2 Chronicles 7:14 and My people who are called by My name humble [subject] themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
What goes on in terms of prayer in a heart that is not subjected? A heart that is not subjected to God is not a heart that has not been enlightened by the Spirit for prayer, will not have the glory of God as what is truly sought, and will certainly not seek the face of God for the sake of God. A non-subjected heart, even if it is a believer that has a heart that is wandering at the moment, is not one that is going to truly pray.
It is so hard for the modern world to accept the reality of the situation, but Jesus said with great clarity and even emphasis that apart from Him we can do nothing. In the context, we can do nothing spiritual or truly good. As the branches can do absolutely nothing in the sense of bearing fruit apart from the vine, so the believer can do absolutely nothing spiritual apart from receiving it from Christ. True prayer does not occur when the word “Jesus” or the words “in His name” fall from the lips, but the heart must really intend that. The heart that is not subjected to Christ is not a heart that can pray from the heart in the name of Christ in reality.
Believers have noted for centuries that when their hearts are cold they seem to be saying words into the air. Others have noted how dry prayer is at times and still others have noted the utter impossibility of praying in the flesh even when we have high affections. Perhaps we need to note the teaching from II Chronicles 7:14 once again and take it to heart that the humbled (subjected) heart is necessary for true prayer. Perhaps there is so much prayer going on in the flesh that people have forgotten (at best) or have never known that their hearts have to be humbled (in subjection) to Christ in order to pray.
One of the great evils in our day is the fleeing from the Lordship of Jesus Christ. At the very least we should note how the refusal to bow to Christ will have a major influence on prayer. If bowing to Christ as Lord with a subjected heart is necessary for prayer, then perhaps this is one reason why the prayer meetings are sparsely attended in the very few places they even have them. Perhaps this is the reason that people prefer to pray from lists rather than seek the Lord for a broken and subjected heart in order to pray for grace to know how and what to pray.
But, someone may say, it is not possible to subject my heart to Christ. That is absolutely correct. The teaching of free-will (at least logically) is the death of true prayer. A heart to pray must come by grace because a heart cannot truly humble itself. Christ alone can teach a heart true humility and, to speak with more precision, it is the life of the humble Lord and Savior in our hearts that is the life of true humility. The truth and glory of humility cannot be found in any location except in Christ and in those whom Christ dwells in. Those who are cold in prayer, therefore, are not in fellowship with Christ.
The sovereignty of God reaches the Christian life at each and every point. No one can be in true prayer without a subjected heart and no one has a subjected heart apart from the hand of God in subduing that heart at each point of the life of each person. This comes to a head when a great trial comes upon the human soul and one that the human flesh screams in wanting the trial to go away. But the heart of the believer must cry out to God for relief from its own wicked heart in desiring things that God has not decreed for the good of that soul. The heart of the believer must seek the Lord for grace in order for his own heart to be subjected to Christ since it is not in the power of human flesh to do a spiritual act of such power. No, we are to walk by grace and that means it takes grace at each moment to defeat the flesh. If we push down the flesh (as we think) with the power of self, all that means is that we have used one act of the flesh and self to push down another aspect of it. This cannot lead to true prayer.
The heart that is not subjected to Christ is a heart that is fleshly and a fleshly heart cannot pray in the Spirit. No matter how religious a person may be, if the heart is not truly subjected to Christ that heart cannot pray in truth and love in the Spirit. Prayer is so far beyond uttering religious words about things and asking God to do our own wills that it almost seems absurd to say that, but it appears to be the most common way to deceive ourselves into thinking that we are praying. The heart that is not in subjection to Christ is a heart that loves itself rather than Christ, prays for itself rather than Christ, and as such the prayer of a heart like that is really a vile act of idolatry. But never mind, so many say, at least they are sincere. Yes, but God is also sincere in hating the prayers of the wicked and an idolatrous prayer is wicked. We must seek subjected hearts if we truly desire to truly pray.
God Loves... Himself 
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