The Holy Spirit in Prayer

Today we are going to look at ways in which the Holy Spirit helps us in prayer.  I would first like to remind us that in Luke 10:1 it says that Jesus told a parable to teach his disciples that they ought to always pray and never give up.  We all have found that this is easier said than done.  We easily weary of prayer, especially when we don’t think it is helping.  Our flesh fights against this spiritual work of communicating with the God of Heaven.  We need to recognize the source of this resistance and not let it win out in the end.

He Helps Our Weaknesses

Let’s look at the passage in Romans 8:26-27.  Here we are told that the Holy Spirit helps us in our weaknesses.  This is in keeping with the description that Jesus gives of Him in John 14-16.  He is called The Helper repeatedly.  We need help because we have weak areas in our life.  Like children who need the help of parents, so we need the help of God’s Spirit to do what we couldn’t without Him.

In this passage we are told that one way the Holy Spirit helps us is by interceding for us.  There are times in prayer when we just don’t know how to pray or for what to pray.  We can be at a loss for words and yet still grieving inside.  Now this passage in Romans 8 has earlier spoken about the whole creation groaning for the curse to be removed and believers groaning for the resurrection.  Here the groan has to do with a situation we want to pray about but are too weak to do so (physically or intellectually).  It can be difficulties in relationships, or wisdom for direction.  In either case we need help.  This passage talks about the Spirit making intercession for us with “groaning which cannot be uttered.”  What we see here is the truth that the Spirit is able to “interpret” our groaning heart.  In fact, the wording implies that Spirit Himself is groaning.  The picture seems to be that it is in actuality the Spirit Himself who groans through us before the Father.   Now God knows the heart and why it groans, whether the groan is saying, “come quickly, Lord,” or “Lord, I am hurt.  Please heal me!”

So, you may feel like a time of grieving before the Lord is useless, but it God doesn’t really need our words.  He is quite capable of understanding what our heart is feeling without those words.  By yielding to God in these times we can co-labor with the Holy Spirit to communicate though it feels like we are not.

He Helps By Giving Us The Words To Say

Just as the Holy Spirit can interpret our lack of words, so He also helps by supplying us words to say.  We see this in Galatians 4:6, “Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.’”

Just as important as what we pray for is how we pray.  Here we see that as children of God we approach God as a Father.  In fact the Spirit is working within us to give us the understanding and terminology that God is our Father.  He helps us understand our true position before God, which releases words that God longs to hear from His children.  Paul is speaking to people who had been slaves under the law of God.  But because of Jesus things have changed.  The Spirit had to help them take hold of this internally and vocally.

Another way in which the Holy Spirit supplies words is in the area of Tongues.  In Acts 2:4 it says, “And they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”  The Spirit is the source of true speaking in tongues.  In Scripture we see several things in this area.  First, at the Day of Pentecost, we see that the Spirit supplied language that the people hadn’t learned, but was understood by those around them.  This miraculous supply of language clearly demonstrates the power and enabling of the Holy Spirit.  By His help they proclaimed the wonders of God to people in their “heart languages.”

Another thing we see in Scripture is that sometimes the Spirit supplies a language that no one around you knows.  Paul says that the Spirit will also supply an interpretation of the Word that was spoken.  Because it is in a public setting it needs to be interpreted.

A third situation is when a believer is in a private situation and speaks in tongues.  Paul talked about praying with his mind (understanding the words) and praying with his spirit (not understanding the words, speaking in tongues).  There was no need to interpret the language because you are by yourself and you know that God knows what your heart is saying.  This is an encouraging act by which we partner with the Holy Spirit to allow Him to pray through and for us.  The Bible says that through it we can build our self up in faith.

He Helps by Helping Us Repent

This last area is important to remember precisely because our weakness involves our fight against the flesh and sin.  In Zechariah 12:10 God says, “I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of Grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced.  Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.”  Here God promises Israel a time when He will help them repent.

He does so by pouring out the Spirit of Grace and Supplication.  This is clearly the Holy Spirit.  However, different descriptors are used of Him.  Grace is similar to the word favor.  As in, “Noah found grace [favor] in the eyes of the Lord.”  It is an action based upon a feeling within God.  What is interesting is that the word for “supplication” is built off the same root as the word Grace.  It literally means to cry out for Grace.  Thus God says He will pour out the Spirit of Grace and “Crying out for Grace.”  Even when we are so lost that we don’t know what to do, God helps us by sending the Spirit which helps us to cry out for grace, Help!  In this context they will see their sin and its effects.  It will cause them to mourn and yet, because God’s Spirit helps them, they will cry out for mercy and grace.

