Praying in the Spirit

Every Christian is involved in warfare with the enemy with eternal consequences at stake. This battle is as real as any ever fought on this earth between nations. The battle is between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness. Paul describes this battle as a wrestling match, which is up close and personal:

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12).

Paul next describes the armor of God that the Christian must put on for victory. Paul concludes his description of this warfare and our defense/offense against the enemy with the words: “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints” (verse 18).

Note that Paul commands us to pray “always.” We must become a prevailing prayer intercessor, praying consistently and persistently. The he adds, “in the Spirit.” Here we see that if we want victory over the enemy, praying in the Spirit is just as important as putting on the whole armor of God.

An important question, then is What does it mean to pray in the Spirit? A brief definition would be that we pray in the Spirit when our prayers are prompted by the Holy Spirit. We are to be directed by the Spirit as to when to pray and what to pray for. The Holy Spirit is to guide us in every aspect of our prayer life. When we are praying in the Spirit, our prayers will be empowered by the Spirit. Our prayers will be effective and will bring powerful results. Hence, we can see that in order to pray in the Spirit, we must be baptized with the Spirit. Ellen White describes what it means to pray in the Spirit:

“By the Spirit every sincere prayer is indited [made up or composed], and such prayer is acceptable to God” (The Desire of Ages, p. 189).

Referring to Paul’s statement in Romans 8:26 and 27, she writes:

“We must not only pray in Christ’s name but by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. This explains what is meant when it is said that the Spirit “maketh intercession for us, with groanings which cannot be uttered.” Romans 8:26. Such prayer God delights to answer” (Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 147).

It is the Holy Spirit that calls us to prayer. He will show us some great need to pray for because God wants to begin acting in meeting that need. We read of such an experience in the case of Jesus praying for Peter:

“And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not” (Luke 22:31,32).

The Holy Spirit convicted Christ to pray for Peter – and even revealed what Satan’s plan was concerning Peter. Once Christ knew this, He began praying for Peter. The Holy Spirit will do the same through us; He will bring to our mind someone to pray for. He may, or may not, reveal why He wants us to pray for them. The important thing is that we respond to the Spirit’s prompting to pray.