Sermon Notes 7/31/2022: Praying In The Spirit
Praying In The Spirit
Prayer is very important to God
I believe this is an understatement
Charles Spurgeon said “To pray is to enter the treasure-house of God and to gather riches out of an inexhaustible storehouse.
Jesus modeled the importance of prayer in His life
The common denominator of every great man or woman of God in scripture is they were people of great and deep prayer
Jesus even cleared out the temple stating “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”
It is believed that prayer is spoken of between 300 to 700 times in the bible
In Luke 18:1-8 Jesus shows us the importance of persistent prayer
And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. 2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. 3 And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 4 For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’ ” 6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. 7 And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? zWill he delay long over them? 8 I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth
Prayer is vital in the life of every believer
But many times people often believe the only way to pray is by their understanding
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 14:14-17
14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful. 15 What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also. 16 Otherwise, if you give thanks with your spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say “Amen” to your thanksgiving when he does not know what you are saying? 17 For you may be giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not being built up
Paul here makes a distinction between praying with his spirit and praying with his mind or understanding
The word mind in the Greek is nous and it means human mind or understanding
To pray in one’s understanding is to pray in the language they understand
I speak English and therefore when I pray, I pray in English
To pray in our understanding also means to pray according to our human understanding
Our human understanding is limited
When we look at any issue or problem we can only discern or understand in a limited way
But this is why I believe praying in the Spirit is so important
In verse 14 Paul states For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful.
Paul equates praying in the Spirit with praying in tongues
For some who have never prayed in the spirit or experienced this it might seem strange
Or when someone hears someone pray in the Spirit for the first time it can be an interesting experience
The reason praying in the spirit is so important is because the Holy Spirit understands our weakness
He understands we are limited in our human understanding
Paul writes in Romans 8:26-27
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God
The Holy Spirit understands our weakness
We are limited as human beings
We face an adversary that is invisible and deals in lies and deceptions
Without the Spirit of God we are helpless against Satan
Mere sheep to be led to the slaughter
Even though we may not know exactly what to pray for, The Holy Spirit does
The Holy Spirit knows the mind of The Father
They are one
He knows the perfect will of God
When we pray in the Spirit we pray according to the perfect will of God
When we pray in The Spirit it is The Holy Spirit who gives us utterance
Acts 2:4
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
It is The Holy Spirit who gives us utterance
Why is it that Satan has tried so hard to rid the body of Christ of this truth?
Why is it that Satan has tried to make God’s people ignorant of all that is available to them
Hosea 4:6
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge;
because you have rejected knowledge,
I reject you from being a priest to me.
And since you have forgotten the law of your God,
I also will forget your children.
In war or combat one of the greatest ways to gain victory or an advantage is confusion
Satan is the author of confusion
When a child of God is unaware of his schemes and strategies and fails to understand what’s available to them, the enemy has gained an advantage
Satan is defeated
He knows this but he doesn’t want us to know it
He wants us to believe he is all powerful like God
But he is nothing compared to God
When God’s people understand all that is available to them there is no limit of what God can do through them
Paul writes in Ephesians 6:10-20
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.
Paul makes it clear we are in the middle of a war zone
Paul writes in verse 12
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Satan has well organized forces and strategies
Every time we are persecuted and hated for the name of Jesus, it is because of the influence of the enemy
Paul lays out the armor of God
But he writes in verse 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,
Paul says praying at all times in The Spirit
That means every time we pray
All times throughout the day
I find myself praying throughout the day in The Spirit
Praying in my understanding and The Spirit
When we pray in The Spirit it brings a depth to our prayer life and an intimacy with the Holy Spirit that is so much greater
Satan would desire to rob us of this through fear or ignorance
But God commands us in scripture to pray in The Spirit and in our understanding
Even Jude writes in verse 20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit,
Paul knew how important prayer was in his own personal ministry
Listen to what he writes in Ephesians 6:19-20 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.
Paul knew that people praying for him enabled him to preach and proclaim the gospel boldly and effectively
When we pray in the Spirit we pray forth mysteries
1 Corinthians 14:2 For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit.
That word mysteries is the Greek word mysterion and means mysteries, secret things, hidden things
They are things beyond our human understanding
When we pray in The Spirit we pray according to the perfect will of God
We can pray for people, Nations, leaders, fellow believers, many many things that we cannot comprehend in our limited understanding
But it is The Spirit of God who enables us
It is the Spirit of God who leads us
Today if you are able to pray in The Spirit, I would encourage you to do it always when you pray
If you are not able to pray in The Spirit, I believe it is available to all believers and if you are sensing the drawing of the Lord I would ask Him
He says we have not because we ask not
The releasing of all things that God gives unto us is when we ask in faith and do not doubt
Without faith it is impossible to please God
But when we ask in faith it is like a key unlocking a door to all that God has for us.