Praying in confidence, believing that I will receive from God whatever I ask, allows me to experience a daily adventure of answered prayer. The excitement of actually seeing God working in my life and in the lives of those I am in contact with is something that gives me daily stimulation. This is what seems to be the norm for walking with Jesus and how He intended for us to experience every day.

And so, my dear friends, if our conscience does not condemn us, we have courage in God’s presence. We receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. What he commands is that we believe in his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as Christ commanded us. Those who obey God’s commands live in union with God and God lives in union with them. And because of the Spirit that God has given us we know that God lives in union with us. – 1 John 3:21-24 GNT

Unfortunately I run into so many who believe that following Jesus is boring or at least a mediocre experience. Young adults have lost hope in the promises of God. They do not understand what transformation even looks like. Most do not know what it means to have a relationship with God where they have an adventure of seeing a living God at work, answering prayer. Prayer is the most characteristic and must fundamental part of my relationship with God. Prayer is my expression of dependence on a loving God.

The spirit of prayer is about courage when coming into God’s presence. It implies a close relationship and a feeling of belonging or having the right to be there. In other words, there is no fear of being rebuked.

Three things may be distinguished in the great duty of being spiritually minded, under which notion it is here recommended unto us:—

(1.) The actual exercise of the mind, in its thoughts, meditations, and desires, about things spiritual and heavenly. So is it expressed in the verse foregoing: “They that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh,” — they think on them, their contrivances are about them, and their desires after them; “but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.” They mind them by fixing their thoughts and meditations upon them.

(2.) The inclination, disposition, and frame of the mind, in all its affections, whereby it adheres and cleaves unto spiritual things. This “minding of the Spirit” resides habitually in the affections. Wherefore, the φρόνημα of the Spirit, or the mind as renewed and acted by a spiritual principle of light and life, is the exercise of its thoughts, meditations, and desires, on spiritual things, proceeding from the love and delight of its affections in them and engagement unto them.

(3.) A complacency of mind, from that gust, relish, and savour, which it finds in spiritual things, from their suitableness unto its constitution, inclinations, and desires. There is a salt in spiritual things, whereby they are condited and made savoury unto a renewed mind; though to others they are as the white of an egg, that hath no taste or savour in it. In this gust and relish lies the sweetness and satisfaction of spiritual life. Speculative notions about spiritual things, when they are alone, are dry, sapless, and barren. In this gust we taste by experience that God is gracious, and that the love of Christ is better than wine, or whatever else hath the most grateful relish unto a sensual appetite. This is the proper foundation of that “joy which is unspeakable and full of glory.” – John Owen