In 1963 I introduced this hymn to some of the saints in the United States. One day, after we had sung this hymn, a dear saint came to me and said, "I can't understand this hymn. Breathing, breathing, breathing—breathing what?" He was somewhat bothered. A few years later, after we had published our hymnal, this same saint said to me, "Brother, my favorite hymn in the hymnal is that hymn on breathing the Lord."

How do we breathe the Lord? We breathe the Lord by opening ourselves to the Lord and calling upon His name. We need to call out to Him and even cry to Him, for, as Jeremiah has told us, calling on the Lord is to cry out to Him. He did this out of the low dungeon. Whenever we are low, that is, down in a "dungeon," we have to call on the Lord by crying out to Him that we may be released from confinement and receive more of the Lord into us.

Isaiah also tells us that our calling on the Lord is our crying to Him. "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. And in that day shall ye say, Praise the Lord, call upon his name...Sing unto the Lord...Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee" (Isa. 12:2-6). In these verses Isaiah tells us to praise, sing, cry out, and shout. All of these match the calling mentioned in verse 4. In verse 2 he says that God is our salvation and our strength. God is everything to us. We simply need to draw water out of the wells of God's salvation. How can we with joy draw water out of the wells of salvation? The way is to call on His name, to praise the Lord, to sing a hymn, and to cry out and shout. In verse 4 we find that praising and calling are put together, and in verse 6 we find that crying and shouting are put together. This proves that to call on the Lord is to cry and shout to Him. Many Christians have never shouted. If you have never shouted before the Lord, I doubt that you could have enjoyed the Lord in a rich way. Try shouting before Him. If you have never shouted about what the Lord is to you, I encourage you to try it. The more you shout, "O Lord Jesus, You are so good to me," the more you will be released from your self and be filled with the Lord. You will be in the third heaven. Thus, Isaiah, even in Old Testament times, told people to praise the Lord, call upon His name, cry out and shout.

Let me share with you something of my own testimony regarding calling on the Lord. I was raised in the Southern Baptist Church. After I was saved, due to my seeking after the Word, I stayed for several years with a very strict Brethren assembly. Their practice was always to be silent. It is no exaggeration to say that even if a needle fell on the floor in their meetings, it would have been heard. We were trained in that way. I sat under the feet of these Brethren teachers, listening to their teachings. I thank the Lord for that. Although I loved the Lord and the Word, I did not receive the proper help of life. The only help I received was in understanding the black and white letters of the Scriptures.

One day, in August, 1931, while I was walking on the street, the Spirit spoke within me, "Look at yourself. You have so much knowledge. You know the prophecies and the types, but look at how dead you are." Immediately deep within I was conscious of a thirst and a hunger. Something within wanted to burst out. However, because of my religious background, I would not do that on the street. I restrained myself, suffering for the remainder of that afternoon, evening, and night, waiting for morning to come, when I would be able to release myself before the Lord. My home was at the foot of a small mountain. When morning came, I ran to the top of that mountain and released what was on my heart. I had no intention to shout, but something burst forth from within, saying, "O Lord Jesus." I spontaneously called on the Lord. No one taught me to call on the Lord, and I had not seen anything in the Bible regarding it. I simply did it spontaneously. Although I did not have the terms "enjoying the Lord" and "the release of the spirit," I had the reality of them both. I did exercise and release my spirit and I certainly enjoyed the Lord. Nearly every morning thereafter I went to the top of the mountain, calling on the Lord each time. By calling on the Lord I was filled with the Lord. Each morning as I descended from the top of that mountain, I was filled with joy. I was in the heavens, and the whole earth with everything in it was under my feet.

However, due to my background, I never brought this matter into the teaching. I did not teach others to practice it. Twelve years later, in 1943, I was put into prison by the Japanese army which had invaded China. One day they were persecuting me and beating me. I could do nothing. Spontaneously I called, "O Lord Jesus," and they stopped beating me. Nevertheless, due to my religious background, I still did not bring it into the daily practice. I did not realize that we could do it in our daily life.

Twenty-four years later, in 1967, the matter of calling on the Lord came forth in Los Angeles. At that time I felt the need to verify this matter by studying the Word. As a result of spending much time in the Word regarding calling on the Lord, I discovered that it was a practice of the saints in ancient times. It started thousands of years ago. Using a concordance, I found a great many references to calling on the Lord and I noted the various aspects of calling. At that time I was confirmed and strengthened not only to practice calling on the Lord, but also to teach others and to help others to call on Him. Since 1967, calling on the Lord has been one of the items in the Lord's recovery. It was discovered that it was the best way to touch the Lord. In that same year I visited the Far East and brought this to the saints. I can testify that thousands of saints were released and enriched through calling on the name of the Lord.