Finally, daily prayer should include meditation, not just Bible study, and in general we should be much more expectant of experience in the full range. We should expect more struggle and complaint and “darkness of soul” but also more awe, intimacy, and experience of God’s spiritual reality. John Owen is quite clear that if the affections of the heart are not engaged in prayer, real character change and growth in Christ-likeness is impossible. We cannot settle for less.
