The expectation when I pray, is that either I am silent and He speaks first or after I say my piece, He responds.

The Lord spoke to me. – Ezekiel 21:18 GNT

I may not like what God has to say, especially if I have prayed amiss. In Ezekiel’s day, after praying for years for God to strike the people of Ammon, God answers their prayer but also strikes down the people of Judah for begin rebellious. I remember that if judgement were to come, it would come to the people of God first and then revival would sweep the land. If I even think that God will no longer endure someone’s disobedience or obnoxiousness, I need to be aware how He must be thinking about my own and added to that, my lack of beng sensible. A great reminder to bless my enemies, for in blessing them I, in effect, am blessing myself. It is my plan to pray such mercy into the lives of the people I meet.

I look at the prayers of the Psalms and in them find the turning of such matters to God. God then takes over and does what He needs to do.

God rises up and scatters his enemies. Those who hate him run away in defeat. Pslm 68:1 GNT

In fact, this may not be a prayer, but rather a prophecy. However, as a prayer, I turn matters over to God. I do so because I have no doubt and I am sure that God delivers. He answers my prayer – God will indeed rise up. It is like I can see through a glass and watch how God works in me and in those who follow Him.

Owen wasn’t easy to read even in his own day. His writing is even harder to digest now. But his works on spiritual experience are without equal. He combines exhaustive theological reflection with the strongest calls to go beyond doctrinal subscription into full-heart knowledge of God. Timothy Keller: Owen, John – A Discourse on the Work of the Holy Spirit in Prayer; On the Grace and Duty of Being Spiritually Minded; Meditations and Discourses on the Glory of Christ.