Low Signal
If prayer is to be powerful, it must be an act of the spirit, not of the flesh.
But you, beloved, keep building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit. (Jude 1:20, WEB)
You cannot accomplish spiritual growth through carnal actions. Neither can the flesh sustain what the spirit begins.
Some pray from their emotions. Some pray from their own carnal cravings and desires. Some pray from need. But the most effective prayers are prayed when you pray from your spirit.
As advanced as our phones have become, those who use the call feature will still, from time to time, experience the problem of a weak or low signal. Whenever I’m on a phone call that begins to lose signal strength, the person on the other line will, more often than not, start to yell louder so that I can hear them. But because of the poor phone connection, their unclear communication just goes from being gibberish to being loud gibberish. In moments like those, I explain to the caller, “You don’t have to yell. The volume is fine. The problem is the connection.”
The problem is not the volume. It’s the connection.
As a person will try to make up with volume what lacks in connection during a spotty phone call, so some believers try to make up in emotion and hype what is lacking in connection during prayer. The connection is there, but they allow matters of the flesh to disrupt what would otherwise be a moment of powerful prayer.
Willpower fails. Emotion fails. Carnal effort fails. Intellect fails. It’s not by power nor might, but by the Spirit. Too many believers exhaust themselves in prayer, straining to obtain what can only be found in connection with the Spirit.
The key then is to lower the emotional, carnal volume and just listen to the spirit. Let the Spirit guide you as you surrender to Him. Be at peace. Don’t become agitated or emotionally riled. Relax. Surrender. Trust.
Trust not in your ability to connect with the Holy Spirit but in His ability to connect with you.