Pray in the Spirit

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.

Ephesians 6:18a

Prayer reveals three facts: When we pray we recognize, first, the existence of an invisible kingdom. We would never pray at all if we did not have some awareness that someone is listening, that there is behind the realm of visibility an invisible kingdom. It is not far off in space somewhere; it is right here. It surrounds us on every side. We are constantly in touch with it, though we do not always recognize it. It lies behind the facade of life, and all through the Scriptures are exhortations to take heed of this, reckon with it, deal with it, acknowledge that it exists.

The second fact prayer reveals is that we Christians have confidence that the kingdom of God is highly significant, that it affects our lives directly, that the visible things which are happening in our world are a direct result of something happening in the realm of invisibility. Therefore, if you want to change the visibilities, you must start with the invisibilities.

Third, our prayers play an essential part in bringing God's invisible power to bear on visible life. God answers prayer. Prayer is purposeful and powerful; it is not pitiful and pathetic pleading with only a rare chance that it might be answered. No, it is powerful. God answers! Prayer is an essential link in the working of God in the world today. Without it he does not often work; with it, he certainly does. These three facts are all revealed in the matter of prayer.

But we must immediately add that God answers prayer according to his promises. This is so necessary to say today, for there is a very vague but widespread concept that God answers any kind of prayer, that no matter what you want or how you ask for it, he commits himself to give it. This, of course, results frequently in disappointments and gives rise to the widespread belief that prayer is ineffectual. The truth is, God answers every prayer which is based upon a promise.

This is what Paul means by his reminder that we are to pray at all times in the Spirit. In the Spirit! Many take this phrase as though it describes the emotions we should have when we pray. They think it is necessary to be greatly moved before prayer can be effectual. Now this is possible at times, but it is not essential to the effectiveness of prayer. And it is certainly not what is meant by this phrase, in the Spirit. Praying in the Spirit means to pray according to the promises which the Spirit has given, and the character of God which the Spirit has made known. God has never promised to answer just any prayer, but he does promise to answer prayer in a way that he has carefully outlined for us.

When you learn to pray on this basis, you will discover that exciting and unexpected things are constantly happening, and that there is a quiet but mighty power at work upon which you can rely. As you learn to pray in this way, you find there is put at your disposal a tremendous weapon, a mighty power to influence your own life and the lives of others, especially as it relates to withstanding the attacks of the enemy.

Father, thank you for your precious and magnificent promises, by which I can confidently pray in the Spirit.