The Mind of Christ Retained Through Prayer

The Christian has the mind of Christ. The Scripture says, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus”* (Philippians 2:5); “But we have the mind of Christ.”* (1 Corinthians 2:16) These words contain a very deep thought. It is too deep for our finite mind to fathom. We can readily see, however, that it means to be humble-minded, meek, lowly, patient, longsuffering and loving, like Jesus. Yes, it means to have a disposition like His, but it means more. A deeper thought is that we have such a union with Jesus that we can think His thoughts. We are one body with Christ. “We are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.”* (Ephesians 5:30) This is mysterious, but it is true. Jesus being the head of this body, His will is to be done throughout the whole. Our minds are to be in harmony with the great mind of God. Between our mind and the mind of the Lord there is a connection something like the nervous connections in the human body. Through this union God conveys His thoughts to our minds.

“Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit.”* (1 Corinthians 2:9-10) In the spirit and eternal world, many beauties and glories are awaiting our vision. We here see through a glass darkly, but even so we can see some heavenly glories. The glass is not so dark that we can see nothing of God. The Spirit of God reveals to us something of the scenes we shall see hereafter. We catch far-away glimpses of them, so to speak. The closer we live to God in this life, the farther we can see into the life beyond. By His Spirit, God shines into our hearts and gives us some knowledge of heavenly things. In speaking of the great celestial city, the Revelator says. “[It] had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it.”* (Revelation 21:23-24) That light which shines in the eternal city of God has been seen here upon earth. It was the light which shone around the Judean shepherds on the night of the nativity. It was that light which shone around Saul on the road to Damascus. It was so bright that it blinded Saul. Some years after, when relating this circumstance to a heathen king, the apostle said, “At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun.”* (Acts 26:13) I, too, can testify to the brightness of this heavenly light, for I have seen it. One morning as my heart was in communion with God, a light, more mellow, more radiant, than sunlight, shone round about me. Also, one night, the night when my little child was instantly healed of a broken bone, a light very much unlike that of the lamp filled the room for half an hour. It was the glory of the Lord. Many others have seen this light. In this life we can see and know something of God and of the world beyond.

The mind of the Christian is in touch with the mind of the Lord. The minister who preaches under the anointing of the Holy Spirit is but expressing the mind of God. The thoughts of the Lord become his thoughts and he expresses them. Prayer is the most essential means of keeping the mind of Christ. If the preacher would have the mind of the Lord while he is preaching, if he would minister grace to others in conversation, he must live much in prayer. God is able to direct in conversation so that it will be the most helpful to those engaged. The same is true in testimony and in preaching. Thus the mind of God controls the mind of His servant. That our minds may be most perfectly imbued with the mind of God, our life needs to be one of unceasing prayer. The mind needs to be stayed on God. Our life can never be successful unless we have the mind of Christ in the sense in which I have been speaking. The work of our life can be carried on under the direction of the Holy Spirit. No other life is successful.

There is a sense in which God rules the minds of men. He puts it in the mind of the unregenerate to befriend His praying children. In such an act, sinners are performing what God has in mind. We who live and walk in the Spirit can so have the mind of Christ that we can always be acting out what is in the mind of God. The church of God is to execute the design of God. When the church is turning her attention, strengthening her forces, and redoubling her efforts in a certain direction, we know the mind of God is turning that way. Sometimes God’s children all over the world are moved to pray for a certain line of work or a certain cause. This is the mind of God flowing into the minds of His children. Prayer keeps the channel open; it keeps the line of communication continuous so that we can always be in the will of God.