Praying In The Spirit - Spiritual Warfare Part 15 Series

Spiritual Warfare (SW-15)

Ephesians 6:18-19

Praying in the Spirit

Have you ever stopped and ask yourself why you pray? Or why you no longer pray even though you know you ought to pray?

Do you pray in order to change the mind of an unchangeable God?

Or do you pray thinking that prayer is a trade off for divine favor - the more to you pray the more credits you get - like taking your teacher a box of chocolates.

Or do you pray out of desperation - simply because that’s all you have left.

Or do you pray out of obedience even though you are not sure why and do not understand the issue of prayer.

This morning I want to give you the good news about one of the most amazing and powerful pieces of armor you will read about in the New Testament.

Please open your Bibles with me to the book of Ephesians . . . Eph 6:18-19

Read - Pray

1. Your Praying Must Be Spontaneous

With all prayer and petitions

All

Not just your morning prayer - or your family prayer or your corporate prayer - all different types of prayer

Petitions are bold requests drawn by our confidence in the character of God - it means to bind or settle a thing by coming in agreement with God about it.

2. Your Praying Must Be Continuous

Pray at all times

1 Thessalonians 5:17 "pray without ceasing;"

Col 4:2 Colossians 4:2 "Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving;"

3. Your Praying Must Be Supernatural

In the Spirit

Jude 20-21 "But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit."

4. Your Praying Must be Submissive

This is where one of the greatest misunderstandings exist when it comes to prayer - prayer is not about getting God to do wheat I want Him to do - it is about getting me to do what He wants me to do. It is not the manipulative technique for getting our wants and desires met, it is about submissions.

Jesus prayer - not my will but thine.

The Lord’s prayer - thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven

Romans 8:26-27 "In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God."

Psalm 145v18-19, "The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth. "He will fulfill the desire of them that fear Him; He also will hear their cry, and will save them."

Prayer is about supernaturally realigning a fallen world with the truth - the perfect will of God.

Why is the important - because the power of prayer in not that I desire it but that God has purposed it.

When I understand that - prayer will make the difference between victory and defeat.

Now understand the power of Paul’s teaching here -

He is saying, Christian - when you get up in the morning and put on the full armor of God . . .

When you have put on the belt of truth knowing its power and authority . . .

When you have out on the breastplate of righteousness knowing its protection and its integrity . . .

When you have your shoes of victory that comes from calvary . . .

When you have the shield of faith that extinguishes the attack of the enemy . . .

When you have the helmet of salvation and are thinking with your salvation thinking on . . .

When you have the sword - the Spirit who is the rhema of God on your lips . . .

They pray for the church, pray for the saints and pray for me . . . .

Eph. 6:18b-18 "and with this in view be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints and pray on my behalf that utterance may be given me in the opening of my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel."

Why - because when you pray in that manner - satan will be defeated, the sad old world will realign with God’s purpose, God children will be delivered and the glory of God will fill this place. Oh Christian - will you pray like this?

Prayer is powerfully petitioning God to supernaturally realign a fallen world with His perfect will, and has supernatural power when the petitioner is himself or herself in submission to that will.