I loved learning about what it means to pray with my spirit and at the same time how precious it is to pray with my mind. It is not about one or the other being more important or more powerful – to neglect either one would make no use of the extraordinary gift of the Spirit given to me.
What should I do, then? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray also with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will sing also with my mind. – 1 Corinthians 14:15 GNT
I will pray with my spirit for without the help of the Holy Spirit my prayer cannot come out with faith, fervency, freedom and boldnesss – in an extraordinary manner. I will pray with my mind because I need to know the object of prayer and how the Holy Spirit has influenced my ask so that, by faith, and in relationship, I know the will of God and in the end my soul, as well as those of others, are refreshed.
The key that I have found when I pray is confession, no different than what David expressed in Psalm 51. In fact, it has largely shaped my own prayer life. It is how I come before God in honesty and humilty, resting in His love and mercy that I have in Christ.
Father, I come, as I usually do, to acknowledge the steps I have taken to break our relationship. I know those steps stop me from loving You and to stop being faithful. I come as I am to ask for Your forgiveness. I miss, above everything else, the presence of Your Holy Spirit in my life. Sometimes I fear I have lost Him forever and yet each time, Your forgiveness has set me free and has once again restored not only our relationship but has filled me again with Your presence. Your Holy Spirit has become my sign that Your promise of eternal life is indeed one that You are determined to keep for me. Maybe that is why He is so precious to me. I love that King David was so aware of Him in his life for David has left with me some powerful expressions of pain when it comes to sin. He has also provided incredible glimpses of Your mercy and grace and now, through Jesus, those have become readily available when I come before You on bended knee. Thank You for giving me life in the kingdom of God.
Erwin (evanlaar1922)
Sixty-six books in a year 