Wide Open

1 Corinthians 14:12-13 AMP 12So it is with yourselves; since you are so eager and ambitious to possess spiritual endowments and manifestations of the [Holy] Spirit, [concentrate on] striving to excel and to abound [in them] in ways that will build up the church.

13Therefore, the person who speaks in an [unknown] tongue should pray [for the power] to interpret and explain what he says.

Even when you’re praying in tongues in private or in a church setting, ask God to give you the interpretation of what you’re praying. It’s not a literal translation of what you’re praying out in tongues, but an interpretation or a paraphrase of what you’re praying out in the Spirit. Tongues and Interpretation together have the same effect as prophecy.

Here’s another thing about prayer, praying in the Spirit, and praying in English - you have to open your mouth and say the words. Nothing’s going to come on you and make your tongue move and form words. The Holy Spirit’s on you and in you, but you’re the one that has to open your mouth. This is where faith comes in.

Jude 1:20 NIV 20But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit.

When you’re praying led by the Spirit, you’re building your faith. It takes faith to open your mouth and speak and expect something to come out. It takes faith to say a word out of your mouth that comes up in your Spirit and expect something else to follow. So your faith will grow as a result of Spirit-led prayer.

You have to learn how to move in these things and open the door to these things before they’ll ever happen for you. And it takes time and practice. At the moment I was baptized in the Holy Spirit in 2000, I wasn’t immediately a professional prayer. I was inexperienced and new at it, but I knew that I had something and I knew I wanted to grow in it. So I soaked up books on the Holy Spirit and prayed in the Spirit every night. But even when I came here to be the Youth Pastor in 2002, I didn’t really know how to pray being led by the Spirit, but as I’ve prayed week in and week out, I’ve grown in it. I remember the first time the Pastors asked me to lead Noon Prayer on a Tuesday back at the old building. I was horrified. I knew how to pray in the Spirit and pray in English, but I wasn’t comfortable really putting the two together and being able to lead others, but I was willing to step out there and do it, and as I stepped out there, God increased my faith and I grew spiritually. I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve led prayer since then, but I can tell you that each time it gets better and I’ve learned how to flow and just move in the things of the Spirit. And you can, too. Praying led by the Spirit is something all Spirit-filled Christians should know how to do and should do on a regular basis.

It’s something that doesn’t just happen to you. It’s something you grow in. It’s something that you get better at with time. But if you don’t do it, you won’t grow in it. The Lord was saying last week that He won’t force you into the supernatural. He won’t push you. You have to step into it. And I promise that when you step into it, you’ll want to keep going further, keep getting more and more revelation from God.