Pray “In The Spirit”: A Season of Prayer
Eph 6:18 June 10, 2007
Intro:
Some people pray in their car. Some people pray in their rooms. Some pray in their office, in their shower, or in their pj’s. Some people pray in their heads, others pray in spoken words, and some even pray in languages they have never learned. Most of us pray in times of need, in times of sorrow, in times of desperation. Many of us pray in times of joy and celebration and thankfulness. Some pray in public, others pray in private. We pray in our minds, we pray in our hearts, we pray in our feelings, and we pray in our spirits.
Those are all good things to pray in – but I want to add one more: from Scripture, Eph 6:18: “pray in the Spirit”.
Last week we continued in our season of prayer by going to Scripture to see how, when, where, why, how to and how not to pray. We read almost 50 verses – a barrage of Scriptures on the topic of prayer. Today I want to go way in the opposite direction – only one verse; in fact focusing on only 4 words: “pray in the Spirit”.
Background:
Let me put the verse in context. In Ephesians 6, Paul is nearing the end of the letter and is writing, in this section, about the reality of the spiritual world – forces of opposition to the Kingdom of God, and what we as believers are supposed to do about them. He uses Roman armor as a running analogy to the spiritual essentials, such as salvation and peace and truth and the Word of God, all so that we as believers can stand “firm” in our active obedience.
That passage leads to this verse, verse 18: “Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.”
Most of the verse is fairly self-explanatory. “at all times” talks about a lifestyle of prayer, where we are regularly and constantly in conversation with God. “Stay alert” reminds us of diligence, awareness, being clearly tuned in to things around us and in us, and hints at our need to be listening to God and being alert to what He is doing. “be persistent” encourages us to never give up on our prayers, to never conclude that God is not paying attention or that we are wasting our time. “for all believers everywhere” is a call to be global; worldwide; not narrowly focused on ourselves but to keep our prayers focused broadly on what God is doing in our world.
“In the Spirit”:
While those parts are fairly self-explanatory, the first 4 words are not. At least not to most of us. What do you think that means, to “pray in the Spirit”?
Notice the capital “s” on Spirit – that indicates that Scripture is talking about the Holy Spirit, not our spirits. So the passage is saying, “pray in the Holy Spirit”. But what does that mean? What does that look like? (invite responses).
Backing Up:
A few weeks ago, on Pentecost Sunday, we remembered and celebrated the gift of the Holy Spirit – the continuing presence of God with us and in us who believe and accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. We’ve looked at the promise of power with the Holy Spirit, and of how that power draws people into relationship with Jesus just like it did on the day of Pentecost, when what looked like tongues of fire came with the sound of a rushing wind and rested on the 120 disciples who were praying in the upper room. We know and believe that God still gives us the gift of the Holy Spirit, to lead and empower and guide and build the Kingdom of God in and through us.
That is the crucial foundation to this verse, about praying “in the Spirit”. We can’t pray in the Spirit if we have no concept or experience of the Holy Spirit in our lives. If we don’t know who the Holy Spirit is, or how to listen to the Holy Spirit, or how to recognize the Holy Spirit, we certainly won’t know how to pray in the Spirit. So let’s start there:
“Normalizing” the Spirit:
I want you to listen very closely to me now, because this is important. The Holy Spirit is not about sensationalism. That is what we often associate with talk of the Holy Spirit – weird, out-of-control, “super”-natural, sensationalism. Things like speaking in tongues or miraculous healings or being “slain in the Spirit” (which is where people are overcome by the presence of God and fall to the ground like they are dead). Now – still listening – those certainly can be things that God does. We see those things in the Bible. Sometimes today those types of things still happen, and often that is the Holy Spirit at work in God’s people. I do not dismiss or condemn those, in fact I celebrate them whenever it is clear that God is at work.
But I also know those are not the goal. Those are not the measure. Those are not the standard by which we determine whether the Holy Spirit is at work. The miraculous, the sensational – not the point. It might happen, but it still is not the point. The point is always this: loving obedience to God. When the Holy Spirit is at work, the result is loving obedience to God.
My personal conviction, experience, and even my calling doesn’t fit into any of the usual categories. I don’t agree with those Christians who require some un-explainable phenomenon as evidence of the Holy Spirit’s presence. Neither do I agree with those Christians who, while affirming with their words the importance and reality of the Holy Spirit, nevertheless continue to live their lives completely in their own strength and power. Functionally, those people deny the reality of the Holy Spirit.
Because I don’t really fit, I often find myself in a strange position. Among my “charismatic” friends, I’m no where near “full of the Spirit” enough… or “expressive” enough, or “powerful” enough. When we get into conversations, I’m often taking the position that the supernatural demonstrations are only a function, a tool, and not the aim or the end point. I feel like I’m pushing them to become a little more “conservative”… Among my more “conservative” friends, I often find myself taking the position that they need to experience the very real power of the Holy Spirit and allow that power to lead their ministries, rather than simply doing what they think is good and right. I feel like I’m pushing them to become more “charismatic”…. I end up feeling like a ping-pong ball…
I stake out the “middle” ground. Why? I believe that life in the Spirit should be the norm. It shouldn’t be weird or sensational on the one hand – and it shouldn’t be an afterthought or something given lip-service to on the other hand. Life in the Spirit should be the norm.
