Praying Effectively: Part 7

September 17, 2020
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| Prayer, Praying Effectively

Part 7 – Praying in the Spirit

The followers of Jesus Christ living during the time that he physically walked the earth were ordinary people chosen for an extraordinary time. The most notable were his twelve disciples that walked and talked with him daily. One can imagine that on the day of his crucifixion, they were beyond heartbroken, and upon the news of his resurrection, they had to have been overjoyed. Religious zealots had it out for Jesus and tried their best to trap him. For fear of those who followed Jesus, they had to try and find a way to trip him up publicly so they could arrest him for breaking Jewish law, but there wasn’t anything they could do. Jesus Christ is love in every sense of the word, and against such love there is no law. Our Lord and Savior always did the Will of the Father, and God’s Will is righteous and perfect. Because of God’s great love for us all, it was His Will to give His only begotten Son as a sacrifice for our sin. Through his ministry, sacrifice and resurrection, he finished the work that God sent him to do, and made the gift of Holy Spirit available to God’s people.

Gathered in one place on the day of Pentecost, the followers of Christ were sitting and waiting together according to the instruction Jesus Christ had given them. Acts 2:1-2(NLT) says, “2 Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. 3 Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them.” This was the fulfillment of the promise of the Father. After the fall of Adam, humanity lost that precious connection to Heavenly Father, but Jesus Christ restored it, and now the gift of God’s Spirit is available to every born-again believer. When they disobeyed God, Adam and Eve lost their holiness and died spiritually, and ultimately physically as well. Because Jesus Christ restored this connection, we can now have the gift of eternal life.

Genesis 1:27 tells us that God created us in His image. He is a triune God. He is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He created us to be three-part beings as well. 1Thessalonians 5:23(NLT) states, “Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.” This verse identifies our three parts, spirit, soul, and body. Our human spirit is not the same as God’s Holy Spirit. They are two separate beings. Our human spirit is the highest part of who we are. When we became born-again, we became a new creation in Christ. Our bodies didn’t change when we became born again, and neither did our souls. So, what changed? The answer to this question is that our human spirit was changed. Our human-spirit became a new creation.

Romans 6:13(NLT) tells us, “Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.”  Before we gave our lives to Jesus Christ, our human spirit was dead to God as a result of Adam’s sin, but through Jesus Christ, we have new life. We can use our whole body as an instrument for the glory of God, because this is the purpose of the human body. Our physical body is a temple. After we receive salvation through the new birth experience, our dead human spirit receives life! It becomes alive to God. Colossians 2:12(NLT) states, “For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.”  

Our human spirits became brand new! They are perfect, so perfect that the Holy Spirit comes to live inside them. The Spirit indwells our body temples, and it’s our privilege and responsibility to make his home as cozy and comfortable as possible. Well, what’s the Holy Spirit doing in there? The answer to this question is that He’s at work. Philippians 2:13 tells us that God works within us through His Holy Spirit to do those things that are good and bring Him pleasure. In John 16:13(NLT), Jesus Christ said, “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” The indwelling Holy Spirit is in constant communication with our human spirit. He guides us into ALL truth and tells us whatever he hears from Jesus Christ. Our job is to make sure we listen to what the Spirit is saying, so that we can do the good things God planned long ago for us to do.

The Holy Spirit is our comforter, friend, and guide. His power is limitless, and he helps us in ways too numerous to count, but one of the most well-known and very important ways in which he helps us is in our prayer lives. Romans 8:26(NLT) tells us, “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.” This intercessory groanings is the manifestation of speaking in tongues. There is only one gift of Holy Spirit, and though this one gift we can outwardly demonstrate the Spirit’s power through nine manifestations. 1Corinthians 12:7-10 tells us that these manifestations are 1) word of wisdom, 2) word of knowledge, 3) great faith, 4) working of miracles, 5) gifts of healing, 6) prophecy, 7) discerning of spirits, 8) speaking in tongues, and 9) interpreting tongues.

Again, speaking in tongues is probably the most well-known manifestation of the Holy Spirit. It bears testimony that the Holy Spirit abides within us. In some circles, it is quite controversial. There’s absolutely no need for it to be. The manifestations of the Holy Spirit are an extraordinary blessing from God, and we desperately need them to be successful in the Christian life. There are times when we hear about something troubling that has transpired in the life of someone we know. We are not aware of all the details, and we don’t know the root of the problem, but the Holy Spirit knows all things. He knows the mind of Christ, and as we concentrate on the situation, we can speak in tongues as the Holy Spirit prays perfectly through us.

The Apostle Paul said in 1Corinthians 14:18(NKJV), “I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all;” Here, he has expressed the importance of this manifestation, but he also stressed the stewardship of it. There is guidance in God’s Word about speaking in tongues publicly. It is a powerful tool, and it must never be taken lightly or employed in a way that doesn’t bring glory to God. The most important truth we should know is that God has provided us a way to be very effective in our prayer lives by praying in the Spirit. It is available to every born-again believer, and if we desire to increase in the Spirit in this way, all we have to do is ask, for God is happy to give good things to those who ask.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

“Praying Effectively: Part 7 – Praying in the Spirit”, written for Springfield Fellowship, Inc. Copyright© 2020. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

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Praying Effectively: Part 8 – Always Let God Take the Lead