Prayer in the Spirit
by Andrew Grinnell (Salvationist, 7th April 2002)
The man was motionless as he looked upward. It was clear from the blood vessels pulsating on his forehead that he was in considerable distress. I, being the caring citizen that I am, approached him slowly and enquired:
'What's the problem? Can I help?'
'It's my son!' he exclaimed. I followed the direction of his out-stretched finger and saw the problem. His two-year-old was suspended 30 feet above the floor.
Now, before some of you pass over this article thinking it to be a collection of stories about personal tragedies, let me explain where we were. The two, or rather three, of us were in a soft-play centre. For the uninitiated among you, this is a child's paradise: loads of things to climb and jump on, all in a very safe environment. The greatest problem for adults is that it is built for children, meaning not only that you can't play on anything, but also that when your child gets stuck there's precious little you can do. Such was my new-found friend's dilemma: how to guide his child around the system of tubes and slides back to terra firma - I feat achieved after much persuasion and a fair amount of 'chocolate' bribery.
How true of life this is! We find ourselves in environments that are beyond our control, feeling a little out on a limb and desperately in need of guidance from someone who can see the bigger picture. Scripture reminds us that the Holy Spirit is our guide and our comforter:
'But the Counsellor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.' (John 14:24 NIV). In other words, the Spirit of God will guide us in getting around life's tricky obstacles.
This implies that in prayer we need to listen to what the Holy Spirit says. Soren Kierkegaard writes:
'The "immediate" person thinks and imagines that when he prays, the important thing, the thing he must concentrate upon, is that God should hear what he is praying for. Yet in the true, eternal sense it is just the reverse: the true relation in prayer is not when God hears what is prayed for, but when the person praying continues to pray until he is the one who hears, who hears what God wills.'
God's spirit may choose to speak to us at any time in any way. His voice may loudly interrupt our activities as it did for Paul on the road to Damascus, or it may be just a whisper, as it was for Elijah. God has many ways of making himself heard in our lives, but all are dependent on our willingness to listen. The writer to the Hebrews gives a chilling reminder of the consequences for the people of Israel when they refused to listen (see Hebrews 3). 'So, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts."' (Hebrews 3:7-8 NIV).
A listening heart is fostered in a number of ways. Firstly, in deepening our relationship with the Holy Spirit. Dr. Yonghi Cho, pastor of the world's largest church, often speaks of the importance of developing friendship with the Holy Spirit. He begins each day by welcoming the Holy Spirit into every area of his life and thinking. Then he affirms the truth that he will encounter nothing during the day that they cannot handle together. In many ways he is simply echoing the prayer of invocation, 'Veni Sancte Spiritus', or 'Come, Holy Spirit'. Jesus' promise is that his Spirit will guide us into truth (John 16:13), and so it is as we allow the Spirit to flood our lives that we begin to see him and hear him at work in our circumstances.
Secondly, our hearts are developed as we spend time actively listening for his voice. The stories and examples of Scripture seem to imply that those with the most active ministries were also those who set aside the most time to be alone with God. We may need to create an environment where we can block out the activity of the world and focus on God. It may be a particular place we go to, or a specific time in our schedule; it may be walking in the mountains, visiting a cathedral or simply finding a quiet place at home. However it works best for you, indulge in the activity of listening out for the 'still small voice of calm'. Then, when he speaks, act upon his words.
Thirdly, as we trust and believe that the Holy Spirit is guiding us and we are never beyond his help, we will find that we do hear his voice when we most need to. Unlike the father in the story, God never panics. He is always watching us and is ready to catch us should we fall. Our ability to hear his direction will increase if we trust him: 'for you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship.' (Romans 8:14-15 NIV)
Let us deepen our friendship with the Holy Spirit, listen for his voice and trust in his word.