You have laid hold upon a most vital truth in beseeching the Father for this gift, for prayer is faith’s first-born child. The man who has no prayer has no faith, and the one who abounds in faith will soon abound in supplication. Yet mark this well: the prayer that avails much is not the mere utterance of the lips, nor the mechanical repetition of devout phrases, but it is praying in the Holy Spirit, that is, in His power, through His prompting, with His fervency. Cold prayer is no prayer, for true prayer must be loving prayer; it must arise from the depths of the soul, a cry De Profundis, if it is ever to ascend to the heights of glory.
When you feel your weakness in the sacred exercise, it is well. The Spirit helps our infirmities. The very desire to pray is not with us unless He has worked it in the soul. Lean not, then, upon the strength of your own resolutions or the earnestness of your intentions, as if you could, by the force of nature, prevail in supplication. That were to begin in the Spirit and seek to be made perfect in the flesh. No, rely wholly upon the might of God the Holy Spirit. He is the great Instructor; without Him we grope like blind men in the dark. He takes of the things of Christ and shows them to us, and a single word of Christ set in His light shines like a fixed star. When you come to the mercy seat, bring no confidence in your own words, but look to Him to guide your thoughts into the right plea, and to kindle in your heart the holy flame of importunity.
You ask for guidance in your thoughts, decisions, career, and purpose. Herein lies your safety: the Spirit’s office is to glorify Christ. He will never lead you in a path contrary to the mind of the Master. Where, then, shall you find direction? Not in the wisdom of man, but on Holy Spirit ground, dealing with the things of Christ. A sermon of Christ, a word of Christ, a promise of Christ, meditated upon with a heart that cries, "Take not Thy Holy Spirit from me", there is the Urim and Thummim to light your way. Why long for darkness when the Master wills to let you walk in the light? Submit every career choice and earthly relationship to this test: does it grieve the Spirit? For any approach to the love of the world excites His holy jealousy. Search out the sin that might cause Him to withdraw His sensible power; slay it upon the spot, for the secret of your strength lies in being sealed with that sacred earnest.
Your prayer for faithfulness when the hour is dark is a prayer after God’s own heart. The Holy Spirit is given to us as the Comforter. You whose brows are furrowed with care, whose heart is distracted with anxiety, receive the Spirit of consolation and be glad in the Lord, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. Do not think it strange if you cannot understand your circumstances; the Spirit teaches us, not in the head only, but in the heart, and often His deepest instruction is given in the school of trial. Cry mightily that He would not depart, and let your plea be in the name and merit of Christ Jesus alone. The fact that the continuance of the Spirit is the subject of an inspired prayer strengthens, rather than weakens, the certainty of the promised blessing.
Thus, let not your faith stand in the wisdom of man, but in the demonstration of the Spirit. Continue instant in the prayer closet, but go there with this one desire: that the Holy Spirit may put His broad seal upon your soul anew, and make your heart an altar where the fire never goes out. Blessed is that man whose faith has brought with it the Holy Spirit, for he is changed in nature and life, and his supplication, born of faith and sustained by divine power, shall prevail.
