Sometimes the best way to learn something new is to deprive yourself of something old. Take handwriting, for example. People who lose their dominant hand in an accident eventually learn to write with their other hand. They have no choice. But did you know that you can do the same thing by discipline? If you are right-handed and want to learn to be ambidextrous, you can train yourself to write using your left hand by refusing to use your right! When we deny ourselves something for a period of time we can learn to do something completely new.
I wonder if the same principle holds true in the spirit? Jesus said we ought not do things for the praise of men. If we do, that praise is all we will ever get for our efforts. If we want true and lasting joy, we need to learn to have all things seen by our Father in heaven alone. But in a world where each of us were taught to have not only our sense of approval but also our sense of what's true subject to the judgement of people, how can we ever hope to learn to live our life in front of an audience of One? It's simple: Replacement Therapy.
If you read Isaiah 61:3, you'll notice that God keeps saying "I'll give you THIS instead of THAT." It seems to be His way. He replaced sin with righteousness, death with life, evil with good. He isn't a God that takes but a God that replaces! You trade in your substandard way for His excellent way and you become more like Him in the process. But how? Well, that's the part that requires trust and patience. You see, He won't give until there's an empty slot in your heart. Jesus said, "Let him first deny himself, pick up his cross, and follow Me." The word "first" is important. I can't receive His gift of fellowship until I give up any chance of fellowship with men. Admittedly, that's a long process. And He never wants to replace fellowship with men by excluding all men from our life. He just wants first place in the hierarchy. But that's another topic for another time.
What does this mean for relationship with God and what do I do about it? Good questions. What it means is that if we are to go deeper in the knowledge of Him, we need to make room. God is big. He takes up a LOT of space. How do we make space? Easy, deny yourself what you get from men and continue to seek Him. I used to think it was wise to tell people to pray different, but I was wrong. God showed me that people pray based upon their audience. He said, "If you pray knowing that you will discuss that prayer with someone at some point, it affects the way you pray." He told me, "Share none of what you say to Me with others until I say otherwise." When I asked Him why, He said, "Is prayer about your relationship with Me or your relationship with them?" He got me there.
Eventually I got to a place where I no longer admitted to or agreed to pray for anything openly to people. I would still minister to people in prayer in public but my time speaking to God became so private that nobody could tell what I prayed for or even how I prayed for it. I shared neither the purpose nor the outcome of my prayers. It was like I was a secret agent for the Kingdom. My secret place was so secret that not even my family knew when or if I was in prayer. An amazing thing happened in this time. I stopped having discussions about what I'm believing or praying for with other people and started having them directly with God. If I prayed and nothing seemed to be happening, I didn't ask anyone for help or advice or encouragement, I took it directly to The Management. No matter how frustrated I became, I made it His situation to deal with, face-to-face.
It was nerve-wracking at times. I would wonder if maybe I was doing something wrong. But I took Him at His word. He said He'd never leave me or abandon me. He said that Holy Spirit is my Teacher and that He would lead me into all truth. All of His promises inspired and encouraged me to lean directly upon Him to direct, mold, and shape my prayers. If He could not or would not lead me through this thing, well, then I was wrong about Him to begin with. Would He prove Himself strong on my behalf? Would He get messages through to me? Would He teach me Himself if I purposed to rely only upon Him? I didn't know for sure but I was tired of half-measures and double-mindedness. It was time to sink or swim, in Jesus' name.
He did not disappoint. In fact, one of the first things He said to me was, "Finally! Now we can get down to business." Understanding and revelation flowed. When I positioned myself to receive ONLY from God, He began building my trust in Him like never before. That's right, He earned my trust. I made Him my plan A and I burned the bridge behind me. There was no plan B. I was His or I was finished. I set out on this new journey to learn about prayer and I ended up learning about the person and character of Holy Spirit.
The biggest revelation I got was how intentional and cooperative God wants to be with us in prayer. I have heard many popular and respected speakers say that Holy Spirit wants to pray with us. The idea here is that we should not be firing off petitions we came up with ourselves but that we should ask Holy Spirit what He wants to pray about and then simply join Him. I also learned that not everything requires prayer. I've gotten into the habit of asking God, "Should I pray about this?" If He responds in the affirmative, my next question is, "What should I say? Should I declare or proclaim or petition or should I just rejoice? What's on Your heart for this situation, Lord?" There have been plenty of times when He's said to me, "This situation is already handled but I need someone to deliver a word of encouragement." There have been other times He's said, "I need you to go in person and love the people in that situation. I'll give you more detail when you get there."
So, ask Him if you should maybe try this out? Resolve to tell nobody when or if you are praying for them or anyone else. Don't discuss what you pray about or when. Don't ask for help from people in how to pray or when to pray. Deny yourself the benefit of your brothers and sisters in prayer for a time. Like Peter when he stepped out of the boat, it may seem insane but it may also afford you the chance to partner with Jesus in doing something you've never done before. If this idea delights you, give it a shot! If not, don't worry about it. Take what you can use and leave the rest. He is a better teacher than I am and I can assure you that He's doing a great job with you.
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