WIND FOR YOUR SAILS 117if just one sound were made, an unforgettable moment
would be destroyed. Quietness is often the best language.
So many times I have stood in my room and suddenly
tears have filled my eyes. An unexplainable warmth and
beauty fill the air as He begins to fill me afresh. How did it
happen? What did I do? Really, I did nothing but just stand
in His presence with an inward surrender. But what started
in perfect quietness continued with worship and adoration
that I never wanted to end.
When you are continually filled by the Spirit of God,
your prayer life takes on a dimension you never thought
possible. To experience the refreshing breeze of the Spirit
that fills your heart with praise, you need to understand
how to approach the throne of God in prayer.
Step by Step
There are seven distinct steps to prayer.
The first step is confession. Begin by acknowledging
who God is. Abram called him, "the LORD, God Most High,
the Possessor of heaven and earth" (Gen. 14:22). Begin by
declaring the power of the Almighty. Elijah began his
prayer on Mount Carmel, "LORD God of Abraham, Isaac,
and Israel" (1 Kings 18:36). If you want the fire to fall,
begin by confessing who God is.
The next level of prayer is supplication. Simply, "Let
your request be made known to the Lord." Unfortunately,
this is the step on which many people spend far too much
time. Their entire prayer life seems to be concentrated on
needs, wants, and desires. Of course your personal
problems are worthy of God's attention, but when you have
shared them, it's not time to say "Amen." The best is yet to
come.
The third step—and one that I dearly love—is