God now wants to gain a certain group of people, a group consisting of those who strive to cooperate with Him, who can obey His work, who believe the words God speaks to be true, and who can put God’s requirements into practice; they are those who have true understanding in their hearts, they are the ones who can be perfected, and they will inevitably be able to walk the path of perfection. Those who cannot be perfected are people without a clear understanding of God’s work, who do not eat and drink of God’s words, who pay no attention to His words, and who are without any love for God in their hearts. Those who doubt God incarnate, are always uncertain about Him, never treat His words seriously and always deceive Him are people who resist God and belong to Satan; there is no way to perfect such people.

If you wish to be perfected, then you must first be favored by God, for He perfects those whom He favors and who are after His own heart. If you wish to be after God’s own heart, then you must have a heart that obeys His work, you must strive to pursue the truth, and you must accept God’s scrutiny in all things. Has all that you do passed under God’s scrutiny? Is your intent correct? If your intent is correct, then God will commend you; if your intent is wrong, this shows that what your heart loves is not God, but the flesh and Satan. Therefore, you must use prayer as a way to accept God’s scrutiny in all things. When you pray, although I am not standing in front of you in person, the Holy Spirit is with you, and it is both Myself and the Spirit of God to whom you are praying. Why do you believe in this flesh? You believe because He has the Spirit of God. Would you believe in this person if He were without the Spirit of God? When you believe in this person, you believe in the Spirit of God. When you fear this person, you fear the Spirit of God. Faith in God’s Spirit is faith in this person, and faith in this person is also faith in the Spirit of God. When you pray, you feel the Spirit of God is with you and that God is before you, and therefore you pray to His Spirit. Today, most people are too afraid to bring their actions before God; while you may deceive His flesh, you cannot deceive His Spirit. Any matter that cannot withstand God’s scrutiny is at odds with the truth, and should be cast aside; to do otherwise is to commit a sin against God. So, you must lay your heart before God at all times, when you pray, when you speak and fellowship with your brothers and sisters, and when you perform your duty and go about your business. When you fulfill your function, God is with you, and so long as your intent is correct and is for the work of God’s house, He will accept all that you do; you should sincerely devote yourself to fulfilling your function. When you pray, if you have love for God in your heart and seek God’s care, protection and scrutiny, if these things are your intent, your prayers will be effective. For example, when you pray at meetings, if you open your heart and pray to God and tell Him what is in your heart without speaking falsehoods, then your prayers will surely be effective. If you earnestly love God in your heart, then make an oath to God: “God, who is in the heavens and on earth and among all things, I swear to You: May Your Spirit examine all that I do and protect and care for me at all times, and make it possible for all that I do to stand in Your presence. Should my heart ever cease to love You or should it ever betray You, then chastise and curse me severely. Do not pardon me in either this world or the next!” Do you dare make such an oath? If you do not, this shows you are timid, and that you still love yourself. Do you have this resolve? If this is truly your resolve, you should make this oath. If you have the resolve to make such an oath, then God will fulfill your resolve. When you swear an oath to God, He listens. God determines whether you are sinful or righteous by the measure of your prayer and your practice. This now is the process of perfecting you, and if you truly have faith in being perfected, then you will bring all that you do before God and accept His scrutiny; if you do something outrageously rebellious or if you betray God, then He will bring your oath to fruition, and thus no matter what happens to you, be it perdition or chastisement, this is your own doing. You made the oath, so you should abide by it. If you make an oath, but do not abide by it, you will suffer perdition. Since yours was the oath, God will bring your oath to fruition. Some are afraid after they pray, and lament, “All is over! My chance of debauchery is gone; my chance to do wicked things is gone; my chance to indulge my worldly cravings is gone!” These people still love worldliness and sin, and they are certain to suffer perdition.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. God Perfects Those Who Are After His Own Heart