"The entrance of thy words giveth light (Psalm 119:130)."
How to Walk in the Spirit
Let's start with some Scriptures.
First, Galatians 5:16-23. I've divided the Scripture into three parts.
"But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law."
"Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God."
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."
{Galatians 5:16-23 NASB}
Peace is, in my mind, the key element to measure your progress. As you become more proficient in Walking in the Spirit, you will have more and more peace.
You will also experience, in your life, more and more of the other desirable qualities mentioned in the Scripture.
Walking in the Spirit is a learning process that takes place over time.
Here are the basic steps to enable you to Walk in the Spirit.
First: Get saved. This is the obvious first step.
Second: Pray and read the Bible, every day. There is no substitute for reading the Bible. Read a full chapter of the Bible, every day.
Try to spend a full hour, every day, in prayer, worship, Bible study etc.
This is necessary to make progress, and to maintain the progress that you've already made.
Most of what you need is in the New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs.
Third: Recognize that Walking in the Spirit requires a choice to be obedient. Obedience is necessary for blessings while disobedience leads to curses on your life (Deuteronomy 28). Including a lack of peace.
Tolerating any sin in your life will impede your ability to Walk in the Spirit.
Make a good-faith effort to be obedient in all areas of your life.
And, when you slip up, confess your sin to God and try again to be obedient.
Fourth: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." {John:14:27 NIV}
The amount of peace you have is directly related to the extent that you understand, apply and obey Scripture.
A general synopsis of what is necessary:
- Do what is right.
- Think what is right.
- Trust & obey.
- Pray.
- Think about good things.
"Do good, O Lord, to those who are good And to those who are upright in their hearts." {Psalm 125:4 NASB}
"Light is sown for the righteous, And gladness for the upright in heart." {Psalm 97:11 NKJV}
"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer." {Psalm 19:14 NASB}
"Trust in Him at all times . . ." {Psalm 62:8 NASB}
"Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." {1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NASB}
""Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things. {Philippians 4:8 NASB}
Fifth: "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves." {James 1:22 NKJV}
Reading and studying the Word is not enough—you have to actually do what it says.
It is very easy to deceive yourself.
Sixth: "Do not quench the Spirit" {1 Thessalonians 5:19 NKJV}
Be alert for impressions from the Holy Spirit. Walking in the Spirit requires being sensitive and obedient to prompting of the Holy Spirit.
When God makes it clear he wants you to do something do it. When God says 'no' don't. When things are unclear wait.
Specific areas of concern follow.
Seventh: Address anger issues, in particular. You cannot Walk in the Spirit while you are entertaining thoughts of resentment.
"Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him." {1 John 3:15 NASB}
The following are recommended:
Eighth: Address other issues, including, but not limited to, the following:
- Fear.
- Gossip (Proverbs 20:19).
- Guilt.
- Idolatry.
- Jealousy. (Proverbs 14:30).
- Masturbation.
- Occult practices.
- Physical pain.
- Political stress.
- Pornography.
- Rejection.
- Sexual abuse.
- Shame.
- Stress.
The Bible has the answers to all these things.
Ninth: Allow God to be the Lord of your life.
You've probably seen bumper stickers which say: "If God is your co-pilot, switch seats." This is what they are talking about.
The following is an excerpt from a book published by well-known Pastor Tim LaHaye.
"Carnal Christians run their own lives and make their own decisions, whereas Christ-controlled Christians turn their lives over to Jesus Christ by prayerfully asking, 'Lord Jesus, how do you want me to handle this situation?' 'Do you want me to take this job opportunity?' 'How do you want me to respond to my wife, or husband, or children, or boss, or neighbors?' . . .
The self-controlled life is miserable. The Christ-controlled life is dynamic! One propagates disarray and confusion, inducing self to stagger from crisis to crisis. The Christ-controlled life guarantees peace and confidence, thus avoiding many crises (because this life is supernaturally directed), yet confidently facing those inescapable crises that do come. This believer is confident that his director will abundantly supply every need."1
"For from days of old they have not heard or perceived by ear,
Nor has the eye seen a God besides You,
Who acts in behalf of the one who waits for Him.
You meet him who rejoices in doing righteousness,
Who remembers You in Your ways." {Isaiah 64:4-5 NASB}
Get into the habit of turning your decisions and problems over to God without delay. Trust God. Be willing to do whatever He says to do or not do. Then, wait until things become clear. God's direction always comes within the context of relative peace.
