When we pray, who does praying? Almost any knowledgable Christian will give same response to that question. In fact, it is a questions which separates knowledgable from less knowledgeable Christian.

The response, of course, ought to be that it is Holy Spirit who does praying, not us. For example, Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:18 that we should pray in Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. So however we are praying and whatever we are praying for, it should be Holy Spirit who is doing praying.

But is it?

Establishing Our Priorities Sometimes we are so caught up in our own problems and difficulties that we perhaps miss-remember what Paul tells us in Romans 8. 26. We behave as if he said that, when we do not know what to pray for, Holy Spirit will pray on our behalf.

In fact, when we think about it, that would be a contradiction of Ephesians 6. 18. Of course, what Paul actually says in Romans 8:26 is that "Spirit helps us in our weakness." This weakness is a general condition, not a specific one! For Paul goes on to say that "We do not know what we ought to pray for, but Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express." (New International Version).

Again note that there is a general statement here: "We do not know...", He does not say "On those occasion when we do not know what to pray for..."

We often think we know what to pray for. Some of us may consider that we always know what to pray for. We either ignore what Paul says, or we do not know what he says, or we do not want to meet what he says "head on", as it were.

In effect, we establish our own priorities in prayer. Moreover, we establish in them preference to whatever priorities of Holy Spirit happen to be.

Some Of Our Problems There are several important problems which we tend to have in allowing Spirit to establish his own priorities in our prayers.

1. We lack faith. We do have faith, certainly, but do we use it? If we don't, it will not grow. Here, we need to have sufficient faith to know that Spirit does hear us and responds to us.

There are many approaches to prayer. Not least because there are many different needs. But greatest of all our needs is to get nearer to Jesus. The most powerful form of prayer for this purpose is arguably Christian meditation.

This article discusses some of special aspects of Christian meditation

Sources Of The Benefits Of Christian Meditation Meditation has a very long history in Christianity and has taken various forms. But meditation on Scripture, and not least gospels, is a kind which has great power.

How does power come about?. From three sources: which work together to bring us closer to God:

1. From Holy Spirit, of course. But this kind of prayer makes a very special kind of requirement on us and on Spirit, and that is expressed in terms of

2. Faith. Obviously, very act of prayer, any prayer, involves some kind of faith. But degree of faith which this form of prayer demands can be quite different than in other forms of prayer.

3. Consistency. To really get into this kind of prayer one needs a daily commitment which is kept consistently. It is often said that "grace builds on nature" and that is very true. In this case it is true because we need to become habitually open to way in which Spirit works within us. We shall not achieve that unless we become habitual in our habits of prayer.

Essentials Of Christian Meditation Christian meditation on Bible is essentially straightforward in terms of what we do and procedure we follow. However, there are many questions and issues which arise from process. Too many to consider in a short article such as this. The subject receives an in-depth treatment in book "The Keys To Meditation" by Keith & Iris Whitehead. But here we can indicate some of essentials and some important benefits.

This kind of meditation should not be confused in any ways with types derived from Eastern religions, such as Hinduism. It is quite different and essentially Christian. Very often it is associated with Ignatius of Loyola because, after his conversion, he developed a particularly clear method of approach.

This involves reading Scripture in a particular way. At its essence is explicitly allowing Holy Spirit to reveal to us nature and meaning of what, after all, he himself has written over centuries.