If someone were to ask us whether or not we are saved, surely we would say that we are. If someone were also to ask us whether or not the Lord is within us, we certainly would say that He is. However, if someone were to ask us whether or not the Lord has spread out from our spirit, we may not have anything to say. The reason is that our heart is often closed toward the Lord, and the Lord is detained in our spirit to the extent that He cannot come out. Although the Lord is within us, it is as if He is surrounded by signs that say, “No Thoroughfare.” Thus, the Lord is not able to move within us even a little bit, and He does not have any chance to come out of us. We have the Lord in our spirit, but we do not have the Lord in the different parts of our soul; that is, we do not have the Lord in our mind, emotion, and will.
We have been saved, and the Lord is within us, but the Lord cannot come out of us. This does not mean that we do not acknowledge the Lord at all; it means that there is no ground for the Lord in our thoughts. We think about this and that, but we do not think about the Lord. There is also no ground for the Lord in our emotions. We love many things, but we do not love the Lord. Moreover, there is no ground for the Lord in our will—in our decisions and choices. Our self has all the ground. Although we have been saved and have the Lord in our spirit, the Lord cannot come out from our spirit to control our mind, emotion, and will. We believe in the Lord and have the Lord, but our mind, emotion, and will are independent of the Lord, and the Lord has no ground in these three parts of our soul. This is the reason why we are not mature in life.
We are not able to mature in the Lord’s life because the Lord’s Spirit and life are not able to grow out from within our spirit. The reason for this is that our heart is often closed to the Lord. In order for us to grow in life, our heart must be open to the Lord, and our mind, emotion, and will must be opened to the Lord. Once these three parts are open, the Lord will be able to spread out from our spirit into our mind, emotion, and will to reach these different parts of our soul.
How do we open our heart to the Lord? Whenever we have to make a determination or decision, we should first say to the Lord, “O Lord, I love You. I am willing to please You.” This kind of prayer opens our will to the Lord, and once our will is opened, the Lord will enter into it. In addition, whenever we love or desire something, we should stop for a moment and say to the Lord, “O Lord, I love You. I want to please You.” This opens our emotion to the Lord. When we do this, the Lord will surely enter into our emotion. Similarly, whenever we begin to think about something, we should stop our thinking for a moment and say to the Lord, “O Lord, I love You. I want to please You.” This kind of statement opens our mind to the Lord, and through this opening, the Lord will be able to enter into our mind.
Whenever we open to the Lord in our mind, the Lord’s Spirit will gain the opportunity to enter into the different parts of our soul. Some saints say that it is not easy to touch the Spirit. This is true; it not easy to touch the Spirit. Yet the Spirit is able to be sensed. In other words, the Spirit produces feelings within us. These feelings are a manifestation of the Spirit. We can liken this to electricity. We cannot touch electricity, but we can see light, which is a manifestation of electricity. Similarly, the Spirit is in us, and although we cannot touch the Spirit, we can sense Him. When we sit next to a fan, we can feel the result of the functioning of electricity. In like manner, we can feel the result of the functioning of the Spirit.