Prayer
by Norman Grubb

Prayer is seen to be a sharing of His mind on a situation, and our tongues being His mouthpiece in speaking the word of faith.

We are plainly told in Rom. 8:26-27 that prayer issues from God in our hearts, and not just from our hearts. It is He praying in us.

But we may still be asking, How does He make us know what are prayers according to the will of God? The answer is by what He stirs our hearts to desire and ask. We need not be afraid of our "natural" desires. As we have already said, we are new men in Christ, and no longer the old man. As Christ lives in us, therefore, He is living the exact normal life we are living: it is actually He living it, running the business, doing our job, managing the home, cooking the food, looking after the children, active in our church fellowship. In the course of our lives constant need, problems, challenges, frustrations are arising, and in our hearts are longings for deliverances, guidance, supply, the salvation of others, and so on. Those desires are the groanings of the Spirit in us! Somehow we have got such a religious idea of prayer and approach to God, that we hardly dare think that our normal desires are His desires in us. But that is just what they are. They must be if it is Christ living our normal lives in us.

Prayer is to a Person, faith is in that Person. The ultimate of prayer is not that God does a certain thing at a certain time in a certain way.

I say again faith is in a Person. We believe Him. He is true, though all men are liars. All promises in Him are Yea, and we say our Amen to that! So if the thing does not happen as we asked and believed, we still believe, because we are believing Him! We don’t say the prayer is not answered. Never! We say it is answered. Wait and see!

Prayer is the product of our union with Christ. He in us is the Pray-er. So that the first need in the prayer life is not to pray, but to relax. Quietly, naturally, recognizing the Real One within us, we sort out what warms or stirs our heart with a sense of definite need or challenge. Now we are ready to pray.

–From God Unlimited