Fighting Fire

Ephesians 6:18-20

“Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints. Pray also for me, that the message may be given to me when I open my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel. For this I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I might be bold enough to speak about it as I should.”

Of course, one of the most important pieces of gear for us is our SCBA – Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus.  Without it, we can’t breathe.

The word for “Spirit” in the passage above is “Pneuma.” According to the NIV Exhaustive Concordance Dictionary (© 2015 by Zondervan), that word is defined as “wind, breath, things which are commonly perceived as having no material substance; by extension: spirit, heart, mind, the immaterial part of the inner person that can respond to God; God the Holy Spirit”

Paul says to “Pray in the Spirit – let the Holy Spirit be your breath. Prayer is a common experience for us, but less of us are confident in what it means to “Pray in the Spirit.”

The concept of praying in the “Spirit” is just that. It’s spiritual – it’s supernatural. It’s an intimate communication that perfectly aligns us with the Holy Spirit. Anyone can pray for their transmission to be fixed or their paycheck to clear in time. But to pray in the Spirit is to tap into divine power because you invite the Holy Spirit to replace your words and desires with His.  It’s to put aside selfish desires and align yourself with what God wants.

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.”

Praying in the Spirit requires:

1. Fervency – It requires that we engage our hearts and minds. It’s not passive or casual, it’s approaching the Throne of God with intensity and intentionality.  It’s authentic and real.

2. Dependence –  It also requires us to admit our dependency – A willingness to admit that we don’t have the right words to speak when we pray. We admit that we don’t have the answers or the outcomes that are best.

3. Repentance – To pray in the Spirit, we have to admit our sin and errors before we can align our will to God’s

4. Submission –  When we are praying in the Spirit – we are no longer asking God for things, we are asking Him to bring us into alignment with His will.

When we pray in the Spirit, the Holy Spirit fills in the blanks. You may not feel like you’re a good “Pray-er.” Becoming great at prayer is not having smooth sounding words… in fact, that might actually be a hindrance. Being good at prayer starts with humility and then allowing the Holy Spirit to pray through you.