3. We lack experience. If we don't exercise our faith, and if we don't trust, we shall never accumulate that essential experience of allowing Spirit to pray through us. We shall never know whether he does or doesn't

Establishing Priorities Of The Holy Spirit So how do we accumulate that experience? Simply by doing what New testament tells us to do. In chapter 14 of John's gospel Jesus gives us a whole list of what Spirit will do for us as a consequence of his indwelling.

If we really do believe in that indwelling of Spirit, we should know that he is always there for us to turn to. And not least in prayer. In fact, looking at what Jesus says in this passage, prayer is by far easiest way to learn how Spirit communicates with us.

So next time we come to pray, we do not arrive with a self- generated list of what we think we ought to be praying about. Instead, we: 1. Make a deliberate effort to come to an internal state of quietness. There are various ways of doing that. One pray-er used to stand before his chair and reflect that here he was going to meet God. Or try a very reflectively prayed formal prayer. Or spend time bringing before God all those sins through which you have offended him since last time you prayed. These are just helps at start.

2. Ask Holy Spirit to lead your pray. Then "listen". Not for some inner or external voice to speak, but for Spirit to speak his thoughts into your mind. They will like as not simply come as thoughts.

Have courage of faith to follow them. Have courage not to pray anything if nothing comes. The pastor of largest parish in world, Paul Youngi Cho says that he never preaches on Sunday what Spirit has not given him on Saturday. If he receives nothing, he simply does not preach.

It is as simple as that. If you practice Christian meditation on Scripture this will all be very easy for you because one cannot properly meditate on God's word by doing it one's self. The Spirit has to do it. We learn how to let him. In process one learns how to recognise different ways in which The Holy Spirit speaks to us.

Although it is easier through meditation, we can still learn to listen and hear and be guided by him through other forms of prayer.

Some Of The Benefits Of Christian Meditation The reality of meeting with Jesus in this way is a principle benefit. But it must not be either over-emphasised nor under-emphasised. The first is a danger because actual experience of meditation will vary considerably from day-to-day or as between prayer periods on same day. Few people with considerable experience in meditation would deny reality of this meeting.

But some with limited experience may tend to overstress these encounters. They get carried away with what Holy Spirit is providing for them over a particular period of time. But Spirit deals with us in very different ways at different times.

On other hand, these experiences are real, of great value and bring many blessings and should not be ignored. Certainly, we should avoid becoming "hucked" on them. That is a real possibility and must not be allowed to happen. People like John of Cross have warned repeatedly about such dangers.

Allowing Freedom For The Holy Spirit To Work Moreover, we need to allow Spirit to balance graces he is giving us. This requires mixing meditation periods on gospels with other periods on, say, letters of New Testament, or Psalms are a good source for beginning to meditate on Old Testament.

One of greatest benefits which a Christian has in his relationship with God is very fact that God dwells within him. For example, Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 2:12 that we have not received spirit of world, but we have received Spirit who is from God. The reason for this is so that we may understand what God has freely given us.

When we do understand that, we understand that he needs to be given both freedom and opportunity to work within us to maximum possible degree. Only in that way shall we continue in process of becoming like Jesus. That, after all, is what our lives are about.