Too Many Words – Part One - Time with The Master

“When you pray, do not use a lot of meaningless words, as the pagans do, who think that their gods will hear them because their prayers are long 1 “.

For us to come to a complete understanding of this teaching, I would like you to look at Section 5 – page 15 of the booklet, “The Holy Spirit.” featured on this website.

You will find an excellent illustration of our human form showing images of what I am about to share with you. If you do not already understand, then let me explain. We humans are made up of:
1. Body
2. Soul
3. Spirit

These three components operate as one; no one can function without the other. So, you might ask, ‘What’s new?’ Understanding and application are what’s new.
Let me clarify:
1. The Body – needs no explanation.
2. The Soul – Needs explanation because one can become confused with words used in the scriptures, translations, and scientific expressions. For purposes of this and other teachings I penned, I use the word soul to mean intellect, will, and emotion. (bear with me here; I am not suggesting that what I name them is to be chiselled into stone – but for ease of reference, we will all find ourselves in sync.)
3. The (Human) Spirit. It also needs an explanation because of what I said above. This spirit must not be confused with ‘The Holy Spirit,’ which is the Spirit of God inside us that Jesus promised when He ascended, would be hand delivered to us by angelic courier 2. By way of modern technology, I compare the human spirit to the modem in our computer, which connects us to the worldwide web. The human spirit is the connection between God in us (The Holy Spirit – ‘eternal web’) and our Intellect, will, and emotion.

I pray this is apparent to you now – is it? It would help if you were clear on this for the teaching to enlighten you.

Okay, so you’re enlightened, outstanding, let’s continue.

We all agree with what I said above that The Holy Spirit (God inside you and I) does not reach the faithful until Jesus returns to God 3 . Now we get to the critical part – read carefully:

When the Holy Spirit is within us, we are empowered to apply God’s word to our lives. Does this mean that we can apply God’s word to our lives? No, not necessarily. ‘What!’ you say, ‘that’s not possible.’ Yes, it is possible.

Let me ask you a question: Can you speak out loud with your teeth clenched and lips sealed tight? (If you can, you must be a ventriloquist.) Seriously, of course, you can’t. Are you empowered to speak with teeth and lips locked? Yes. You are empowered whether you shut your teeth and lips or otherwise.

Intellect says, ‘You are empowered to speak out the word of God. Will says, ‘No, I don’t want to.’ Emotion says, ‘I don’t want to make a fool of myself.’
We are not dealing with Body or spirit here but with soul. Agree?
Right, let’s continue.

Another question: how do you personally pray, from your Body, soul, or spirit? Before you read my answer, write your answer down – no cheating now. Have you written it down? Okay, the answer from God’s Spirit within you is how you should pray. How do most of us pray? By rote 4.

“Rote prayer is a type of prayer in which words are learned by repetition, usually without comprehension or understanding.

It is a way of praying that involves the heart, mind, and soul ‘chewing’ on some type of material as a source of prayer, such as scripture, a daily devotional, or a catechetical work.”

(Don’t panic; I do, too, sometimes until I catch myself.) In my youth, I prayed the rote form of prayer. For me, it’s a hard habit to beat.

I must add something important here. In all matters relating to our relationship with God, the condition of our hearts is essential. In other words, our true intention. Nothing about us can be hidden from God. Because of this fact, we cannot say that rote praying does not reach God; that is a state that only God can determine. Whatever manner of praying, if a person is pure of heart, they have God’s heart.

Our heart connects with the Spirit of God in us, and the true power of our prayer manifests within us.

The word heart is worthy of note because it appears 500-900 times in the bible. The word ‘heart’ remains a mystery to me, and I’m comfortable with that. From my understanding, I accept the ‘heart’ as a filter refining Intellect through The Spirit within us. Pray about this, and God will reveal it to you.

I pray that this teaching has enlightened you and that you’ll be back for more in ‘Too Many Words – Part Two.’

Love and Blessings
Peter-James