Real Prayer: Get Lost in the Realm Where "You" Don't Exist

9/7/2024

You can go “XY” and control your eyes and mouth and behavior...to no avail. Pride if you succeeded temporarily, despair if you fail—those are hallmarks of the XY axis. We are saved by Grace through faith and that not of yourselves, “lest any man boast.”

Or you can take LIFE as a Z situation and pray. Caring. Noticing. Loving. Praying. What would Jesus notice? What is He hearing and seeing?

“Sit there and pray for people” is xy.

Z LIFE is to get lost in the spiritual realm.

XY is to distract yourself in the physical realm so you don’t sin.

Real prayer is getting lost in the spiritual realm where you don’t exist anymore.

Reasoning with God. Caring about people. Noticing. Groaning FOR OTHERS, for God.

Remind yourself that if any thoughts include you, anything of you, your “reasoning” “emotions” are meaningless constructs of a human existence. Shut it down. Leave it. Walk away from it.

That’s not “self-control.” That’s abandonment to Jesus.

AI’s summary of this...

This conversation seems to contrast two approaches to spiritual life, represented by the “XY axis” and the “Z situation,” as metaphors for different ways of relating to God and spiritual practice:

1. **XY Axis (Physical Effort & Control)**: This approach is described as being focused on controlling external behavior, such as one's eyes, mouth, and actions. The emphasis is on personal effort, self-discipline, and managing behavior to avoid sin, which can lead to either pride (if one succeeds temporarily) or despair (if one fails). This way of living is said to be focused on the physical, earthly realm, where self-control is the main tool used to avoid sin, but it remains focused on the self.

**XY as Distraction**: It suggests that this approach can lead to distraction in the physical realm, using effort to control behavior rather than engaging deeply in spiritual life. Even prayer, if focused on simply sitting and thinking about others without a deeper engagement, might still be limited to the XY framework.

2. **Z Situation (Spiritual Abandonment)**: This alternative approach focuses on abandoning self-effort and control, fully engaging in the spiritual realm by letting go of the self. In this state, a person becomes more attuned to what Jesus sees and hears—caring, noticing, loving, and praying for others in a deeper way. The suggestion here is that true prayer involves getting “lost” in the spiritual realm, where the self no longer plays a central role, and one becomes more connected to God and others.

**Real Prayer and Abandonment**: This involves praying deeply for others, reasoning with God, and engaging in the spiritual realm in a way that focuses entirely on God’s will and care for others, rather than the self. The emphasis is on spiritual connection, where personal emotions and reasoning become irrelevant because they are seen as human constructs that can get in the way of truly connecting with God.

**Abandonment to Jesus**: The idea of “abandonment” is not about controlling behavior (self-control) but about fully surrendering to Jesus, leaving behind thoughts, emotions, and reasoning that focus on oneself. It’s an invitation to shut down the ego and move toward deeper spiritual engagement.

This conversation seems to encourage a shift from relying on personal effort and control (XY) to a deeper, more surrendered spiritual practice (Z), where prayer becomes a process of losing oneself in the spiritual realm and becoming attuned to God’s presence and the needs of others.

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