I

To ponder and pray over the words of God

while eating and drinking His current words

is the first step to being at peace before God,

is the first step to being at peace before God.

If you can truly be at peace before God,

then the enlightenment and illumination of the Holy Spirit will be with you.

All spiritual life is achieved by being at peace in God’s presence.

In praying, you must be at peace before God,

and only then can you be moved by the Holy Spirit.

When you are at peace before God while eating and drinking God’s words,

you can be enlightened and illuminated,

and can achieve true understanding of God’s words.

II

In your usual activities of meditation and fellowship

and drawing close to God in your heart,

when you become at peace in God’s presence,

become at peace in God’s presence,

you will be able to enjoy genuine closeness to God,

to have genuine understanding of God’s love and His work,

and to show true consideration for God’s intentions,

to show true consideration for God’s intentions.

The more you are ordinarily able to be at peace before God,

the more you will be illuminated

and the more you will be able to understand your own corrupt disposition,

what it is that you lack, what it is that you should enter,

what function you should serve, and wherein your defects lie.

All this is achieved by being at peace in God’s presence.

III

If you truly attain depth in your peace before God,

you will be able to grasp,

you will be able to grasp what God at present wishes to carry out in you,

to grasp a deeper understanding of God’s words,

to grasp the marrow of God’s words,

the essence and the being of God’s words,

and you’ll be able to see the path of practice more clearly and accurately.

If you fail to achieve sufficient depth in becoming at peace in your spirit,

you will only be a little moved by the Holy Spirit;

but you will not grasp anything deeper.

I have said before:

If people do not employ every ounce of their strength,

it will be difficult for them to hear My voice or see My face.

from The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. On Quieting Your Heart Before God