The Laws of the Spirit 389
Now these phenomena cause the spirit to fail in its responsibility
of cooperating with the Holy Spirit. As long as it is irresponsible,
victory remains impossible. Suppose a person, rising in the morning,
feels as though he has lost his spirit. The enemy will perhaps induce
him to think it is due to physical weariness lingering from
yesterday’s overwork. If he takes the enemy’s suggestion without
question and allows his spirit to become irresponsible, he shall be
stripped of all his strength to repel that day’s temptations as well as
to accomplish that day’s work. He should search right away for the
real cause, for the spirit ought to be active and powerful enough to
regulate the body and not be adversely affected by it. He should
acknowledge that his spirit, having been assaulted by the enemy, has
become irresponsible. He must seek immediate recovery or else he
shall be defeated the moment he meets anyone. Never permit the
early irresponsible state of the spirit to continue until midday, for this
is a sure way to defeat.
Once realizing his spirit has been irresponsible, a believer. should
oppose without delay all the works of the enemy as well as the
causes for the enemy’s work. Should it be purely the attack of the
adversary the spirit will regain its freedom after having resisted. But
if there is justification for the attack, that is, if the person has given
any ground to the enemy, then he must uncover the reason and deal
with it. Usually the reason is related to the past history of the
individual. He needs to pray over such various matters as his
environment, family, relatives, friends, work, and so forth. When his
spirit senses a release after a certain matter has been prayed over,
then he has isolated the cause for the enemy’s assault. Shortly after
he has taken care of this matter, the believer’s spirit will be freed and
restored to its function.
Sometimes, however, the irresponsibility of the spirit is because
the Christian has loosened the reins, allowing the spirit to stray off
course. But we should note from the Word that “the spirits of
prophets are subject to prophets” (1 Cor. 14.32) and “woe to the