Do you know the principle of the candle? It's not really the wick that's burning, it's the wax. And with the oil lamp, the principle is the same: It must be the oil that burns and not the wick, for the wick without oil will be destroyed!
Sometimes we try too hard, work too hard, trying to do everything ourselves when we need to let the Lord do the burning and just let Him flow through us and let Him burn! If we do the burning, we're going to burn out fast. But if you let Him burn you'll last a long time! Let the Oil, the Holy Spirit, burn! That's the whole secret of the wick!
The wick must be deeply immersed in the oil! Most of the wick is in the oil, only a tiny little bit of it is exposed to the air and to the flame. It's mostly OIL that burns and very little of the wick, almost none, but the oil flows freely through a wick that is yielded and deeply soaked in the oil! Then it gives bright clear light to all the house in the beauty of His perfection, in the holiness of His light! For it is not I that burn but Christ that burneth in me! For the life that I now live, I live by the strength of the Lord that liveth in me! (Gal.2:20; Mat.5:14-16)