«　WEEK 4　DAY 6　»

　　1 Thes. 5:16-18 Always rejoice, unceasingly pray, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

　　John 5:39-40 You search the Scriptures...and it is these that testify concerning Me. Yet you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.

　　15:7 If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.

　　The Lord's abiding in us and our abiding in Him are altogether a matter of His being the life-giving Spirit in our spirit; by the bountiful, immeasurable Spirit in our spirit, we know with full assurance that we and God are one and that we abide in each other.... The way to abide in Christ as the empowering One so that He may be activated within us as the inner operating God, the law of the Spirit of life, is by rejoicing always, praying unceasingly, and giving thanks in everything.... We abide in Christ so that He may abide in us by dealing with the constant word in the Scriptures, which is outside of us, and the present word as the Spirit, which is within us....By the outward, written word we have the explanation, definition, and expression of the mysterious Lord, and by the inward, living word we have the experience of the abiding Christ and the presence of the practical Lord.... If we abide in the Lord's constant and written word, His instant and living words will abide in us.... We abide in Him and His words abide in us so that we may speak in Him and He may speak in us for the building of God into man and man into God. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 3994-3995)

　　Alight bulb functions properly when it “enjoys” and “abides” in the electricity. However, if the switch was not securely installed, the light bulb does not function properly and, therefore, does not shine steadily. The best way to keep the spiritual electricity from being turned off is to install a safety box and lock the switch in. How do you lock it in? The way is to unceasingly pray and in everything give thanks.

　　When we pray, we are shining within, but if we also give thanks, we will become enlivened within. Prayer may be likened to connecting the wires, and thanksgiving, to shining the light. Sometimes our “wires” have been connected, yet it seems that we do not sense any reaction. The light does not shine if there is only prayer but no thanksgiving. Therefore, if we want to have a life that is always shining without flickering, we need to pray unceasingly and give thanks in everything.

　　Prayer and thanksgiving are like our two feet; ...prayer without thanksgiving will not work; thanksgiving without prayer also will not work. Hence, we must not only pray but also give thanks, and we must give thanks with prayer.... It does not matter which comes first. As long as you have both, you can conveniently walk on the pathway of your Christian life.

　　What can we find in nature to signify unceasing prayer? Eventually, I found that there is only one thing: our breathing....Eating, drinking, and sleeping are intermittent;... [however], when breathing is interrupted, the result is death. While you are eating, drinking, and sleeping, you must still breathe. Therefore, our uninterrupted breathing is actually a picture of our unceasing prayer.

　　The spirit's activity is to pray to the Lord. Even without opening my mouth to make a sound, my spirit automatically “breathes” in me to have fellowship with the Lord. Sometimes I may feel deflated; at that time I need to take a deep breath and call, “O Lord Jesus!” I may not make a sound, but still I am breathing in the Lord. We all should practice this kind of inaudible yet uninterrupted prayer.... To pray unceasingly means that we should always exercise our spirit to contact the Lord... When we live and walk in our activated spirit, we pray unceasingly, and spontaneously we abide in the Lord and enjoy Him as our life. (CWWL, 1983, vol. 3, “Abiding in the Lord to Enjoy His Life,” pp. 319-321, 323-327)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1978, vol. 1, “The Experience of Christ,” ch. 23; Life-study of John, msg. 34