When I study Scripture, when I read the writings of respected Christians, and even as I live my own small life, the constant theme is that our Christianity is supposed to be about “everyday”; about “normal” life; about walking through all the seasons and challenges and joys of life – and (here is the critical part!) – of doing all of that with/in/focused on God our King. What that means, in Scripture language, is that we “keep in step with the Spirit” (Gal 5:25). It means that the “normal”, the “everyday”, is lived with the very real presence and power of God. And that makes all the difference.
We are to be filled with the Holy Spirit – that is what Scripture says. The very real, personal, intimate presence of the God of the Universe filling us through the person of the Holy Spirit. I believe that filling begins with the moment we start to open ourselves to God and to accept His love, and then it continues and grows as we get to the point of asking Jesus to be our Lord and our Saviour, and then it continues and grows again as we serve God and as we minister to others. I don’t believe it happens once and that is it – it wasn’t like that with the first disciples. In fact, I think the best ideal is that we be filled daily with the Spirit – to the measure of what the day will demand of us as servants of the almighty God. The goal of which, as I said earlier, is loving obedience to God in every aspect of our day, spent serving God by loving Him and loving others. Even, and especially, in our prayer life. We are to pray “in the Spirit”.
Pray “in the Spirit”:
Have you ever done that – pray “in the Spirit”? Is this any different than praying in your mind, or praying with your spoken word? I think it is. Let me get practical and tell a few stories.
This week, someone poked their head into my office and said “hey, I was praying for “x” and a sort of strange idea popped into my head which I don’t really know what to do with, so I’m going to share it with you… I felt like the Holy Spirit was leading me to pray against guilt –that person “x” was not to blame themselves for the things going on in their life. It didn’t really seem to relate, so I prayed about it and thought I’d just tell you in case it means something.”
Well, a little later in the week I was talking with this other person, and as we visited the topic of guilt came up – I didn’t bring it up, but there was the opportunity and so I shared this other persons’ prayer. And it made a big difference – person “x” was really encouraged, the prayer spoke to the need. That was prayer “in the Spirit”.
As we began our season of prayer, one of our first prayer gatherings was focused on our mom’s morning out ministry. As I sat in the circle, and was praying along with the others who were verbalizing prayer, I started to think of the experience each of those preschool children have had – of being welcomed, loved, comforted, taught, prayed for: and I started to pray that those experiences would be like a seed, pushed deep into the soul of each of those children, and that God would at the perfect time begin to grow that seed, build on that foundation, and draw each of those children to Himself. I prayed that those seeds of faith would be protected and nourished, and that God would bring the growth. My mind and my voice was involved, yes, but it was more than that – I believe it was the heart of God for those kids, and that the Holy Spirit led me to pray that for them. That is prayer “in the Spirit”.
This morning we celebrated our year of Sunday school, and as we planned how to do this as an act of worship during this season of prayer, I believe that the Holy Spirit led us as staff to the idea that we experienced this morning. That is prayer “in the Spirit”.
I want you to notice that none of those stories are earth-shattering, miraculous, or sensational. They are, however, examples of God walking and talking with His people in ordinary, normal ways – about ordinary, normal things – and making a difference for the Kingdom of God. I could find and tell sensational stories, mostly second hand but certainly earth-shattering, miraculous examples of God’s power and continued reign in our world. But I’m convinced that when we focus on those types of stories, we mis-represent the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is about God reigning in every area of our lives, and about our response of loving obedience to Him. When He chooses to act in miraculous ways, I praise Him and so should we all. But there is a deeper life, to which I call you today: a life of daily, consistent, loving obedience.
How do you get started in praying “in the Spirit”:
Let me close with some practical, tangible tips for beginning to practice prayer that is “in the Spirit” rather than just in your own words.
1. start privately: this way, there is no pressure, to need to perform, no fear of others’ expectations. In your own times of prayer, ask God to lead. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you some ideas of how to pray or what to pray about. If something is of concern, avoid just asking God to fix it or change it and instead ask the Holy Spirit to help you to pray about it. Then leave some quiet. Try to listen. And pray the things that come to your mind or to your heart. If you do this by yourself at first, you have nothing to lose.
2. share a little with a trusted friend: the second step is to invite someone you trust to share your thoughts from prayer with. Best is if this person has a little more experience than you – has walked a little further down this road – and can help guide.
3. examine the content of your prayer times: what things occupy our times of prayer? You’ll have much better experiences praying “in the Spirit” if the things you are praying about are the things that are close to the heart of God. We discover those by regular reading of the Word of God, and by looking around us and trying to see the way God sees.
4. be obedient: if you think God is leading you to pray a certain way or for a certain thing, then do it. Often, God waits for us to be obedient to the first things before leading us to deeper things. One word of caution here: please, as you are learning, don’t rush to share things that you think God might be saying about someone else with that other person until you have talked about it with a third person who has learned the process of discernment. Our elders and pastoral staff are always willing to be part of that. Sometimes, sharing things can cause harm.
5. be patient and persistent: in our “instant” society, we sometimes lose the ability to stick with something new long enough to develop a new skill or habit. Since prayer is about relationship and conversation, be patient and persistent in learning to listen and then pray “in the Spirit”.
Conclusion:
Let me end here: this is worth it. It really is worth it! I don’t want to spend my life seeking after and chasing after and praying after things that are not in line with what God wants, for the very simple reason that God’s way is best – it leads to the most life, the most joy, the most love, and the most power. It is good, all the time. Jesus promised, “12 “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. 13 You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. 14 Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!” (John 14:12-14).
So as you go this week, “Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.”
