When I was in seminary, an older gentleman asked if he could sit with me and a few friends for breakfast one day.  He introduced himself as “T.W.” (Dr. T.W. Hunt… Author of “Prayer Life,” author of “The Mind of Christ.”).  I was honored to meet him and not about to let the chance go by without asking a question I had about prayer.

My question was, “How does prayer and God’s sovereign will go together?” Here is his answer as best as I can remember it…

     All genuine prayer originates with God.  He places it as a burden on the heart of a believer who begins to pray.  Since the believer cannot access God on His own, he prays in Jesus name.  Since the believer doesn’t know how to pray as he should, the Spirit intercedes with groaning too deep for words and according to God’s will.  Then the prayer returns to God, where it originated, who answers the prayer to accomplish His will which He gave as a burden on the heart of the believer.  In that way all three persons of the Trinity are active in prayer and God’s will is carried out.

I was blown away by the simplicity and clarity of Dr. Hunt’s answer.  Reflect upon what he said the next time you contemplate God in prayer…