To have discernment, to have submission, and to have the ability to see into things so that you are keen in spirit means you have God’s words illuminating and enlightening you inside as soon as you encounter something. This is being keen in spirit. Everything that God does is for the sake of helping revive people’s spirits. Why does God always say people are numb and dull-witted? It is because people’s spirits have died, and they have become so numb that they are completely unconscious of things of the spirit. God’s work is to make people’s lives progress and to help people’s spirits come alive, so that they can see into things of the spirit, and they are always able to love God in their hearts and to satisfy God. Arrival at this stage shows that a person’s spirit has been revived, and the next time he encounters something, he can react immediately. He is responsive to sermons, and reacts quickly to situations. This is what achieving keenness of spirit is. There are many people who have a quick reaction to an external event, but as soon as entry into reality or detailed things of the spirit are mentioned, they become numb and dull-witted. They understand something only if it is staring them in the face. All these are signs of being spiritually numb and dull-witted, of having little experience of things of the spirit. Some people are keen of spirit and have discernment. As soon as they hear words that point out their states, they lose no time in writing them down. Once they hear words about principles of practice, they are able to accept them and apply them to their subsequent experience, thereby changing themselves. This is a person who is keen in spirit. Why are they able to react so quickly? It is because they focus on these things in daily life. When they read God’s words, they are able to check their states against them and reflect upon themselves. When they hear fellowship and sermons and hear words that bring them enlightenment and illumination, they are able to receive them immediately. It is similar to giving food to a hungry person; they are able to eat right away. If you give food to someone who is not hungry, they are not so quick to react. You often pray to God, and then you are able to react immediately when you encounter something: what God requires in this matter, and how you should act. God guided you on this matter last time; when you encounter this same sort of thing today, naturally you will know how to practice in a way that satisfies God’s heart. If you always practice in this way and always experience in this way, at some point it will come easily to you. When reading God’s word, you know to what sort of person God is referring, you know what sort of conditions of the spirit He is talking about, and you are able to grasp the key point and put it into practice; this shows that you are able to experience. Why are some people lacking in this respect? It is because they do not put much effort into the aspect of practice. Though they are willing to put truth into practice, they do not have true insight into the details of service, into the details of truth in their life. They become confused when something happens. In this way, you may be led astray when a false prophet or a false apostle comes along. You must fellowship often about God’s words and work—only in this way will you be able to understand the truth and develop discernment. If you do not understand the truth, you will have no discernment. For example, what God speaks, how God works, what His demands on people are, with what sort of people you should come in contact, and what sort of people you should reject—you must often fellowship about these things. If you always experience God’s word in this way, you will understand the truth and thoroughly understand many things, and you will have discernment also. What is discipline by the Holy Spirit, what is blame born of human will, what is guidance from the Holy Spirit, what is arrangement of an environment, what is God’s words enlightening within? If you are not clear about these things, you will have no discernment. You should know what comes from the Holy Spirit, what is rebellious disposition, how to obey God’s word, and how to throw off your own rebelliousness; if you have an experiential understanding of these things, you will have a foundation; when something happens, you will have an appropriate truth against which to measure it and suitable visions as a foundation. You will have principles in everything you do, and will be able to act according to the truth. Then your life will be full of God’s enlightenment, full of God’s blessings. God will not treat unfairly any person who sincerely seeks Him, or who lives Him out and bears witness for Him, and He will not curse any person who is able to sincerely thirst for truth. If, while you are eating and drinking the words of God, you can pay attention to knowing your own true state, pay attention to your own practice, and pay attention to your own understanding, then, when you meet a problem, you will receive enlightenment and will gain practical understanding. Then you will have in all things a path of practice and discernment. A person who has truth is unlikely to be deceived, unlikely to behave disruptively or act excessively. Because of truth, he is protected, and also because of truth, he obtains more understanding. Because of truth, he has more paths to practice, gets more opportunities for the Holy Spirit to work in him, and more opportunities to be perfected.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Only Those Who Focus on Practice Can Be Perfected