Why It’s Strategic To Walk In The Spirit

Those of us, who have come to know Jesus as our savior know that this was the defining part of our lives as the old passed away, and we were reborn. (2 Corinthians 5:17) Jesus gave us eternal life, not based on our deeds, but what he did on the cross. (Ephesians 2:8-9) We were sealed with the Holy Spirit as a promise of our salvation wanting to live for Christ not turning back to their old sinful ways. (Ephesians 1:13; 1 John 3:6; 1 Peter 4:1-2) We still have free will to choose, but in order to please him, we need to be in full surrender to him.

You may ask what does full surrender to Jesus mean? It’s described as walking in the Spirit, and it’s a daily surrender that we must do as followers of Jesus Christ. This doesn’t just make Jesus our Savior, but our Lord as well. We will go over the details about what it means to walk in the Spirit, why it’s strategically important, and how you too can walk in the Spirit. Let’s get started!

Growing in Your Relationship with Jesus

Jesus wants a real relationship with us but this involves us coming to him with our free will wanting that relationship as well. Part of this relationship is surrendering all we are to Jesus, completely trusting him in regards to every aspect of our life and not leaning on our own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5-6) It also means that we don’t go back to our old ways of life in sin. (1 John 3:6) The Lord also gives us the Holy Spirit to help teach us all things, and bring to remembrance what Jesus taught. (John 14:26)

Getting to know Jesus means you are taking your time to read and meditate upon Biblical scriptures each and every day. (2 Peter 3:18; Colossians 2:6-7) It also means abiding in Jesus and putting Christ first in your life while forsaking the world. (John 15:4-9; Colossians 3:1-3) Full surrender means you die to your flesh each and every day and trust what God says in the Bible as truth.

If you are the kind of person who is always anxious and worrying about how to pay bills, you have to ask yourself if you’ve fully surrendered to Jesus and trust him as Lord. Jesus promises that he will never leave us or forsake us, and he will always provide for all of our needs. (Hebrews 13:5-6, Philippians 4:19) You need to trust him regarding all matters, otherwise, you become a double-minded person, and the Bible clearly points out that God will not answer this person’s prayers. Let’s look at this verse:

“But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” (James 1: 6-8)

Dying Daily to the Flesh and Walking According to the Holy Spirit

Every believer has heard that it’s important that you die to the flesh and pick up your cross and follow Jesus from Matthew 16:24-25 but what does this really involve?

Before we go deeper into how to die to yourself and walk according to the Holy Spirit, you have to take into account that in your relationship with the Lord; and being able to recognize his voice in your inner-man (your spirit).

We can recognize this by the following scripture:

“I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.” (John 10:14-16)

So by hearing the Lord, we will want to follow his instruction by obeying him. Watchman Nee in the book “The Spiritual Man,” points this fact out wonderfully as he stated:

“If a believer walks according to God’s Spirit, he will not originate or regulate anything; he will instead wait quietly upon the voice of the Holy Spirit to be heard in his spirit intuitively and assume for himself the position of subordinate. Upon hearing the inner voice he rises up to work, obeying the direction of intuition. By walking the believer remains a steadfast follower where the Holy Spirit is the alone Originator.

The exact opposite is true with the soulish life. Self is the center here. When a Christian is said to be soulish he is walking according to self. Everything originates from himself. He is governed not by the voice of the Holy Spirit in the inner man, but rather by the thoughts, decisions, and desires of his outer man. Even feelings of joy arises from having his own wishes satisfied.” (Nee, 1977)

So with this in mind, walking according to the Spirit is spent with the lives outpoured to the Kingdom of God and lived in disregard for one’s personal happiness. On the other spectrum, a carnal (fleshy) Christian will live towards their own pleasures and “spiritual” enjoyment. The problem here is that this carnal believer has little real value to God. Only when this carnal Christian dies to sin, and their personal life shall they be able to be used by God.

(If you have never experienced hearing the Holy Spirit speaking to you, we encourage you to read our article “How to Have a Real Relationship with Jesus” as this point is covered thoroughly.

It’s also important to note when the Holy Spirit speaks to you that He will not go against anything in the Bible. Everything you hear should be weighed against scripture 1 Thessalonians 5:21.)

