The Real You in Prayer

When you and I pray we often are praying from our "old nature." I can hear you say now "just hold on pastor, I'm a Christian and my old nature is dead, so how can I pray from my old human nature?" Before we answer that excellent question let us look at a passage of Scripture found in John 17. We see Jesus offering a prayer that reveals something about Jesus we might have missed. In John 17:1-5, and with emphasis on verse 5 where Jesus prays "and this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent." Notice that Jesus, the Devine Son of God, refers to His human self as two distinct individuals. Jesus was praying to His Father as the Son of God who dwelt with His Father before creation. He prays that His followers will recognize the Father through His human, "Son of Man" being. We see often in Jesus' prayers  the struggle between the "Son of Man" and the "Son of God." But the point here is that when we talk to the Father God we must talk to Him from our Spiritual being. Our old nature is not done away with but subjected or yielded to the influence and authority of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not to create a overly emotional or physical expression of prayer, but to remind us who we are and to whom we are praying from the simple understanding and experience of Salvation that we received through Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary. The old human nature will try to bargin, explain away sinful actions and plead innocence. We are basically saying quite often in our prayers that the work Christ is OK but I can argue my own case and needs quite adequately before God without any outside help, like the Holy Spirit. As Paul would state "God forbid we would do this to our Heavenly Father." Don't you agree He knows better than anyone what we want and what we need?

So as we go through these Summer months let us take time to let the Holy Spirit teach us how to pray from our yielded spirit with a Christ like spirit to our Heavenly Father who hears the spiritual prayers' of His Children. When we learn the teaching's of the Holy Spirit as to our praying we will then understand the true meaning of "Praying without Ceasing."

So, have a good and safe Summer and don't neglect the services of Crowley Family Fellowship - Dr. B - Pastor