Day 6 WHEN WE PRAY

Romans 8:26 (ESV)

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.

As maturing believers, we must learn to pray “in the Spirit.” This means not simply praying under the guidance of our own small intellect but allowing the Spirit to actually lead us in prayer. When I was growing up, my church family would call this “praying through.”

Now, there is incredible power in praying in the Spirit using our own words, speaking from our heart to God about our personal thoughts, desires, and petitions. These prayers are led by the power and anointing of the Spirit of God, but they are still made in accordance with our own understanding. This is powerful and essential, but there is another dimension of prayer that many believers seldom experience.

In some circles this aspect of prayer is referred to as a prayer language; in others, it’s referred to as a baptism of the Holy Spirit, which is often evidenced by speaking in what the Bible calls “other tongues.”

Different denominations—and even different churches within the same denomination—can vary in how they interpret Scripture in regards to speaking in tongues or praying in the Spirit. The issue has become so convoluted that what the Bible actually says about praying in tongues is rarely addressed, and I think the result is that one of the beautiful gifts of God is absent from the prayer lives of many believers.

Personally speaking, the greatest moves of God I’ve experienced in my own heart and life were when I moved from praying in my own understanding to praying in the Spirit.

I would describe this as being truly broken before God in prayer and worship. Even if you’ve never experienced this dimension of prayer or the baptism of the Holy Spirit, it is the promise and gift of God to all believers. Find a place to pray and ask God to baptize you in His Spirit, speaking in other tongues just as so many believers in the New Testament experienced regularly. You will never be the same.

Dear Lord, help us to make the decision to really set our self to prayer.  We pray that we would allow the Holy Spirit to completely fill us. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.