Prayer is an adventure

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Do not stifle the Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19; NLT).

The Spirit, too, comes to help us in our weakness. For we don’t know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit expresses our plea with groanings too deep for words (Romans 8:26; TIB).

Introduction
When we ask the Holy Spirit to help us, every prayer becomes an adventure into the unknown territory of our inner wilderness, desert, or darkness. The Bible offers us some clear examples of people who have done this in the past:

Jesus himself constantly withdrew into the desert and there prayed (Luke 5:16; WNT).

Moses went into the darkness where God was (Exodus 20:21; BST).

Many wonderful discoveries can be made in Spirit-led prayer:

I will give you treasures hidden in darkness – secret riches. I will do this so you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name (Isaiah 45:3; NLT).

What do we need to take with us?
There is no need to plan ahead for this kind of adventure, to cling to set prayers, or even to use words. Instead, we just wait with an open mind and heart to see where God’s Spirit will take us:

Be still before Yahweh, and wait patiently (Psalm 37:7; TIV).

Don’t take any money in your money belts – no gold, silver, or even copper coins. Don’t carry a traveler’s bag with a change of clothes and sandals or even a walking stick (Matthew 10:9-10; NLT).

Stand in silence in the presence of the Sovereign LORD (Zephaniah 1:7; NLT)

What might happen?
Here are some examples of what we might see, discover, or experience:

• Praise, thanks, worship, joy, peace, or bliss.
• Deep love for God.
• Receiving God’s love.
• The desire to pray for others, or for the world.
• Facing up to how we have hurt others through our thoughts, words, behaviour, or actions.
• Shame, guilt, repentance, and forgiveness.
• Realising that we need to take action, perhaps by apologising to someone we have hurt or forgotten, offering help to someone who is struggling, sending a card, or giving someone something they need.
• Grasping that we need to take responsibility for tasks or issues we have been ignoring, or avoiding.
• Recognising that we need to establish clear boundaries with others and to be honest with them, rather than hiding our true feelings, or pretending to feel things we do not actually feel for them.
• Understanding some aspect of ourselves more fully.
• Seeing how we need to change and grow.
• Asking for God’s help in difficult areas of our lives.
• Facing up to the truth about ourselves through Christ’s eyes, however uncomfortable or distressing this might be.
• Realising that we need to ask for help from family, friends, or professionals.
• Lastly, and most wonderful of all, we might recognise, or even experience, our absolute oneness with God, and with all people.

Praying in the Spirit
The Bible specifically advises us to:

Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion (Ephesians 6:18; NLT).

When we do this, what emerges might use words, or it might be wordless. This kind of prayer can lead us to dance, sing, laugh, exclaim aloud, weep, or experience buried anger. It might flood us with light, or guide us to explore our inner darkness in God’s company. It might bring us to a place of deep, inward stillness, or even change the course of our lives.

Experience has taught me that this kind of prayer never feels like a burden. Rather, the opposite is true – it is alive, raw, and spontaneous. It sets us completely free to explore our inner world. All that matters is to ask for the Spirit’s help, and to trust that God is in charge of each fresh adventure.

Pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:17; NIV).

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References

All who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God (Romans 8:14; NLT).

I will pray in the spirit, and I will also pray in words I understand. I will sing in the spirit, and I will also sing in words I understand (1 Corinthians 14:15; NLT).

David danced before the LORD with all his might (2 Samuel 6:14; NLT).

If the Son sets you free, you are truly free (John 8:36; NLT).

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