358 The Spiritual Man
what the normal state of the spirit is and are thus incapacitated from
being led continually by it. Frequently their inner man loses its
power to operate for the simple reason that they do not know how to
keep it in a right condition. Though they sometimes do experience
revelation in their intuition, they nevertheless wonder why it is, when
they are earnestly seeking, that at times their intuition does receive
revelation but at other times does not. This of course is due to the
fact that on some occasions they unconsciously walk according to the
law of the spirit and so obtain revelation whereas at other moments,
though asking, they are not asking according to this law and
therefore do not secure any revelation. Were they to walk by the law
of the spirit continually rather than unconsciously following
intermittently, they could always receive the revelation.
Unfortunately they are unaware of this possibility. It is nonetheless
certain that for us to consistently experience revelation we must
know the laws of the spirit and the will of God and must do the
things which please Him. Since all movements in the spirit are
meaningful we need to learn their import if we wish to walk
faithfully. Understanding the laws of the spirit is therefore
indispensable.
There are countless Christians who consider the occasional
working of the Holy Spirit in their spirit to be the most sublime of
their life experiences. They do not expect to have such an experience
daily because they surmise that such a special event could happen but
a few times in life. Were they to live by the spirit according to its
law, however, they would discover that these are everyday
occurrences. What they deem extraordinary—something one cannot
permanently sustain—is actually the ordinary daily experiences of
believers. “Extraordinary” indeed if believers should desert this
ordinary life experience and abide in darkness.
Suppose we have received a certain thought. Are we able to
discern whether this comes from our spirit or from our soul? Some
thoughts burn in the spirit while others blaze in the soul. Believers