Try it. You'll find it's not as scary as it seems. God is a 'good Father.' He does not scare His children, though sometimes He will direct you to do things that are difficult. And He will never tell you to do anything that is a clear violation of Scripture.
Demons, of course, will try to deceive and/or upset you by pretending to be the voice of God.
Don't do anything that doesn't make sense unless you are 100% sure it is from God. Seek out wise counsel to avoid mistakes.
You may also want to review the series entitled How to Cast a Burden.
Tenth: "Be holy, for I am holy." {1 Peter 1:16 NKJV}
Try to avoid masturbation. And, of course, stay away from pornography.
"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." {Proverbs 4:23 NIV}
Eleventh: "Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good." {Romans 12:9 NIV}
Don't entertain wicked thoughts and don't engage in wicked behaviors. These cause anxiety directly. {Proverbs 23:7, 28:1, Isaiah 48:22} They are a major impediment to Walking in the Spirit.
Recite Scripture and use affirmations. Examples follow.
Scripture: "Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord." {Romans 6:11 NKJV}
Affirmation: "I'm dead to sin. I'm alive to God."
Scripture: "I will set nothing wicked before my eyes . . ." {Psalms 101.3 NKJV}
Affirmations:
- I hate wickedness. I want nothing to do with it.
- I want nothing to do with wickedness.
Once you've recited Scripture, or used an affirmation, think about something else.
More related Scriptures follow.
"He who loves purity of heart
And has grace on his lips,
The king will be his friend." {Proverbs 22:11NKJV}
"The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and trust in Him.
And all the upright in heart shall glory." {Psalms 64:10 NKJV}
"The perverse in heart are an abomination to the Lord, But the blameless in their walk are His delight (Proverbs 11:20 NASB)."
"Light is sown like seed for the righteous And gladness for the upright in heart (Psalms 97:11 NASB)."
"Do good, O Lord, to those who are good And to those who are upright in their hearts (Psalm 125:4 NASB)."
"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer (Psalm 19:14 NASB)."
Things like jealousy, envy, malice, pornography and evil desires can easily sabotage your Christian life. They make it easy for Christians to be defeated.
The more you starve those fleshly desires, the more the fruit of the Spirit can grow in your life.
Twelfth: "Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." {1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NASB}
" . . . the joy of the Lord is your strength." {Nehemiah 8:10 NIV}
Look for ways to enjoy your life. Joy provides you with strength.
Listening to Christian music is recommended.
Make an effort to be joyful, regardless of circumstances. This is a choice you must make.
Thirteenth: Spend about ten minutes, every day, thinking about the good things in your life, what you can be thankful for. This will help you to develop the habit of thinking positive.
Fourteenth: Don't spend a lot of time studying psychology or trying to apply it to your life. Anything that distracts you from the Bible, for very long, will be detrimental to your making progress.
Fifteenth: Walk wisely.
"He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, But whoever walks wisely will be delivered." {Proverbs 28:26 NKJV}
Take care of your health:
- Get vaccinated.
- Get plenty of sleep
- Exercise daily.
- Eat a healthy diet.
- Get medical attention when needed.
- Stay away from quack remedies.
Be careful to avoid injuries:
"Be anxious for nothing . . ." {Philippians 4:6 NASB}
"Trust in Him at all times . . ." {Psalm 62:8 NASB}
These will help you to avoid injuries and avoid making other foolish mistakes.
Fear, itself, is dangerous. Much more dangerous than any possible circumstance. Don't give in to fear—ever.
You are not safe whenever you give in to fear.
Sixteenth: You can't learn to Walk in the Spirit while you are taking psychotropic drugs. Walking in the Spirit is a learning process that requires that you be able to experience both pleasant and unpleasant emotions unimpeded. It requires that your mind be alert and that you have the ability to be joyful.
Seventeenth: Recognize that Spiritual Warfare is a reality that you do have to deal with. The series entitled Stopping Spiritual Attacks is especially recommended.
Eighteenth: Two disciplines that will help you make progress, faster, are praying in tongues and fasting. These are discussed in the following articles:
Finally: I'd like to end with some summarizing Scriptures that I think you'll find helpful.
"Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace (Romans 8:5-6 NIV)."
"He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8 NIV)."
"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV)."
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." {Romans 12:1-2 NIV}
1 How to Win Over Depression by Tim LaHaye. Pages 209-210.
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