Lord never allows a void or an emptiness in nature to remain. He comes to the place of nothingness – of emptiness – and instantly fills it with Himself.

He puts Himself in the very place of that which He has put to death! But is not annihilation a bitter thing? Oh! If only you knew the virtue and the blessing which the soul receives from having passed into this experience. Taste it and you will be willing to have nothing else. This is the “pearl of great price,” “the hidden treasure.” Whoever finds it, freely sells all that he has in order to purchase it. (Matthew 13:44, 45)

This is the “well of living water, which springs up to everlasting life.” (John 4:14)

Do you recall that the Lord Jesus told us that “the kingdom of God is within us”? (Luke 17:21)

This is true in two ways.

It is true first when God becomes the Master and Lord within you so completely that nothing in you resists His dominion. It is then that your inner being, your spirit, is His kingdom. That is when God possesses you.

Secondly, there is the mattler of your possessing God. When we possess God, we also possess His kingdom, and in His kingdom there is fulness of joy. Our ultimate purpose is to enjoy God . . . in this life. To enjoy God! This is the very purpose for which we were created.

Alas, so few realize that this is attlainable and so easily laid hold of.

To serve God is to reign!

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In the very beginning it was God who formed man by His Word. He made man in His own image. God was Spirit and He gave man a spirit so that He could come into him and mingle His own life with man’s life.This, of course, was the state of man before the Fall. At the time of the Fall, man’s spirit was deadened. God lost his chance to move into man’s spirit. Man lost the ability to contain the life of God and to bear the image of God.

It was very plain to see that if God were ever to restore man to what He intended him to be, man’s spirit would have to be restored.

And how could God restore man’s spirit? How could He restore the image of God in man?

By none less than Jesus Christ. It had to be the Lord Jesus Himself who gave life to man’s spirit and restored the image of God. Why? Because Jesus Christ alone is the exact image of His Father. He alone brings the life of God into man.

No image can be repaired by its own efforts. The broken image has to remain passive under the hand of the workman.

What is your activity in this restoration? Your only activity should be to yield yourself completely to the inner workings of the Spirit. Jesus Christ has come into you, into your inmost parts. Yield to His workings there.

If a canvas is unsteady, the artist is unable to paint an accurate picture upon it. The same is true of you. Every movement of the self produces error. The activity of the self interrupts and defeats the design which Jesus Christ wishes to engrave upon you. You must, instead, simply remain at peace. Respond only to the Spirit’s working.

Jesus Christ has life in Himself (John 5:26), and He must give life to every living thing.

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[T]he “prayer of silence” does not forbid activity; it encourages it. It encourages the divine activity of your spirit; it discourages the lower activity of your soul. Such a prayer, then, must be in absolute dependence on the Spirit of God. The activity of the Spirit must take the place of your own. Such an exchange can only take place with man’s consent.

In giving your consent, you must also, of course, begin to cease your own activity. The outcome will be that, little by little, the activity of God can completely take the place of the activity of the soul..

There is a beautiful example of this in the Gospels. You will recall that Martha was doing something which was very correct, and yet the Lord rebuked her! Why? Because what she was doing, she was doing in her own strength. Martha was not following the moving of the Spirit within her.

You must realize, dear reader, that the soul of man is naturally restless and turbulent. Your soul accomplishes very little even though it always appears busy.

The Lord said to Martha, “You are careful and troubled over so many things. But only one thing is needed! Mary has chosen that good part which shall not be taken from her.” (Luke 10:41-42)

And what had Mary chosen? She had chosen to rest peacefully and tranquilly at the feet of Jesus. She had ceased to live that Christ might be her life!

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As for the simple and the unlearned, it is not true they are incapable of this inner relationship to Christ. The reverse is true. They are actually more suited to it.The Lord loves those who walk simply. (Proverbs 12:22)

Their humility, their simple trust in God, and their obedience make it easier for them to turn within and follow the Lord’s Spirit. They are more qualified than most! You see, these simple believers are not accustomed to analyzing; they do not have the habit of discussing the issues of everything; and they are quick to let go of their own opinions.

Yes, they do lack a great deal of education and religious training; therefore, they are freer and quicker to follow the leading of the Spirit. Other people – more gifted, better educated, trained in theology – are often cramped and even blinded by their spiritual wealth! Such a person very often offers greater resistance to the inner anointing and to the leading of the Lord’s Spirit.

The Psalmist tells us, Unto the simple God gives the understanding of His law. (Psalm 119:130)

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If you are one who has new believers in your care, be careful of preventing these children from coming to Jesus Christ. Remember that He said to His first disciples: “Let the children alone and do not hinder them from coming to Me; the kingdom of the heavenlies belongs to such as these.” (Matthew 19:14) (It was the disciple’s attempt to prevent the children from coming to Jesus Christ that caused Him to make this statement.)

It has been the habit of man throughout the ages to heal people by applying some remedy to the outward body when, in fact, the disease is deep inside. Why do converts remain basically unchanged despite so much effort? It is because those over them have dealt only with the outward matters of their lives. There is a better way: Go straight to the heart! Laying down rules and trying to change the outward behavior will not produce a work that will endure in the life of a Christian.

