PRAYING IN THE SPIRIT: DEPTH

Here is a pathetic, public confession: so much of my praying across the years has been shallow and without specificity. I have offered too many generalized prayers that generally didn’t get answered—too many, “Bless this…bless that” without saying what kind of blessing I sensed God leading me to request. Even if He sent the blessing, I may not have recognized it and offered thanks for it, there was such a lack of clarity to the petition.

I’m trying to do better. But I find, that even so, the world distracts my attention, the flesh divides my affection and Satan defies my appeals. But all is not lost—there is a way to overcome our lack of power in prayer—our impotence—and our lack of perception in prayer—our ignorance—to desperately cry to the Holy Spirit and experience a spiritual depth in prayer that rockets our pleas into the heavens!

I remind you again of Romans 8:26-27, “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”

There can be depth to our prayers and if there is to be height there absolutely must be! NASA can send the space shuttle into the skies because of a launching pad that is immensely strong and incredibly deep. They have to build depth before lift-off.

How substantial are your convictions in the promises of God? How steadfast is your reliance on the Holy Spirit? How solid is your commitment to pray when you feel like it and when you don’t; when you are articulate and when you aren’t; when there is liberty, clarity and authority and when there is struggle, ignorance and weakness?

Men and women pray—pray always—pray and go deep so that the petition rises up! The bigger the payload, the deeper you have to go.