I

A normal spiritual life is not limited to such practices as praying, singing hymns, participating in church life, and eating and drinking God's words. Rather, it involves living a fresh and vibrant spiritual life. What matters is not how you practice, but what fruit your practice bears. Focusing only on making a fuss over how they practice, and treating God's words as regulations to follow, such people are not putting God's words into practice; they are just gratifying the flesh, and performing for other people to see. These religious regulations and rituals are all human in origin; they don't come from God.

II

God doesn't follow regulations, nor is He subject to any law. Rather, He does new things every day, accomplishing practical work. When people live amidst regulations and have their hearts fixed on methods of practice, the Holy Spirit cannot work, because their hearts are occupied by regulations and human notions. Thus, God is unable to intervene and work on them, and they can only continue living under the constraint of laws. Such people are forever incapable of receiving God's approval.

III

Most people nowadays focus on methods of practice, yet they don't do so in order to pursue the truth and achieve life growth. This is where they have gone astray. God leads people in doing new things every day, demanding that each day they gain new insight and understanding, and requiring that they not be old-fashioned and repetitive. If you have believed in God for many years, yet your methods of practice haven't changed at all, and if you're still zealous and busy about external matters, yet do not have a quiet heart to bring before God to enjoy His words, then you will obtain nothing.

from The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Regarding a Normal Spiritual Life