Living by the Spirit

Call To Prayer 

Title: Living by the Spirit 

Date: 16.12.2023 

By: Njuacha Hubert 

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.  Galatians 5: 16-17 

A man is spirit, mind and flesh (1 Thessalonians 5:23). In scriptures, the soul seems to be used interchangeably to mean mind and spirit (3 John 2, Mathew 10:28). However, we are not just flesh but have a spirit within us and then of course your mind. Your mind is the king who makes decisions and like every king, it is surrounded by councillors; the closest of which are Elder Spirit and Elder Flesh. Now the word of God says these two are very often at logger head (Galatians 5:17); They don’t always agree. If you obey Elder Spirit, you bear fruits of righteousness such as self-control, joy and long suffering (Galatians 5:22-23). However, if you obey Elder Flesh, then sooner than latter you bear fruits of sin such as sexual immorality, impurity and jealousy (Galatians 5: 19-20). Remember we are talking here of the person who has received the Holy spirit not demons. How can we then obtain grace to live by the Spirit and not just do whatever pleases our flesh? These are things we might already know but are always worth hearing again and again.  

Firstly, eating the Word of God. The Bible says Jesus was tempted in every way, yet He did not sin (Hebrews 4:15). Looking at the temptations of Jesus during His 40 days fast we see how He overcame by the word of God. He quoted scripture “… Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Mathew 4:4) which He was quoting from Deuteronomy 8: 3. Living by something means you are constantly eating it even though you have eaten it before, just as you are doing right now. That’s why scriptures say the “… The righteous shall live by faith” (Galatians 3: 11). And again, it says faith comes by hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17). If you stop hearing you will gradually stop believing. What increases the volume of the Holy spirit is the freshness of the word of God in your mind. So that you can more easily hear Him and obey Him over the flesh.  

The word of God says we must pray so that we don’t fall into temptation (Matthew 26:41-45). Prayer empowers us to yield to the Holy spirit (Luke 22:42-44). Pray in tongues (1 Corinthians 14:18, 1 Corinthians 15:10). 

Fasting is like training for war. Fasting is denying the flesh of a need while in a time of prayer. Jesus’s 40 days fast was a preparation for the real battle which was His ministry work.  

Living by the spirit is a present continues action. It is ongoing until we reach the finish line. However, we are not working for salvation but rather because we are saved (Ephesians 2:8-9, Philippians 2:12, James 2:17-22) and if and whenever you fall, get up and ask for mercy (1 John 1:9) and continue the journey of faith; as simple as that.  

Prayer Point

Let’s pray for grace to abide in God’s presence and His word so that we obtain grace to live by the spirit and bear much fruit like joy, long suffering and kindness.