Praying in the Spirit

This is a crucial topic for the HoP! We shall need all the help God can supply to make this work, and all of that help comes via the Holy Spirit. We need to learn to rely on Him for everything. Everything that God does to advance the kingdom of Jesus is through the agency of the Holy Spirit. Paul also calls the church the temple of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit delights to inhabit any group of people who willingly yield to His leading.

There are some beautiful worship songs available on Youtube which help get us into the right place to receive from God. For example: Spirit fall, Breathe on us (Catch the Fire), Stir a passion, There must be more than this (Tim Hughes). 

The exhortation to “pray in the Spirit” appears twice, in Ephesians 6:18/9 and Jude 20. In Ephesians 6:18 Paul advises us to use ALL forms of prayer, as different forms suit different occasions. There is a form of prayer for EVERY situation of life. God has not forgotten anything! Thanksgiving, praise, worship/adoration, petition, entreaty, intercession, confession, silence, contemplation, other tongues/languages, declaration, etc.. We have a huge armoury at our disposal. 

“Pray in the Spirit” as opposed to “pray in the flesh”, i.e. in your own strength. This includes religious repetition (Mt 6). It’s not the form used that’s the important thing. You can pray using a written prayer IN THE SPIRIT, and you can pray spontaneously IN THE FLESH. It’s all about the HEART; whether it comes out of external form, or a relationship with God. The Holy Spirit helps us get that right.

This explains why everywhere they went, the apostles made sure people understood what it meant to be filled with the Spirit (e.g. Acts 19:1-6- Ephesian believers!). This is not an optional extra for the very keen; it is the basic minimum for every follower of Jesus. As it is the basic minimum, it is not a special blessing for special saints. It would be unfair to say, “this is how to do it, but I’m not going to give everyone the wherewithal.” The very minimum is, we need to be born again, and filled with the Spirit/baptized in the Holy Spirit. We also need to be constantly RE-filled with the Spirit.

In Romans 8:26-27 Paul explains why we need the Holy Spirit in order to pray effectively. If the great apostle said “we don’t know how to pray”, the same must surely apply to us. The context of Romans 8 is a broken world, longing for new creation, otherwise known as the kingdom of God. We are part of that; we come from a background of brokenness. We are being renewed, but we still carry the scars of brokenness. In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness.

What is/are our weakness(es)? 

1. Apathy; we give up easily before getting what we ask for. In Luke 18 Jesus addresses this issue with a parable.

2. Getting through to God. At times we find it hard to get started. Eph 2:18; Heb 10:19> remind us of how we access the presence of God.

3. Knowing God’s will. We don’t know what to pray. The Bible gives us a great overview of what God wants, but we need the guidance of the holy Spirit in specific situations. 1 John 5:14-15 is a great promise for when we know the will of God.

4. Lack of faith. This is where revelation is so important. Stephen and Barnabas “full of the Holy Spirit and faith.” This is where the spiritual gifts come in. N.B. Difference between praying IN the Spirit (Eph 6; Jude), and praying WITH the spirit (1 Cor 14:15). The latter is our human spirit, and refers to speaking in tongues.

5. Adverse circumstances; distractions.

6. Weakness/weariness.

7. Satan’s attacks, we face opposition. E.g. condemnation, evil thoughts. The devil tries to stop us praying by bringing in interference. We can just adjust the dial and tune him out!

Consciously setting out to pray in the Spirit 

As we start to pray, we need to make a deliberate move to yield to the Holy Spirit, confessing our inability to do it on our own. Why is consciously setting out to pray in the Spirit so important?

1.  The Holy Spirit confirms us in our relationship to the Father Romans 8:15; Gal 4:6.

2. True prayer is to the Father, through the Son, by the Holy Spirit. The whole Trinity is involved. We are now living in the day of the Holy Spirit. In the New Testament, everything is BY the Holy Spirit. All else is carnal, fleshly, tainted by sin, wood, hay, stubble, to be burned up. Cf Mt 25: the parable of the wise and foolish virgins. In John 16:26-27 Jesus informs the disciples that there will come a day when it is not Jesus presenting our requests before the Father. As we approach the Father, relying on what Jesus did for us in salvation, and praying in the Spirit, we present our requests directly to Him. And Jesus says the Father hears us, and responds to us. Amazing!

3. The kind of prayer that is taught by Jesus and the apostles, that is effective and leads to the kingdom of God, is impossible in human strength. Like everything else in the Christian life (e.g. fruit and gifts of the Spirit).

4. The kind of prayer that is KINGDOM-focused, not primarily getting our needs met (look at the prayers in Acts, and the prayers of Paul). 

5. Such prayer is in the will of God.

6. Such prayer overcomes our weakness (Romans 8:26-27).

7. Such prayer is in power and authority, so is able to defeat the devil (e.g. Jesus in the wilderness).

If you want to know what in the Spirit prayer looks like, read John 17, Acts 4, Eph 1:15; 3:14; Col 1:9.

What are the topics of Spirit-inspired prayer?

What is “prayer in the Spirit”?

Expressed in the most practical terms it means that the Holy Spirit INSPIRES, GUIDES, ENERGIZES and SUSTAINS the praying. It promises a good future for the House of prayer, as together we grow in these things. We need to be patient because we are on a learning curve. But we have the best teacher ever!!

Arthur Wallis, who was a church leader in Southampton, wrote “Pray in the Spirit” back in the early days of the charismatic movement. There are copies of this book available for people to read circulating round the HoP community. Make sure you read a copy!