Deep To Deep

Romans 8: 26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.

Prayer is talking to God. We cultivate prayer by doing it.

When you have faith in Christ, Christ is in you by His Spirit, and you can access God the Father through the Son. You enjoy a unique audience with God.

Our will and God's will go in two opposing directions. So how do we know God's will in any given situation? By the Spirit.

Psalm 42: 7 Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.

The context of Psalm 42 is prayer. The "deep" is spirit-to-spirit communication. God's Spirit in us connects with God in this interface. In a sense, the Spirit prays through us to the Spirit. It is a mystical communion.

As we delve deeper in this, the informational exchange in prayer divulges information about God's will. The journey of prayer teaches us the way of the Spirit. We learn to "hear" God as well as speak to Him. We graduate from the one-way conversation. We learn to listen to what the Spirit is saying.

There is no more satisfying relationship. And it isn't about how skilled we get at praying. When we talk to each other we give and take information. So those exercised in prayer can learn God's voice through familiarity and listening.

Many, when they first discover God's voice, can easily abuse it. They think everything they hear in their head is God and they say, "God told me." But with continual use, we learn that God is more subtle. We begin to hear Him in others, and even in those who don't know Him. His voice pervades our consciousness and we are more "in touch." We begin to walk in that consciousness and it informs all that we do and say.

Some call this phenomenon "the prophetic" because it is the "Spirit of prophecy" that leads us. That is, the all-knowing God is laying out His will through our lives. One does not have to be sensitive to the prophetic, though, for this to happen. One does not have to have all the right doctrine and go to the right church and have the right politics. But it is divulged when we pray. Prayer is how we walk with God. And it goes on, after awhile, even when we are not speaking words. It becomes fellowship.

This is not about "accuracy." Some in the prophetic circles seek accuracy. But even accuracy exalts self, and causes us to depart from the real function of the Spirit. God isn't trying to impress anybody ~ He can do that easily. He is indwelling us and leading us, step by step. Then the "prophetic" consumes us.

Prayer then advances in stages. We walk into the room. We do our howdies. We ask for some things that concern us and our situation. But, if we persist, the conversation expands and the communion increases. Then we move into relationship and discovery. We become intimate with our Creator.

The Holy Spirit is the mind of Christ in us. He knows the mind of God and the will of God and taps into that through us. We enter into the vast spiritual ocean that is God. As we do, we are being consumed by His fire and subsumed into Him. "Learn of me, " He says. It isn't a competition among believers. It is God with you, in your world, where you are right now.