Then what is the answer? Give the new convert the key to his spirit, to the inward parts of his being! Give his secret to him first, and you will discover that his outward life will be changed naturally and easily.

Accomplishing all this is very easy. How? Simply teach a believer to seek God within his own heart. Show the new Christian that he can set his mind on Jesus Christ and return to Him whenever he has wandered away.

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Are you a Christian new to Christ? Go then, poor child, to your loving Father. Speak to Him honestly in your own words. No matter how crude and simple those words are, they are not crude and simple to Him!

It may be that your words will seam unclear and confused. It may be that at times you are so full of love and so awestruck at His presence that you do not know how to speak. That is all right! Your Father is far more pleased with these words – words which He sees pouring out from a heart that is full of love – than He could ever be by elaborate-sounding words that are dry and lifeless.

The simple, undisguised emotions of love express infinitely more to Him than the words of any language.

For some reason men try to love God by forms are rules. Can you not see it is by these very forms and rules that you have lost so much of that love?How unnecessary it is to teach the art of loving!

The language is love is strange and unnatural to that man who does not love. Oh, but it is perfectly natural to the one who loves.

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You are now passing through the first stage of being drawn into the depths of God. He is conforming you to His purity.

But there are two stages in God’s drawing you. The second stage is uniformity with God.

We have seen that there is a progress in the first stage of being conformed to God. There is also a progress in the second stage.

Self-effort gradually decreases. Eventually, it ceases altogether. When self-effeort ceases, your will is passive before God.

You have come to uniformity.

This is beyond a passive state. Or at least it is the ultimate end of the passive state. It is at this point you begin to yield yourself up to the impulses of the divine Spirit until you are totally absorbed with Him. You are in total concert with His will in all things – at all times.

This is union. Divine union. The self is ended. The human will is totally passive and responses to every movement of God’s will.

I need not warn you, this is a process that, indeed, takes a long time.Was activity and effeort involved in order to arrive at such depths in Christ? Yes. Activity is the gate. However, we should not tarry at the gate. In fact, your aim, your tendency, must always be toward one point: ultimate perfection.

Please know that all the “helps” and “crutches” must be laid aside along the way or the ultimate goal cannot be attained. Yes, the self nature is not only laid aside but so are all the “helps” which I introduced to you at the beginning of this book. Those are elemental crutches to aid you in your beginning and in the process. But all things must ultimately be laid aside as we reach the final depths in Christ.

These helps were very necessary at the entrance to this road, but later they are actually detrimental. Even so, some Christians will still stubbornly cling to these crutches.

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I have been speaking to you of an enjoyment of God, not of the giftes of God. Gifts do not constitute the ultimate beatitude. Gifts cannot satisfy your soul or your spirit. Your spirit is so noble and so great that the most exalted gifts God has to give cannot bring happiness to the spirit . . . not unless Giver also gives Himself.

Dear reader, the whole desire of the Divine Being can be described in one sentence: God wishes to give Himself utterly to every creature that names His name. And He will do this, giving Himself to each of us according to our individual capacity.

But alas! Man is a remarkable creature! How reluctant he is to allow himself to be drawn into God! How fearful, how remarkably fearful he is to prepare for divine union.

One last word.Someone is almost certain to tell you that it is not right that you put yourself into a state of union with God.

I totally agree.

But I add this word: No one can put himself into union with God. It would not be possible, no matter how great the effort. The soul’s union with God is something God alone does. There is therefore no purpose in speaking out against those who seem to be trying to unite themselves with God; such a union (God with self) is not even possible.

You may also find someone saying to you, “Some people will hear of this and claim to have attained this state when actually they have not.” Oh, dear reader, such a state cannot be imitated any more than a hungry man, on the verge of starving to death, could convince you he was full.

A wish, a word, a sigh, a sign, something will inevitably escape him and thereby betray the fact that he is far from being satisfied.

Since one cannot attain union with God by his own labor, we do not pretend to introduce anyone to it. All one can do is point out the way that eventually leads there. Oh yes, and one

other thing – one can beseech the seeking soul not to stop somewhere along the way.

(Dear reader, don’t settlle somewhere on the road or become attlached to the external practices that first got you started. All these, such as praying the Scripture and beholding the Lord, must be lefte behind the moment the signal is given to you.)

One who is experienced in helping others knows he can’t take another Christian into this relationship with God. All he can do is point to the water of life and lend his aid to the seeker. This much, of course, he can do and must do. It would be cruel to show a spring to a thirsty man and then bind him in such a way that he could not reach the stream. Somespeak of divine union but never allow the seeker freedom from his shackles. This does happen, and the poor saint eventually dies of thirst.

Then let us agree on this: There is divine union, and there is a way to it. The way has a beginning, a progress, and a point of arrival. Furthermore, the closer you come to the consummation, the more you put aside the things that helped you get started.

Of course, there is also a middle, for you cannot go from a beginning to an end without there being an intermediate space. But if the end is good and holy and necessary, and if the entrance is also good, you can be sure the journey between those two points is also good!

Oh the blindness of the greater part of

mankind which prides itself on science and

wisdom! How true it is, Oh my God, that

You have hidden these wondrous things

from the wise and prudent, and have

revealed them unto babes! J.G.

(End of book)