Walking in the Spirit is Strategic for Gods Will and Glory

God doesn’t want anyone to perish, but free will is a constant factor here. (2 Peter 3:9) Our Heavenly Father sent his one and only Son Jesus to die for our sins, which was accomplished on the cross. (John 3:16) Jesus then conquered sin and death and rose again and ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father and intercedes for believers. (Acts 1:9-11; Romans 8:34).

So in order for men not to perish, they need to be saved. A person who willfully, humbly repents of their sin and trusts Jesus Christ as their Savior will be saved. (John 14:6) We also know that someone who is truly saved is a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) and has the conviction of the Holy Spirit (John 14:26) and wants to live for Jesus not turning back to their own sinful ways. (1 John 3:6; 1 Peter 4:1-2)

The only thing blocking the good news of Jesus reaching men and their hearts is Satan and his demons, as we know that they have blinded the minds of unbelievers from the good news of salvation. (2 Corinthians 4:4) We know that demons scheme against Christians in order that they fall into sin. (1 Peter 5:8; Ephesians 6:11) This stalls a believer’s purpose and gifts in winning souls for Christ rendering them useless like a soldier with a machine gun who is blindfolded without bullets. This is why a believer has to be vigilant of the tactics of the enemy. As ambassadors for Christ, it’s our duty to go and tell the lost about Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:18-20)

So when we walk in the Spirit and put the Lords will first we become spiritually useful to God for winning souls. We also have a duty to wage spiritual warfare against the enemy because he is the one scheming against Christians. In this way, we should relentlessly be attacking the enemy because we can do ALL THINGS through Christ who strengthens us. (Philippians 4:13)

We should also know that Jesus defeated death and grave on the cross, and all power has been given to him in heaven and earth. (1 Corinthians 15:55-57; Matthew 28:18) Jesus passes his authority onto us as believers as we have this assurance in the 10^th chapter of Luke where it says:

“Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” (Luke 10:19)

So with this in mind we can say powerful prayers like the following:

Heavenly Father,

Break every chain of command from the highest to the lowest in Satan’s hierarchy of demons, and cancel each one of their assignments and the effects thereof. Break the enemy’s petitions, tear down their strongholds, and strip them of their attempts to kill souls worldwide. Burn the camps of the enemy all over the world with your holy and all-consuming fire. Break the veil of darkness that the enemy has used to blind the minds of men, so they can see the light and truth of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, so it shines unto them.

In Jesus’s name and by his blood, I pray, Amen.

Daily Prayer to Walk in the Spirit

Now that we see the importance of Walking in the Spirit, here is a prayer to put you in the right mindset so you too can start walking in the Spirit daily.

Heavenly Father,

I have made Jesus Christ my Savior who died for my sins, but I surrender everything in my life to you making you my Lord as well. I trust that you will meet all my needs according to Philippians 4:19. Thank you for giving me confidence that I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me from Philippians 4:13. Change my heart and my attitude, so I stop being carnally minded and chasing after the world and its false securities, and chasing after you with everything I am while trusting in you completely. Thank you for giving me your supernatural peace that my heart may not be troubled or afraid of anything as I’m reminded in John 14:27.

Help me to grow in my relationship with you daily, offering myself as a living sacrifice while not being conformed to this world and renewing my mind with your word as it says in Romans 12:1-2. Let me deny myself and pick up my cross and follow you as I’m reminded in Matthew 16:24-25. Help me to hear from the Holy Spirit who gives me guidance while teaching me all things as I’m reminded in John 14:26. Let me listen to the instruction of the Holy Spirit to do your will over that of my own. Let me be used strategically for your Kingdom and be spiritually useful to you. Use me as an ambassador for Christ while aggressively attacking the enemy in spiritual warfare never letting myself to become passive in my own spirit.

In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.

Final Thoughts

Walking according to the Spirit involves growing in our relationship every day with Jesus as well as being in full surrender to him. Besides spending time in reading the Bible, prayer, and being an ambassador for Christ, we must remember to develop our inner-man through walking in the Spirit.

When we learn to pick up our cross daily, deny ourselves and follow after Christ, we understand that we should be waiting for guidance from the Holy Spirit with the primary focus being on living our lives outpoured to the Kingdom of God for his glory. We should always press the attack against our spiritual enemy in order that we remain spiritually useful to win souls for Jesus while praying that we never fall into a state of spiritual passivity.