1. “We all with unveiled face, beholding...the glory of the Lord” (2 Cor. 3:18).
If we want to receive the Lord’s leading, we must see the light of the Lord’s face, and if we want to see the light of the Lord’s face, we must open to the Lord. A person who is closed to the Lord cannot see the light of His face and receive His leading. We must open to the Lord from our innermost part without any hint of being closed. Then we can enter into the light of the Lord’s face and see the direction of the Lord and receive His leading.
1. “The pure in heart...shall see God” (Matt. 5:8).
God is light; therefore, those who see God are easily enlightened and led. If we want to see God, we must be pure in heart. In the Bible being pure in heart means that we are single and simple toward God. We want God Himself and nothing other than God. If we want God and something other than God, loving both God and the world, our heart will not be single, simple, and pure toward Him. Once our heart is not pure or single toward God, our eyes will not be single either. They will be evil. The Lord said, “If therefore your eye is single, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is evil, your whole body will be dark” (6:22-23). If our heart is not pure toward God, our eye will be evil and our whole being will be dark. How can we be led by the Lord in such a condition? If we want to be led by the Lord, we must desire the Lord with a pure heart. Desiring the Lord with a pure heart is an important condition of being led by the Lord.
1. “Who then is the man who fears Jehovah? / Him will He instruct concerning the way that he should choose” (Psa. 25:12).
Fearing God is also a requirement of being led by the Lord. To fear God is to be afraid of offending God. It is not only to fear sin and worldliness but even more to fear ourselves. The real fear of God is to be afraid of ourselves. It is to be afraid of bringing anything of ourselves into the things of God—any element of ourselves, our likes, our opinions, and our choices. If we fear God in this way and reject ourselves, God will instruct us in the way that we should choose, and we will receive His leading.
2. “The intimate counsel of Jehovah is to those who fear Him, / And His covenant will He make known to them” (Psa. 25:14).
If we fear God, we will be afraid of offending Him, so we will reject ourselves and all that is offensive to God in everything that we do. Then we will receive more than God’s ordinary leading; we will know the intimate counsel of God. The intimate counsel of God will be with us, and He will show us His covenant.
1. “Trust in Jehovah with all your heart, / And do not rely on your own understanding; / In all your ways acknowledge Him, / And He will make your paths straight” (Prov. 3:5-6).
The Lord does not lead those who think that they are clever or who rely on their own cleverness. The Lord can only lead and direct the paths of those who reject their own cleverness and trust in the Lord with all their heart and who acknowledge Him in all their ways.
1. “His anointing teaches you concerning all things... and even as it has taught you, abide in Him” (1 John 2:27).
Abiding in the Lord and receiving the teaching of His anointing are absolutely related. On the one hand, we must obey the teaching of the anointing to abide in the Lord. On the other hand, we must abide in the Lord to receive the teaching of the anointing. To abide in the Lord is to fellowship with the Lord without any barriers. If a barrier between the Lord and us breaks our fellowship, how can we receive the teaching of the anointing? Those who receive the teaching of the anointing are those who abide in the Lord and fellowship with Him. If we want to be led by the Lord, we must deal with any barriers between the Lord and us in order to recover and maintain our fellowship with the Lord and to abide in Him.
If we want to abide in the Lord, receive the teaching of the anointing, and gain the Lord’s leading, we must be quiet in our spirit. The Lord’s anointing within us is the moving of the Holy Spirit. It is always gentle. If we are rough, hurried, or excited, it is not easy for us to feel the anointing. Inwardly, we must be steady, quiet, and gentle to feel the moving of the Holy Spirit, to receive the teaching of the anointing, and to be led by the Lord.