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Prayer should be an enjoyable experience that’s full of wonder. Yet, far too often, people view prayer as an obligation instead of an opportunity. When people pray, they frequently miss the wonder of prayer because they’re worrying. Did they pray correctly? Was God really listening? Will God truly answer? The good news is that none of us ever needs to worry about prayer. God will meet us wherever we are when we pray. Through the Holy Spirit, God partners with us in prayer – both to help us pray, and to help us understand the answers to our prayers. Prayer is much more than transactional; it’s relational.
I’ve just returned from an international prayer retreat in Ireland. It was an awe-inspiring time of praying with people from around the world – and with the Holy Spirit. We gathered at a nature sanctuary consecrated as a sacred place where people can focus on connecting with God. We sensed the presence of the Holy Spirit with us in powerful ways as we prayed together. The Spirit helped us transcend boundaries between each other and between us and God. Even though many of the topics we prayed about were complex, we prayed with confidence that the Holy Spirit would help us express our prayers and align our hopes with God’s purposes. Our prayers were much more than just transactions. We didn’t simply list requests while trying to convince God to grant our wishes. Instead, we enjoyed close conversations with our Creator, whose Spirit lives inside our souls.
When you invite the Holy Spirit into your prayers, something wonderful happens. Prayer shifts from being a transactional exchange to becoming a relational encounter. The Spirit connects you with the One who knows you best and loves you most.
Think about it like this: when you enter into prayer with the help of the Holy Spirit, it’s no longer just about what you can get from God. It’s about entering into a relationship with God – a relationship characterized by love and trust. In John 15:15, Jesus says: “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” Through the Holy Spirit, we are invited into this friendship with God. That friendship transforms our prayers from just requests into heartfelt conversations with a trusted friend.
Praying with the Holy Spirit's Help
Think about those moments when you’re faced with a challenge, and you just don’t know what to pray. It could be a big decision looming over you, or perhaps a heavy burden weighing on your heart. In those times, you may feel unsure of how to approach God with your concerns. But no matter how lost or uncertain you may feel, you’re never alone in your prayers. The Holy Spirit is ready to step in like a trusted friend, to help you express your prayers. Romans 8:26-27 points out: “… the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.” Isn’t that incredible? Even when you’re at a loss for words, the Holy Spirit will speak for you. It’s like having a divine translator who understands the language of your heart perfectly. So, when you find yourself struggling to find the right words in prayer, don’t worry. You don’t have to have all the answers or articulate every thought perfectly. The Holy Spirit is right there with you, listening to the whispers of your heart and translating them into prayers that God hears. Your prayers may be wordless groans or silent tears, but they are heard and understood by the One who loves you most. So, trust in the Spirit’s ability to intercede for you and to communicate the desires of your heart to God. As you do, you’ll experience the wonder of prayer in a whole new way – a wonder that comes from knowing you’re never alone when you pray, and that your prayers are always heard, understood, and cherished by your Heavenly Father.
Listening to God’s Answers Through the Spirit
Prayer isn’t just about talking to God; it’s also about listening. But how do you know if God is answering your prayers? How do you discern God’s voice in the middle of your own thoughts? This is where the Holy Spirit comes in. In 1 Corinthians 2:10-12, the Bible reveals: “… The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.” This verse reminds you that the Holy Spirit helps you understand God’s answers to your prayers. God’s Spirit searches the depths of God’s heart and reveals his thoughts and intentions to you. When you pray, you can trust that the Holy Spirit is at work, helping you to discern God’s voice standing out from your other thoughts. As you learn to listen to God’s voice, you can discern God’s answers to your prayers with clarity and confidence. But listening to God’s answers isn’t always easy. It requires patience, humility, and a willingness to surrender your own agendas. It means being open to God’s leading, even when that doesn’t align with your own plans. It involves trusting that God knows what’s best for you, even when his answers seem mysterious or difficult to understand. Yet, as you listen to God’s answers to your prayers through the Holy Spirit, you can discover the incredible wonder of God’s wisdom. You start to see how God is orchestrating situations in your life for good purposes. You find true peace about everything you’ve been praying for, because you’ll glimpse God’s perspective on those situations. So, the next time you pray, ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you and listen carefully. Be open to whatever God tells you through his Spirit – and be prepared for wondrous discoveries.
Experiencing the Wonder of Prayer with the Holy Spirit
In the wonder of praying with the Holy Spirit, you can discover a sacred space where your prayers are transformed, and your understanding is deepened. Your prayers will become less transactional and more relational. You’ll start to see God less like a distant being to exchange messages with, and more like a loving Father who enjoys communicating with you.
So, the next time you pray, invite the Holy Spirit to join you. Allow the Spirit to transform your prayers from transactional exchanges into relational encounters with the living God. When you partner with the Holy Spirit, there’s no limit to the wonder you can experience in your prayer life.
Learn more about how the Holy Spirit can help you experience wonder in Wake Up to Wonder and in my Crosswalk.com articles and devotionals.
Blessings,
Whitney