There are some doctrines that we see, but we cannot see through them. The believer is often called to hold biblical truths in tension. We must be content simply to look through the glass until we know what is known to us (1 Cor. 13:12). There are several biblical doctrines in this category. Praying in the Spirit is not one of them.
Praying in the Spirit is an indispensable part of the Christian life. that, at times, has generated “more heat than light.” It is true that opinions vary on the exact meaning of praying in the Spirit. There are a variety of theological claims about how to “achieve” praying in the Spirit as if admonition were a skill to be acquired. It is not. It is a gift to be received, a life to be lived.
The Scriptures are clear: to pray in the Holy Spirit is to approach the throne of grace in humble and prayerful intercession and supplication entirely on God’s terms, not ours. Or, as an older Christian author Jacob Gregory put it: “No human being can pray without divine help. Divinely assisted prayer is praying in the Spirit.”
What do the scriptures say?
“No human can pray without divine help” seems to be too simple a saying. We want more. We want to know what we should do to foster the experience. Our contribution to the work of the Holy Spirit is as absurd as assuming that praying in the Holy Spirit is an ecstatic experience to cultivate.
However, this phenomenon of “God can do it, but I must help him” is a wrong impulse of humanity. “Praying in the Spirit” is altogether a divine activity that one appropriates through faith in Jesus Christ and his final work on the cross. Easy? Yes, and infinitely glorious.
I am reminded of Peggy Nunan’s quote from her book, On Speaking Well: “Most of the important things you will ever say or hear in your life are made up of simple, good, solid words. ‘Love you. It’s over. He is a boy. We will win. He is dead”.
Praying in the Holy Spirit is a simple, good, solid doctrine. But it’s just amazing. There are numerous passages in both the Old and New Testaments about prayers made in the power of the Spirit. The great EM Bounds
(1835-1913), a Methodist Episcopal minister who “specialized” in the lifelong study of the biblical doctrine of prayer, wrote of one such example regarding Hannah in 1 Samuel 1: “Her desires were too intense for articulation. She poured out her soul in prayer before the Lord. Insurmountable natural difficulties stood in her way, but she multiplied her prayer, as the passage means, until her God-illumined heart and her shining face registered her answer to her prayers. and Samuel was his by conscious faith and a nation was restored by faith.”
Ana’s tears were like sacraments of salt water that spoke of a deep and invisible desire. This longing was elevated to God with the help of God. She was praying in God’s power, not hers. While there is no specific wording, “pray in the Spirit,” the narrative (and narrative is the main literary genre in the Old Covenant text) clearly demonstrates that both Hannah and her son were believers who prayed with “the help of God.” divine.”
The New Testament is characterized not only by narrative but also by “didactic” literature. That is, the writers of the New Testament, particularly the Lord Jesus and his apostles, speak or write to teach: to communicate God’s revealed truth to mankind. Within this primary genre in the New Testament, we can best isolate and examine the exact teachings on the subject of praying in the Holy Spirit. Here are just a few selections that teach “prayer with divine help.”
5 Bible verses about praying with divine help
“I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you will not satisfy the desires of the flesh. Because the desire of the flesh is against the Spirit, and that of the Spirit is against the flesh; and these oppose each other, so that you do not do what you want” (Galatians 5: 16,17).
“praying at all times with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and being vigilant to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints” (Ephesians 6:18).
“But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit” (Jude 1:20).
“Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. Because we don’t know why to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God” (Romans 8: 26-27).
“What I am going to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind” (1 Corinthians 14:15).
Again we say: these are just samples of the doctrine of praying in the Spirit. Each glorious passage is worthy of your own careful consideration. The passages are mysterious only in the sense that any truth about God’s grace and condescending love is incomprehensible to mere mortals, but the teaching is simple and accessible.
One sees a frozen field and says: “nothing good can grow there!” Ah, but wait for spring and you will see that the very field that seemed barren was pulsating with unseen power. So too, the biblical teaching on “praying in the Spirit” is a seed hidden within those who trust in Jesus Christ. We see the dear lady in the nursing home, and we might be tempted to think, “How helpless is the poor soul!” But you couldn’t be more wrong. As the hidden seeds of wheat sprout in the warm spring sun, so does the Holy Spirit move within her to inspire her prayers, to perfect her prayers and bring sorrow to prayer and prayer to providence and healing. providence to praise.
