"spiritual life is the life in the Spirit, or more accurately, the life of the Spirit in us. It is this spiritual life that enables us to live with a new mind in a new time. Once we have understood this, the meaning of prayer becomes clear. It is the expression of the life of the Holy Spirit in us. Prayer is not what is done by us, but rather what is done by the Holy Spirit in us. to the Corinthians Paul writes, "no one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except by the Holy Spirit" (1 cor 12:3),, and to the romans he says, "likewise the Spirit helps us in our wekness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. and God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God" (rom 8:26-27). prayer is the work of the Holy Spirit.

This indicates that prayer as a discipline of patience is the human effort to allow the Holy Spirit to do re-creating work in us. This discipline involves many things. it involves the constant choice not to run from the present moment in the naive hope that salvation will appear around the next corner. it involves the ongoing struggle to prevent our minds and hearts from becoming cluttered with the many distractions that clamor for our attention."

henri nouwen