Prophecy in the desert speaks words (logoi) of Logos to communicate the Name, whilst prayer prays ineffable words of awe, joy and wonder that God reveals God through God here, unveiling his Name in the midst. Prophecy says, ‘God is ‘I AM’ unveiling God in the midst. Turn and see!’ Prayer humbly turns and sees who sees here in the midst, discovering nothing created here at centre where ‘I’ awareness is simply aware of being aware and ‘AM’ presence of awareness is serenely ever-present, unveiling wisdom’s seeing and glory’s being seen indivisibly present and aware. Insight like this is direct, not conceptual, moreover, union like this is not something that may be conceptually grasped or intellectually understood. Prophecy lives unconditionally from the directness and immediacy of wisdom’s unconditioned awareness of presence, whilst prayer breathes in the Spirit’s inspiration, unconditionally bearing witness to the uncreated light of filial awareness, restoring the presence of glory to the uncreated ground of primordial paternal awareness.
The desert employs this ancient language of glorification and of Holy Trinity to express the awe, joy and wonder of the unveiling of God’s Name, ‘I AM’, but never mistakes conceptual thinking about revelation for pure prayer or outward expressions of dogma for the luminous radiance of glorification. Awareness of the oneness of presence and awareness, ‘I AM,’ being uncreated and unconditioned, releases all addictive fixations and every subtle dualism between subject and object. That is why the Name is described as saving and why the name Jesus, Yah Shuah, means ‘I AM’ saves. Prophecy employs words empowered by the Word (Logos), to pierce hearts with uncreated light, neither reifying what is said by grasping at affirmation, nor fixating on what is denied by objectifying negation. Prayer of the Spirit prays unceasingly with ineffable words in the heart, transmuting words of prophecy into ineffable mysteries of transfiguring glory in the heart. Transcending all reification, glory answers light when wisdom restores glory to the Father, bearing witness through the uncreated light of filial awareness to the ineffable glory of primordial, paternal awareness. Desert prophecy was always heir to this ancient prophetic revelation of the Thrice Holy Name and to prayer’s living experience of the coming Kingdom of glory, revealed by wisdom in stillness as Holy Trinity.
Awareness of the Son’s awareness of the Father’s presence is the hidden heart of the Spirit’s witness to the union of the Father and the Son but also to the Spirit’s revelation of the Name in prophecy and prayer. Desert prophecy points out Christ’s presence in our midst so as to unveil the glory of the Father in the Son’s revelation of the Name, but without the Spirit’s ineffable prayer of intercession in the heart, there would be no witness to this union or access to uncreated, enlightened seeing, which indivisibly unites seer and seen in glorification. That is why desert wisdom does not quench prophecy or neglect prayer of the Spirit in the heart. Theologies of atonement are never confused with at-onement of wisdom and glory in the experience of glorification, oneness of awareness and presence, directly experienced as deifying union with God by grace of wisdom and glory. Without prophecy there can be belief in God, but not awakened remembrance of God. Without the Spirit’s unceasing prayer in the heart, there can be cognition of external phenomena, including notions of God, but not recognition of glory by wisdom, still less awakening to God’s own God-centred glorification of God. Desert prophecy is trustworthy in the way it transmits truth because it is the Father’s own first-personal, self-originating ‘I AM’ revealed as hallowing way by the Son and timeless life in the Spirit. There are many kinds of obscuration but they all eventually dissolve when ‘I AM’ acts as way as well as truth in revelatory prophecy and ‘I AM’ is embraced as truth as well as life in pure prayer, God’s God-centred glorification of God.