Praying in the Spirit.

Praying Always in the Spirit.

Before you begin to read this piece, I'd like to point out that God is always with us. As born-again believer's, the Holy Spirit lives in us, whether we feel Holy Spirit there or not, whether or not we are aware of His presence, Holy Spirit resides in us. 

There are things we can do, however, which bring a stronger anointing of that presence, a special endowment from the Holy Spirit. This piece is hopefully going to do that for you; bring in a strong anointing presence, with a greater capacity towards answered prayer.

Ephesians 6:10-11 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

There’s a tremendous spiritual battle with unseen powers. We live in a material world but our citizenship is that of the eternal. Without the strength of the Lord, the devil will pit against us.

Once we realise the reality of the unseen spiritual life and the powers held there, we can then work towards winning our battles, taking captive the unseen and bringing it to the seen.

To overcome and not be cast down is to put on the full armour of God, provided by God, that we may stand in the evil day. We must also pray. And we must know Who we are praying to. To conquer the might and power of the enemy means knowing where to go and what to do and Who to do it with.

So, then, how do we pray?

The disciples asked; “Lord teach us to pray...” (Luke 11:1) It was important enough for them to want to know how to do it correctly. Prayer is not effective so much in general principles but by exactness.

The most essential thing about prayer is that we are to pray in the Spirit.

There’s time and methods for prayer. But it is useless to spend our time on those other things without knowing this first principle …. How to pray in the Spirit.

After Jesus’ resurrection, the disciples met together in the upper room and the Spirit filled them. The great baptism into one body, the body of believers. Let’s not look at this in the wrong way. We’re impressed by the manifestation of power displayed on that day, but the ultimate point is that of salvation. Salvation is simply to bring us to know God.

Christ died in order to bring us to God. That’s the importance of salvation. God’s Son died so we would have it.

The primary function of the Holy Spirit is to bring us to God, worked out by the Son of God; that we know God and have fellowship and communion with Him.

The more excellent way than just prayer alone, is communion, love, knowledge and certainty. We are to pray in the Holy Spirit. Worship isn’t worship unless we pray in Spirit and in Truth. That is to pray with heartfelt sincerity and in accordance with God’s word. A heart motivated by love and gratitude, conforming to the revelation of scripture. And we can’t pray according to the scripture unless we’re reading our scripture.

The partition was torn by the death of Christ and we now have direct access to the Father because of the Son. It is this one and only Holy Spirit, brought through the death and resurrection of Christ that we are to pray. We are to worship God, in or by the Holy Spirit and rejoice in Christ with no confidence in the flesh.

The only true way to pray is in the Spirit. The Spirit is of Jesus and the only way for intercession to occur is through the Spirit in Jesus name.

Prayer isn’t because of a place. It’s not in the rushed and flurry of our morning routine. It occurs in the warm and compassionate centre of the heart. It’s in the reverence and holy fear of the Lord. Know Who you are praying to! Revere Him.

Prayer isn’t in the monotonous repetition of routine. It’s not in the time or the date that you pray, or even the place. Yes, it’s disciplined and directed, but it’s in the Spirit. Mechanical prayer is better than no prayer but it’s not in the mechanical, not in the quiet time but in the heartfelt prayer brought before God through the Spirit.

True prayer comes from the heart, from compassion, from love. To Whom are you praying? Vain repetitions, counting beads, or numbering your prayers aren’t the answer. Being mechanical isn’t the answer. Frantic prayers in crisis, while better than none, is not the answer. Anxious and fear filled prayer won’t move God.

Praying in composure, led by the Holy Spirit, guided by the Spirit, taught and directed by the Spirit. Seeing God as Spirit, seeing Him, really seeing Him as He is in Spirit. Stop and look at Who you’re addressing. The essence of prayer is to know the Eternal Holy God. Pure Spirit, who is in all, above all, through all, below all, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent. The Holy Father. That’s a prayer in the Spirit.

Pray with reverence and Godly fear; with awe, wonder and amazement. If we don’t start with that, surely it isn’t prayer.

Whom are you addressing? It is the One for whom the blood of the Lamb was sacrificed. God needs to be great in our mind, with Jesus at the centre and the Holy Spirit at the helm, directing the believer in the way they should walk.

In honouring the Lord, we will have forgotten our supplications and be worshiping the great and mighty God. Realising we’re in the very presence of God, we are then in the full assurance of faith and in boldness and knowledge of the Father.

We’ve been unsure, desperate, not quiet, restless, uncertain, unhappy, with no peace, and feverish, on the off-chance God will hear and that’s not the way to pray.

Prayer in the Spirit realizes the presence of God. We know and feel that Thou art here. Never be content in your prayer life until you know and feel God is there. A living and vital prayer, free, warm and loving.

Not mechanical, not stilted, but with an open heart we come to Our Father, as a child to his daddy. Confident, assured, a prayer which realises the presence of God. Knowing and feeling the He is here. Never rest content until we know and feel that God is here, face to face with us.

Prayer will always be in accordance with His will, when done in the name of Jesus Christ, according to the mind of Christ and His will. A prayer of faith and divine expectation. A prayer led and directed of the Spirit, looking for answers. Not double minded like James, but in faith, believing and expecting answers. Always looking forward with peace and joy.

James 1:7- 8 “But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.”

Now I don’t want to complicate this any more than it has to be. There’s a place for discipline, for discipline brings healing. There’s a place for the mechanical; doing everything we can to do in order to bring us before the Father. Some days all we have time for is a quick “help me" in the morning and “thank You” in the evening, for life can get busy. As it says in Romans 8:28 And we know at all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

If we pray in the Spirit the rest will look after itself. Pray on all occasions. Never give up praying. Methods are not the concern. It isn’t in the way we do it or the order we do it in, as long as it’s done in the Spirit. All prayer and supplication, done as we ought in boldness and assurance, but always in the Spirit. Then we shall stand in the evil day.