PRAYING IN THE SPIRIT
MEMORISE: But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, Jude 1:20
READ: Ephesians 6:18 -20
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,
20 For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
MESSAGE
When l was a younger Christian, l Thessalonians 5:17 which says, "Pray without ceasing" used to baffle me until the Lord explained it to me.
I used to wonder how it was possible to pray without. Ceasing. What would l be saying? The Lord then let me know that the only way l could pray without ceasing was to do so in thenSpirit. This implies that God expects every believer to pray in the Spirit all day.
Believe me honestly, you don't know all that you need at this moment, do you know what will happen in the next two hours? If you don't know what will happen, then how will you pray about it? That is why you have the Holy Spirit to pray those prayers through you. You ask for what you want with your words; the Holy Spirit will help you ask for what you ought to have when you pray in tongues. Without the Holy Spirit, you cannot pray correctly. Romans 8:26 affirms this:
Likewise, the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Ephesians 5:18 says further:
And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.
Alcoholics will tell you that they are always craving more and more alcohol. That is how you should become addicted to praying in the Spirit. The more you pray in the Spirit, the more filled you would be. You would realise that it is difficult to stop,praying sometimes. As you pray, you get more and more engulfed in the Spirit and before you know it, everything you do would be influenced by Him. Galatians 5:17 says that the flesh and the Spirit are always at war. The more you pray in the Spirit, the more energized your spirit man would be to win that war against the flesh, so it becomes easy to,put it under (l Corinthians 9:27). You would begin to long for things of the Spirit rather than those of the flesh.
ACTION POINT
Pray in the Spirit always
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Jeremiah 22-24
HYMN 8: I NEED THEE EVERY HOUR
1 I need Thee ev'ry hour,
Most gracious Lord;
No tender voice like Thine
Can peace afford.
Refrain:
I need Thee, oh, I need Thee;
Ev'ry hour I need Thee;
Oh, bless me now, my Savior,
I come to Thee.
2 I need Thee ev'ry hour,
Stay Thou nearby;
Temptations lose their pow’r
When Thou art nigh. [Refrain]
3 I need Thee ev'ry hour,
In joy or pain;
Come quickly and abide,
Or life is vain. [Refrain]
4 I need Thee ev'ry hour,
Teach me Thy will;
And Thy rich promises
In me fulfill. [Refrain]