Whether in narrative (eg, Acts 4:41) or in didactic (“teaching”) expression, (eg, Ephesians 6:18), the Old and New Testaments demonstrate that Prayer in the Spirit happens when we approach Almighty God in the Name of Jesus Christ and according to God’s revealed will.
How to pray in the spirit
I risk repeating here, but we must not make room for the ever-present human tendency to add to or subtract from the plain truth of Scripture. Praying in the Spirit, walking in the Spirit, and worshiping in the Spirit (“in Spirit and in truth,” John 4:24) must come before the Lord according to His appointed means, that is, through Him whom the Spirit magnifies, the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 8:26-27), depending on His revealed Word and pleading as a lesser creature to our glorious Creator.
The Holy Spirit also takes our prayers and perfects them before the Almighty (eg Romans 8:26). The Holy Spirit prays within us when we cannot utter a word (again, Romans 8:26). Praying in the Holy Spirit is also building unity in the body of Christ. When you are praying in submission to the Lord God and his Christ, the Holy Spirit within you will witness itself in his Word, in his prayers, and even in those other believers who pray with you. These things and much more are lit by the dynamite of praying in the Spirit.
Praying in the Spirit is not
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, the Welsh surgeon-turned-Queen’s Ambassador, used a large segment of his teaching in Westminster Chapel, London, to pray in the Holy Spirit by demonstrating, from the Scriptures , what is not: Praying in the Spirit is not an act of mere emotion. One cannot be “encouraged to pray in the Spirit.” Such a divine arrangement cannot be held captive by mortal sensations. Alternatively, praying in the Spirit is indeed praying with our whole being, “head and heart.” The emotion, in this case, is an effect of praying in the Spirit rather than the cause…”.
Let me give an example. I know of an elderly Christian who lives alone. This unassuming and kind man is a retired banker, a secretive and reserved person by nature. Anglican, this gentleman reads the “daily office” of the Book of Common Prayer. He reads Old Testament, New Testament and a Psalm. He prays the Collect of the Day (a special prayer written, mostly by Thomas Cranmer [1489-1556]
for the respective stations of the Church, collected in the Book of Common Prayer). When he bows before the Lord and prays, using these ancient ways, is this man somehow unable to pray in the Spirit? Of course not. He may or may not be praying in the Holy Spirit (I know him and I think he certainly is). Then, Praying in the Spirit is not necessarily demonstrated by visible enthusiasm, but by faith in the Word of God and in the will of God, by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Spirit of God magnifies the Son of God and his will for his lambs: you and me.
Why is it important to pray in the spirit?
Praying in the Spirit is vital to our sanctification (growth in grace and knowledge of Christ and in our ethical response to God in every area of life). Furthermore, praying in the Holy Spirit is God’s glorious means of advancing his will on earth as it is in heaven. The late J. Oswald Sanders (1902-1992) of New Zealand noted the believer’s blessing of praying in the Spirit in his classic book, Prayer Power Unlimited: “Here is the secret of prayer that prevails, praying under a direct inspiration of the Holy Spirit, whose requests to us and through us are always in accordance with divine purpose, and therefore are certain answers.”
Praying in the Spirit cultivates a vital relationship with our risen and reigning Lord Jesus Christ. Praying in the Spirit is opening your life to the fullness of the Spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ. Prayer in the Spirit changes us from the inside out and makes us ready and willing to do God’s will.
Who can pray in the spirit?
I want to be very encouraging to all of you who are reading this. Each and every one of you can come to God and pray in the Holy Spirit. There are no tricks, cryptic jargon, or inside information to acquire. Repent of yourself and all the sinful consequences of trusting in “the flesh” and receive Jesus Christ by faith. The Spirit of God will enter you and take up residence in you. You will become a true “temple” of the living God. Then, you will have a new desire implanted by God to follow him: in worship, in witness, in fellowship, and in prayer. Prayer in the Spirit is the “natural” next step in following Jesus as Lord and Savior.
Once there was a believer who carried his burden to God in prayer. Twice…