"Still In Kindergarten"

I am always encouraged by reading the Apostle Paul's accounts of his prayers. He grew up in a spiritual environment that practiced and encouraged prayer and at a fairly young age seems to have been pursuing a career that would reinforce that lifestyle. However, after meeting Jesus and accepting the ministry Jesus called him to, he seems to have learned to see prayer in a very different way. Check this out -

"I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you being rooted and established in love, may have power together with all the saints to grasp how wide, how long, how high and how deep is the love of Christ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." Ephesians 3:16-10 NIV

After serving Jesus for about a quarter century or more, Paul had learned that prayer is not the recitation of memorized words in a specific format but really conversing with God the Father about what is on his heart. He learned that from Jesus first and over time perfected his faith in his prayers through the ministry of God's Holy Spirit in his heart. So, he prayed that "all the saints" would come to know the love of Christ in this same way.

"All the fullness of God" is such a huge idea that I struggle to wrap my own mind around it. The phrase means "all that God wants to give us in both knowledge and blessing". Did you get that? EVERYTHING! How can my small mind, heart, spirit, or whatever you want to call it, actually comprehend something that is waaaay beyond simple human ability to grasp and translate into specific action that honors God as Father?

THE HOLY SPIRIT! He supplies the "power" by which we are able to perceive the presence of the totally humbling love of Jesus Christ in our own hearts. The Spirit helps me, in my own heart, to feel (know) the incredible love of Christ. This love is beyond any words I have customarily used to describe love. God wants me to know, (i.e. feel, understand, appreciate, experience) and seek to share this love that requires the power of his Holy Spirit to accomplish.

After all these years I often feel like I'm in spiritual kindergarten, re-learning the very basic A-B-C's of life with my heavenly Father and his absolutely astounding Holy Spirit.

God's love, Christ's love, is so very powerful it reaches into and fills every part of my complicated spirit. I truly don't understand that but I totally believe it. I always know Christ is there because of the constant presence of God's Holy Spirit to assure and convict. I kinda like being in kindergarten. HALLELUJAH!