{"id":582,"date":"2018-01-15T16:07:43","date_gmt":"2018-01-15T15:07:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pbthomas.com\/blog\/?p=582"},"modified":"2018-01-15T16:07:43","modified_gmt":"2018-01-15T15:07:43","slug":"pray-in-the-spirit-on-all-occasions-ephesians-618","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/pbthomas.com\/blog\/?p=582","title":{"rendered":"Pray in the Spirit on all occasions Ephesians 6:18"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ephesians 6:18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord\u2019s people.
\n\u201cPray in the Spirit.\u201d When you think how important the Holy Spirit is in prayer, it is surprising that we only find that phrase twice in the New Testament. \u201cPray in the Spirit\u201d. Here and in Jude verse 20.
\nBut you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit.
\nOf course there are many other places where the Bible encourages us to pray.
\n\u201cPray without ceasing\u201d Paul commands in 1 Thessalonians 5:17. Be constant in prayer. (Romans 12:12.) Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. (Colossians 4:2) Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. (Ephesians 6:18)
\nWe should be devoted to prayer, as the first Christians were. We should always be praying without ceasing, repeatedly and often. Our prayers should include \u201cAll kinds of prayers and requests\u201d. Praise. Thanksgiving. Adoration. Petitions for our own needs and intercessions for the needs of other people. But here we also have this particular exhortation in Ephesians 6:18. Pray in the Spirit on all occasions. What does it mean to \u201cpray in the Spirit\u201d?
\nWhen a person becomes a Christian, God the Holy Spirit comes to live inside us a special way to make us God\u2019s children.
\nROMANS 8:14-16 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, \u2018Abba, Father.\u2019 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God\u2019s children.
\nSo it is the Holy Spirit inside us that makes us into God\u2019s children and helps us to call God, \u201cAbba, Father\u201d. It is God the Holy Spirit who enables us to communicate with God in prayer. David Watson wrote this.
\n\u201cGod is the living God \u2026 and every day He wants us to enjoy a living relationship with Him, involving a two-way conversation.\u201d
\nGod wants us to speak to Him in prayer, but He also wants to listen to Him. So the first part of praying in the Spirit is
\nLISTENING TO GOD
\nGod speaks to us in many ways. First and foremost God has revealed Himself to the world in His Son Jesus Christ who is the visible image of the invisible God. And so God speaks to us through the Bible which had recorded all that Jesus said and did, as well as everything else God said and did through history. God also speaks to us through the church, through sermons and Bible Studies and also through other Christians. But sometimes God also speaks directly to individual Christians as we listen to Him in our times of prayer. God may make verses of the Bible leap out at us as if they were written directly just for me. Or He can speak to us in other ways I will talk about in a moment. Praying in the Spirit involves making time and spare as we are praying for God to speak to us. Back in the 11th Century St Anselm wrote this.
\n \u201c Flee, for a little while, thy occupations; hide thyself, for a time, from thy disturbing thoughts. Cast aside, now, thy burdensome cares, and put away thy toilsome business. Yield room for some little time to God; and rest for a little time in him. Enter the inner chamber of thy mind; shut out all thoughts save that of God, and such as can aid thee in seeking him; close thy door and seek him. Speak now, my whole heart! speak now to God, saying, I seek thy face; thy face, Lord, will I seek.\u201d
\nPrayer is conversation with God. So we need to make time and space to listen to God in our praying. We can expect God to speak to us, because of
\nTHE SPIRITUAL GIFT OF PROPHECY
\nIn Acts 2 when Peter stood up and gave his first sermon on the Day of Pentecost, he explained the work of the Holy Spirit who is God\u2019s gift to the Church quoting these words from Joel chapter 2.
\nActs 2 17 \u2018 \u201cIn the last days, God says,
\nI will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.
\n18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.
\nIn the spiritual gift of prophecy, God speaks directly to Christians through the Holy Spirit. And every Christian can expect God to speak to us sometimes, because we have all been given the Holy Spirit who inspires prophecy.
\nActs 2 38 Peter replied, \u2018Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off\u2014for all whom the Lord our God will call.\u2019
\nIn prophecy, it is unusual for Christians to actually hear God speaking to them in words. But Peter has just talked about the Holy Spirit inspiring prophecy, and Christians seeing visions and dreaming dreams. So when we are praying in the Holy Spirit we can certainly expect God to speak to us in those kinds of ways. In her address as President of the Baptist Union, Margaret Jarman asked, “Have you listened for God’s voice speaking directly to you? Have you considered that He may speak through your intuition, through your imagination, through dreams and visions, through flashes of inspiration?” Sometimes God is speaking to us, but we don\u2019t recognise His voice. We need to open ourselves to listen to God, and pray as the prophet Samuel did, \u201cSpeak Lord, for your servant is listening.\u201d (1 Samuel 3)
\nExercising the spiritual gift of prophecy. Thirdly, praying in the Spirit will involve:
\nLETTING GOD TELL US WHAT TO PRAY FOR
\nRom 8:26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.
\n\u201cGroans that words cannot express\u201d (NIV84)
\nIn many situations we don\u2019t know what we should be praying for. What is God\u2019s will in this situation or for that person. So we need the Holy Spirit to inspire our prayers and tell us what to pray for. And even if all we can do is groan and sigh in prayer, the Holy Spirit is with us, inspiring our prayers and interceding for us. And one more aspect of the Spirit inspiring our prayers is
\nTHE SPIRITUAL GIFT OF SPEAKING IN TONGUES
\nSpeaking in tongues is a form of prayer some Christians use where you are speaking to God in a language you have not learned which in inspired by the Holy Spirit. If God has given you that spiritual gift, don\u2019t waste it but make time to pray using the gift of tongues.
\nListening to God. Exercising the spiritual gift of prophecy. Letting God tell us what to pray for. And praying in tongues. Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. Let\u2019s finish by seeing what Paul says next about prayer.
\nEphesians 6:18
\n18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord\u2019s people. 19 Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
\nWe saw in our series \u201cPrepared to Give an Answer\u201d how the most common subject for prayer in the New Testament is not healing, or other kinds of blessing, or the government, but the proclamation of the gospel. That the good news of Jesus should be shared with the power of the Holy Spirit so that people would be saved! So in our Week of Prayer and Fasting it is right that we spend time praying for our own witness and outreach and evangelism, and individuals and as a church. Praying that we will be bold in talking about Jesus to our neighbours and friends. Praying that the seeds of the gospel will take root and grow and bear fruit of eternal life.<\/p>\n

God is inviting us to meet with Him in prayer. Pray in the Spirit with all kinds of prayers and requests. John Stott once wrote this. \u201cThe thing I know will give me the deepest joy \u2013 namely to be alone and unhurried in the presence of God, aware of His presence, my heart open to worship Him \u2013 is often the thing I least want to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, let\u2019s all take the opportunities of our Week of Prayer and Fasting to spend extra time in prayer. Praying by ourselves, and meeting together to pray. Listening to God. Prophecy. Asking God to show us what to pray for. Speaking in Tongues.
\nEphesians 6:18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord\u2019s people.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ephesians 6:18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and…<\/span><\/p>\n

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