Repentance is not just for the Gentile nations, nor is it just for the Lost.  Repentance is the very path we walk on to come to God.  When we were lost and prayed the “sinner’s prayer,” we only walked through the door of hope.  But believers dare not leave repentance behind them.  Rather, it becomes the life-blood of our relationship with God.  The Spirit leads us in recognizing our sins and repenting of them before God.

Final Thoughts

Though we may often feel “too busy,” God’s Spirit is daily working to help us in prayer.  So take time to see how He is doing that and grow in learning to cooperate with Him.

Also, prayer is more than saying things to God.  It is an intimate expression of our heart to God AND His heart to us.  So we need to take time to listen and meditate before the Lord.  Don’t be afraid of times of silence.  Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom.

Holy Spirit Prayer audio

The Holy Spirit in Evangelism

Today we will look at some ways in which the Holy Spirit is involved in evangelism.  A great verse to keep in mind is Proverbs 24:11, ““Deliver those who are drawn toward death, and hold back those stumbling to the slaughter.”  This is an apt description of “The Lost.”  Without Jesus we are all drawn toward death and stumble to the slaughter of judgment.  But the Spirit of God calls to those who have been saved to deliver others.  Thus anything we do to cause those who are spiritually dead and going into eternity condemned to embrace Jesus can be called evangelism.  This is a cry of the Holy Spirit to us, “Deliver them!”  And, “Who will go?” 

Now we previously looked at how the Holy Spirit is working on the lost to help them see their sin and conviction before God.  Today we will focus on how the Holy Spirit helps believers to join Him in the work He has already started in their life.

He Calls Us to be an Active Witness

In Acts 13:1-3 we see that the church in Antioch had several prophets, two of whom were Saul and Barnabas.  It appears that there was a prophetic word (probably from one of the other three prophets, Niger, Lucius, or Manaen) which instructed the church to pray over Barnabas and Saul, and then send them out to evangelize the Gentiles.  Now these men had already been called.  And, they were already active in evangelizing in Antioch.  So I would point out that this specific calling is more about the scope of what they were doing and not the heart.  Thus when a person is called to missions they are not called to some strange new work.  But rather to do the same work in a strange new land, or people.

When Jesus called his disciples he told them that he would make them “fishers of men.”  This was instructive because that was their profession.  We can make the logical step of recognizing that if Jesus had come to builders he would have said, “follow me and I will make you builders of men.”  Or to a waiter, “follow me and I will make you one who waits on people’s souls.”  Or to a politician, “follow me….I have a different job for you: )  Okay, maybe he would have said, “I will make you a true servant of the people.”  Either way, just like Jesus called the disciples, so the Holy Spirit calls to us in our lives to use our gifts for more than just the natural.  He calls us to be an active witness of the person and work of Jesus Christ to those around us.

Here Saul/Paul and Barnabas receive a specific call to go to other countries and share the gospel.  Whether one has a missionary title from an official missions sending organization, or one is simply using business in other lands to do so, the call of the Holy Spirit to evangelize is the heart of our mission at whatever scope we are called.  Are you on the mission?  You don’t need a title, just an ear to hear the Spirit calling you.

All believers are called to be an active witness and because the believers at Antioch were faithfully responding to this call, the people of that area called them, “Christians.”  How sweet is that?

He Prepares Us to be an Active Witness

The same Spirit who calls us, also prepares us.  You most likely didn’t have a salvation experience as dramatic as Saul’s.  However, you did “run into Jesus” that day.  When you put your faith in Jesus, then Holy Spirit not only blew into your life, but he also took up residence.  Usually the wind blows through a house, but for those who believe it stays.  This is the ultimate preparation for being an active witness.   Paul later reminds the Corinthian Church in 1 Corinthians 3:16, “Don’t you know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”  We need to remember that God’s Spirit dwells within us, which enables us to have a confidence that we are in constant communication with Him about these things.

From His strategic position within us, the Holy Spirit then teaches us what the Word of God is saying and who Jesus is.  In 1 Peter 3:15 the Bible says, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.”  Notice that it begins with sanctifying God in our hearts.  That is strange because we are used to God doing the sanctifying to us.  The idea is that we set God apart as the Main Thing in our lives.  It is a reference to an inner recognition not only of the Holy Spirit’s presence, but also of the Critical Nature of such presence.  When we do this, we are open to the many ways in which the Holy Spirit seeks to make us ready.  Not just ready to fight, but from such a relationship, to give witness to His grace in your life.

