How Is Your Prayer Life?
How is your prayer life?
That is a question worth asking ourselves from time to time.
When we pray, are we constantly asking God for things? Are our prayers mostly a list of requests—Lord, give me this. Lord, fix that. Lord, help me with this problem. Lord, make this happen?
There is nothing wrong with asking God for what we need. Jesus Himself taught us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” God wants us to bring our needs, worries, hopes, and desires to Him.
But there is another, deeper way to pray.
It is the prayer that says:
“Father, I trust You. You know what is best for me. Your will be done.”
Scripture tells us that God is our loving Father. A good father does not give his child everything the child asks for simply because the child asks for it. He gives what is truly good.
Sometimes we ask for something that we think will make our lives better, but God sees what we cannot see. He knows tomorrow. He knows where our choices will lead. He knows what we truly need—not simply what we want.
God’s plans are greater than ours.
And sometimes the greatest answer to prayer is not “Yes.”
Sometimes it is “No.”
Sometimes it is “Not yet.”
And sometimes it is “I have something better for you.”
Learning to Let Go
I have found a deeper peace and a more loving way to pray by learning to let the Holy Spirit pray in me and for me.
That doesn’t mean I stop talking to God.
It means I begin listening.
Instead of bringing God a long list of demands, I can simply say:
“Holy Spirit, pray in me. Help me pray as I should. Help me desire what God desires. Help me surrender my will to the Father’s will.”
What a difference that can make!
Saint Paul tells us:
“The Spirit too helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes with inexpressible groanings.”
Think about that.
We don’t always know how to pray.
We may think we know exactly what we need. But God knows us better than we know ourselves.
The Holy Spirit can take our confusion, our fears, our hopes, our disappointments, and even our inability to find the right words—and bring them before God.
That is a beautiful thought.
We don’t have to have perfect prayers.
We simply need an open heart.
From Scared Rabbits to Bold Apostles
Picture the Apostles after Jesus ascended into Heaven.
Jesus had given them a mission, but they were human beings facing a frightening world.
One pastor described them as being like “scared rabbits.”
And in many ways, that description makes sense.
They had watched their beloved Master be arrested, tortured, crucified, and buried. Then they experienced His Resurrection and His Ascension. Now He was gone from their sight.
What were they supposed to do?
Jesus had told them to wait.
So they waited in the Upper Room.
They prayed.
They were uncertain.
They were probably frightened.
Then something happened that changed everything.
The Holy Spirit descended upon them.
And suddenly these frightened men were transformed.
The men who had been hiding were now proclaiming Christ publicly.
The men who had been afraid to speak were boldly speaking about Jesus.
They couldn’t stop talking about Him!
Pentecost was not simply an emotional experience.
It was a transformation.
The Holy Spirit took ordinary men and gave them extraordinary courage.
Peter: From Fisherman to Fisher of Men
Consider Peter.
Peter was a fisherman.
He was not a professional theologian. He did not have a degree in public speaking. He made mistakes. He acted impulsively. And when Jesus was arrested, Peter denied three times that he even knew Him.
Yet after Pentecost, Peter stood before a crowd and boldly proclaimed Jesus Christ.
The fisherman became a preacher.
The frightened disciple became a courageous apostle.
The man who had once denied Jesus became one of the great witnesses of Christianity.
What changed?
The Holy Spirit.
Peter allowed God to work through him.
Paul: An Ordinary Tentmaker Who Changed the World
Then there was Paul.
Paul was a tentmaker.
He was also a highly educated man, but his greatness did not come simply from his education or profession.
His life was transformed when he encountered Christ.
Paul surrendered himself to God’s plan.
He traveled. He preached. He suffered. He was rejected, beaten, imprisoned, and persecuted.
Yet he kept going.
Why?
Because Paul allowed the Holy Spirit to work through him.
An ordinary fisherman and an ordinary tentmaker became instruments through which God changed the world.
They didn’t change the world because they were extraordinary by human standards.
They changed the world because they surrendered themselves to an extraordinary God.
What Could the Holy Spirit Do Through You?
This brings us back to the question:
What could happen if you allowed the Holy Spirit to pray in you and for you?
What if you began your day by saying:
“Holy Spirit, I give You this day. Pray in me. Guide my thoughts. Guide my words. Guide my decisions. Help me see people as God sees them. Help me do what the Father wants me to do.”
What might happen?
Perhaps you would become more patient.
Perhaps you would forgive someone you have struggled to forgive.
Perhaps you would stop worrying about something you cannot control.
Perhaps you would discover peace in a situation that previously troubled you.
Perhaps you would become more aware of the needs of the people around you.
Perhaps you would find yourself talking about Jesus more naturally.
Perhaps you would become a source of encouragement to someone who desperately needs it.
We don’t know exactly what God will do.
And that’s the point.
Prayer is not about getting God to do what we want.
Prayer is about allowing God to transform us into the people He created us to be.
Let the Holy Spirit Take Over
There is a great difference between saying:
“God, here is my plan. Please bless it.”
and saying:
“God, show me Your plan. Give me the grace to follow it.”
The second prayer requires trust.
It requires surrender.
It requires faith.
And it can lead to a peace that the world cannot give.
Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would come to His followers as a Helper, a Counselor, and a Guide.
The same Holy Spirit who came upon the Apostles at Pentecost is still at work.
The Holy Spirit did not retire after Pentecost.
He is still calling.
He is still guiding.
He is still strengthening.
He is still transforming ordinary people into instruments of God’s love.
Try a Different Kind of Prayer
Tonight, or tomorrow morning, try something different.
Instead of beginning with a list of requests, become quiet.
Take a few slow breaths.
Place yourself in God’s presence.
Then simply say:
“Come, Holy Spirit.”
And after that:
“Holy Spirit, pray in me and for me. I don’t always know what I need. You know me better than I know myself. Help me want what God wants. Help me accept God’s plan. Help me become the person God created me to be.”
Then be quiet.
Listen.
You may not hear a voice.
You may not experience anything dramatic.
That’s okay.
Prayer is not about chasing feelings.
It is about faith.
It is about trust.
It is about opening the door of our hearts and allowing God to enter more deeply into our lives.
Imagine the Possibilities
The Apostles entered the Upper Room as frightened men.
They came out empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Peter was a fisherman.
Paul was a tentmaker.
Yet through their surrender to God, their lives touched millions, and their witness continues nearly two thousand years later.
So don’t underestimate what God can do with an ordinary person who says,
“Yes, Lord.”
You may think you are too old.
Too young.
Too weak.
Too inexperienced.
Too ordinary.
But God has never needed extraordinary people.
He has always needed people willing to surrender themselves to Him.
So ask yourself one more time:
What could God do through you if you truly allowed the Holy Spirit to pray in you and for you?
Perhaps the answer is far greater than anything you could ever ask for.
And perhaps the first step is simply this:
“Come, Holy Spirit. Take over my life. Lead me where You want me to go, and teach me to pray as I ought.”
Thank you for reading this blog. Please share with others.
Rick Herring
thmjmj@gmail.com
To learn more about Team Hope Ministries (THM) Click Here.
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