quotes from Chapter 8 God the Spirit and Prayer by James L. Wakefield
"God's kind of love is always self-giving, a going forth or going out of oneself on behalf of another. This understanding of love invites us to consider God as self-giving love."
"...the world is created, not by necessity, but from the abundance of God's love. God's mission is to create and love the world."
"...the triune persons give themselves in love to be loved. They intend to reconcile all things to themselves."
"God the Spirit transforms our minds and we learn to seek God's 'good, pleasing and perfect will' on behalf of all creation. Praying in the Spirit is the verbal expression of this life of sacrificial love."
"Paul's many exhortations to prayer and the many prayers in his letters serve as checkpoints for our prayers 'in the Spirit.' Do our prayers show we too are being transformed by God's self-giving love? Who do our prayers serve? The kingdom of God? Our neighbors and enemies? Or ourselves only?"
