27 October 2021 - Pray in the Spirit

Ephesians 6:18 (NLT) “Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere”

After describing the pieces of the armour of God, Paul adds another important part of spiritual battle: prayer. This is not a piece of spiritual armour yet is essential to winning spiritual battles. Why? Prayer connects us to the power of God, which is necessary to defeat spiritual enemies.

Paul then notes some specific applications of prayer in this verse and the next. First, believers are to pray "in the Spirit." Next, we are to "keep alert."

1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NLT) “Never stop praying.”

Third, prayer is something to do "with all perseverance." We do not pray once each day and then stop. We are to talk with God persistently and about all matters. Nothing is too big or too small to discuss with the Lord.

Praying in the Spirit is prayer with divine help. It’s trusting in faith and relying on God to hear, understand, and act. Praying in the Spirit is a gift to be received through faith in Christ Jesus.

According to John Gill’s commentary, prayer, “when performed aright, is performed ‘in the Spirit’; with the heart, soul, and spirit engaged in it. It is put up with a true heart, and a right spirit, and without hypocrisy; in a spiritual way, and with fervency, and under the influence, and by the assistance of the Spirit of God.”

Romans 8:26 (NLT) “And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.”

Jude 1:20 (NLT) “But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit.”

1 Samuel 1:10 (NLT) “Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the Lord.”

E.M. Bounds, wrote the following concerning Hannah: “Her desires were too intense for articulation. She poured out her soul in prayer before the Lord." Insuperable natural difficulties were in the way, but she "multiplied her praying," as the passage means, till her God-lightened heart and her bright face recorded the answer to her prayers, and Samuel was hers by a conscious faith and a nation was restored by faith.”

1 Corinthians 14:15 (AMPCE) “Then what am I to do? I will pray with my spirit , but I will also pray with my mind and understanding; I will sing with my spirit , but I will sing with my mind and understanding also.”