Praying in the Spirit Part 1
Notes
Transcript
20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,
21 keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—
19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel,
20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
Question: How is your prayer life?
Struggles in Prayer: (talk)
Is it a motivation problem?
A “how to pray” problem?
What to pray for problem..
The Holy Spirit is our helper in our prayers. We need to pray in the Spirit!
What is Praying in the Spirit?
We can get an idea of what praying in the Spirit means from this statement from Charles Spurgeon:
I am sure that the only prayer in which the devout hearer can unite, and which is acceptable with God, is that which really is a heart prayer–a soul prayer, in fact–a prayer which the Holy Spirit moves us to pray. (Charles Spurgeon)
The Holy Spirit..
Makes us desire to pray.
2. Teaches us how to pray.
3. Guides us what to pray.
1. The Holy Spirit makes us desire to pray.
“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit..” (Ephesians 6:18a)
Look at this portion of the verse, according to Paul, how often should we pray?
Always:
17 pray without ceasing,
Always - Does this mean that we have to be on our knees in our prayer closet, or by our bedside in prayer — obviously not, Christians in the Bible engage in other activities like serving, sharing the love of God, in fellowship, in breaking of bread or communion.
Always simply means having an attitude of prayer…it is by His Spirit
It is not in the amount of our words but Jesus said “we are not heard for speaking many words”
Always be in communion with the Lord, always be in tune with the Spirit”.
Warren Wiersbe said this:(seems controversial, counter to what Christians say)
“Never have to say when you pray, ‘Lord, we come into Thy presence,’ because you never left His presence! ”(Warren Wiersbe)
I think “coming into His presence” is an Old Testament concept - song
Why don’t we pray? We are battling the flesh; we cannot achieve in the flesh what is needed in the Spirit.
41 Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
These are wise words from the Lord
There is a necessity - praying in the Holy Spirit builds us up in the faith
20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,
Prayer should be something we enjoy, look forward to, it should not be boring...because of the sweetness of the presence of the Holy Spirit in our prayer.
Now how do we pray?
2. The Holy Spirit teaches us how to pray.
a. Being watchful
“Being watchful to this end...”
There’s a second necessity — BE ALERT! not only be alert but to always be alert, not only to always be alert but to be always on high alert!
Do you know that you are engaged in a warfare. Sometimes we focus on the the battle.. but the enemy regroups after our every triumph.. examples in warfare (armies refuel, continue to press on)
b. With perseverance
What does this mean? It simply means to “keep at it and don’t quit”
In Luke 18 - we are told not to lose heart in praying
In Luke 11 - The Lord tells us to persist
“Prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance, it is laying hold of His willingness.” (Martin Luther)
Don’t quit in prayer (loved one, unsaved or estranged),, what a sad thing it will be to quit on God — especially right before He gives you the victory.
So how do we pray? In faith of course,, according to the will of God but it is the Spirit Who will help us to do so. Also to be watchful and to persevere.
So when do we stop praying for something? When the Holy Spirit tells us so or when the Father answers --- that is when you receive in faith.
Public prayer is a reflection of your private prayer life. You have something to draw from.. “Pastor prays long prayers! You make yourself appear holier than anyone”
Now what do we pray?
3. The Holy Spirit guides us what to pray.
“With all prayer”
“Supplication”
Our entreaties - those we ask of God
26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Sometimes even in quiet prayer - we get that connection.. not with aggression.. I wrestled with God (what do we think then).. we can get connected to the Lord in quietness:
In Isaiah 30:15 we are told “In quietness and confidence is your strength.
a. The Spirit reminds us of Who Jesus is.
Our thoughts are flooded with Who Jesus is, His majesty, His love and what He has done for us.. And how He wants to connect with you - “Come to Me...”
b. The Spirit reminds us of God’s Word.
Praying through Scripture..
Memorize parts of scripture - it doesn’t have to be long.
When you ask for provision (recite Philippians 4:13; Philippians 4:19)
Recite parts of Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3.
c. The Spirit leads us to pray according to the will of God.
27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
What do we pray for? God’s will and when we pray for something, the Spirit teaches us to pray according to the Father’s will.
Someone once said:
“Prayer is not getting man’s will done in heaven, it is getting God’s will done on earth.”
“...For all the saints...”
Intercessory prayer.
Pray for members of the church.
Satan’s spiritual warfare is being waged against the church.
It is great that the Lord taught us to pray “My Father”? --- “Our Father”.
We are part of one great family.
Don’t be reluctant to ask for prayer
Look at the example of the Apostle Paul — arguably the greatest of the apostles (talk)
St Paul himself asked for prayer
19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel,
“And for me...” - if the great Apostle Paul asked for prayer, who are we to not admit our need for prayer?
continue: “that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the Gospel”
20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
There is an empowerment when we pray in the Spirit!
The Holy Spirit makes us effective ambassadors for Christ!