“Prayer opens our spiritual eyes so we see sooner and further.”
The Circle Maker, by Mark Batterson, p. 189.
I’ve stated before that I believe our walk with God is a path of self-mastery. Mastery over self so that God’s love can fully operate within us. This takes consistent effort, maybe daily effort. All mastered efforts require time and practice. It just doesn’t happen. As Christians, one of our practices should be prayer. Seems simple enough, but more difficult to put into a consistent practice.
God wants more than just a “toss-up prayer” in which we walk out the door and quickly say, “God watch over me. In Jesus Name. Amen.” God wants to spend time with us just like we would with any other relationship. Remember, prayer comes in many forms:
Worship
Reading the Bible
Daily devotionals
Reading spiritual books
Quiet reflection
Spiritual notetaking
Through prayer and study, we hone our mind, heart, soul, and body to connect deeper with God. We can literally become one with the Holy Spirit. And when we become one with the Holy Spirit we can bring God’s love into the world around us. The ultimate goals is to be so ingrained with the Holy Spirit and God’s Word that we act intuitively.
“Intuition is digested knowledge. When you have been with the knowledge for a long period of time, you have thought about it, reflected upon it, it settles into the system and becomes you.”
—Dr. Janke Santoki (https://youtu.be/LYuKziBdp2U)
It can literally take years to achieve a level of intuitive mastery. But, more importantly, it’s the journey that counts. You can count on failing along the way. It’s inevitable. No great endeavor comes without failure. Failure is the cost of trying, of not giving up, of staying the course despite the challenges and obstacles.
I can attest that even though I may have accumulated and learned many of God’s spiritual teachings, lessons, and commandments, I haven’t been true in operating in them. Knowledge and wisdom is not enough; you must have love in your heart. If there is no love, then all the wisdom and knowledge doesn’t mean a thing.
“If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.”
1 Corinthians 13:2
This insight came to me through prayer. There was a part of me that intuitively knew I wasn’t operating in God’s truth. Yes, I have written books; yes, I have produced content in blogs and vlogs; and yes, I have been serving in ministry consistently over many years. But all of that doesn’t matter if I’m not maintaining a pure heart. And one of the ways you maintain a pure heart is through prayer.
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