You and I should believe this without a faith-creating word from the Lord telling us that we are in His presence. In other words, we often enter the prayer closet seeking the Lord to speak to us assuring us of His presence and that He loves us. Often the Lord in His mercy does speak to us and give us such assurances. But this is not the best approach. The best is to enter the prayer closet with the Word of God and His promises. Take those promises, meditate upon them, cherish them, imbibe them, and the heart will begin to be warmed. The presence of the Lord is mediated through His truth. This brings us to our last thought.

 

The Word of God and Prayer

 

Prayer is limited without the Bible. If true communion is going to occur you must bring the Word of God with you into the place of prayer. Otherwise conversation between you and the Spirit will be most likely one-sided. There is no doubt that the Holy Spirit can and does speak to us without our having an open Bible in front of us. He will whisper His message to the soul of Him who is attentive. He will provide direction and guidance on subjects the Bible does not specifically address. There are some who disagree, but I believe the Lord can give subjective guidance.

However, that is not the primary way He speaks to us. His first and most used method of communicating Himself to us is the Bible. For that reason, if prayer is to be a dialogue, the Bible must be incorporated. Begin each time of prayer with the devotional reading of Scripture. Read it as if the Lord is speaking to you personally. Many have discovered that praying the Scriptures benefits the soul more than any other method. To say the least, if you are to hear from the Lord the Bible must be central to the sweet hour of prayer.