Battlefield of the Mind: Winning the Battle in Your Mind

In this brief chapter, Meyer introduces the arc of Part 2 by describing how a Christian’s mind can operate either healthily or unhealthily. To understand the various problems that can beset the Christian mind, one must first understand the characteristics of a “normal” mind. According to Meyer, the Bible paints a portrait of the Holy Spirit dwelling in each believer, such that the person’s mind should always be in communion with the Spirit, seeking guidance and obeying the Spirit’s leading. The Spirit enlightens and illumines the inner life of the believer: “Since the Holy Spirit dwells in us, and since He knows the mind of God, one of His purposes is to reveal to us God’s wisdom and revelation” (80).

To receive the Spirit’s leading, one must have a mind that is serene and still enough to hear his voice. By this measure, a mind that is too busy is a mark of unhealthiness—the first of several “abnormal” states of mind that Meyer enumerates in Part 2. Meyer illustrates the dynamic between the Holy Spirit and the human mind with a discussion of the way that the Spirit works in the gift of miraculous tongues (a common feature in charismatic Christian experience), instructing the individual as to the meaningfulness of what is being expressed.