He Leads Us in our Active Witness

In Acts 16:6-10 we see a clear example of the Holy Spirit leading Saul in where to witness.  It is impossible to miss the statements: vs. 6 “forbidden by the Holy Spirit, vs. 7 “The Spirit did not permit them,” and vs. 10 “concluding that the Lord had called them.”  Now the Spirit led them through various means. 

First He led them through a word of prophecy.  Someone or several in the group would sense the Holy Spirit saying something in their Spirit and share it with the group.  Now clearly we could cynically say that this is not a good process because someone could mislead you.  However, we should not let cynicism rule where caution would serve us better.  God clearly uses prophecy throughout all of Scripture.  In fact, Scripture itself is prophecy.   So how can we know?  Well the Bible has proven itself over thousands of years to not be the words of flakes and crazy men.  Millions have patterned their lives upon its instruction and found the experiences to be true. Thus Saul had come to know the Holy Spirit personally.  The Spirit was within him and leading him.   In that environment he is not just following what someone else says is “from the Spirit.”  Rather, he is judging whether the prophecy either confirms what he has been sensing himself, or whether the prophecy is in character with the written Word, the Bible.  All believers are responsible to know God for themselves.  We are responsible to take prophetic words and judge whether they are trust worthy.  If you just ignore all statements of prophecy then you are actually refusing to grow up.   God calls us to grow in our understanding of what is of Him and what is not.  This may not be easy, or fun, but it is God’s plan in our life.

Secondly, we see how Saul had a dream or a vision of a man from Macedonia saying, “Help us!.”  Throughout the Bible God spoke through dreams, but not every night.  Most dreams are just our brains winding down.  However, there are times that we recognize something was different about a dream.  Interestingly enough, there is no Jesus or angel in the dream to help Saul understand if God was trying to say something to him, which leads to our next point.  But even if “Jesus” was in the dream, we are always responsible to take the vision and compare it to God’s Word, especially Jesus himself.  This requires us to pray for understanding.

The Holy Spirit also works through logical reasoning, but not through it alone.  Notice that Paul reasons in such a way.  1. We have been told to not go into an area 2 times now.  2.  This has led us to a port city across from Macedonia.  3.  Now I have a dream of a Macedonian man asking for Help. 4. They also need the Gospel.  5.  I think the Spirit is trying to lead us to go to Macedonia.  Notice how the reasoning builds upon that which may not seem reasonable to outsiders, i.e. Prophecy.  Again we must exercise personal responsibility in how we reason.  If we are reasoning to satisfy our flesh then we will only delude ourselves.

Lastly, the Holy Spirit works through the events of life.  When Saul got to Macedonia there was no synagogue.  So he went down to the river and preached to those gathered to pray.  A woman named Lydia believes and persuades Saul to stay and teach her more.  Her conversion helps Saul to see the leading of God to stay and help establish her and perhaps others in the faith.  In all of these, no one way reigns supreme.  They all work together.

Final Thoughts

The Holy Spirit is working always to make Jesus known to us.  So we need to actively engage Him in prayer, Scripture reading, and obedience.  He knows how to lead us in sharing Jesus.  So we should be bold for the sake of the lost and for the joy of becoming like Jesus.

The Holy Spirit in Spiritual Warfare

Today we are going to look at how the Holy Spirit is involved in Spiritual Warfare.  We are going to start in Ephesians 6:10-12.  When we look at this passage the work of the Spirit doesn’t readily jump out.  But in truth, He is all over the place in this passage.

Now before we begin let’s keep in mind that spiritual warfare is not some kind of mental video game where we visualize slashing demons from behind every tree.  The truth is found in this passage and understanding just how we fight the enemy.

He Helps Us Stand Against The Devil

These two verses emphasize the need for believers to lean upon God’s strength and His armor.  Since it is by the Holy Spirit that we know the Father and the Son, it stands to reason that the main way God’s strength and protection come to us is through His Holy Spirit that lives within us.

Now the reality is this, there are evil spirits in this world.  Now the occult world has tried to minimize this by saying that there are also good spirits that we can tap into and be protected.  However, the only spirit in the Bible we are given the green light to seek and approach is the Holy Spirit.  Thus the idea, that the spirit of long dead Grandpa being summoned to give us wisdom is actually a spiritual trick that the enemy uses to trap people.

Notice, that this passage lets us know that without the help of the Spirit of God we are not going to be a match for these kinds of tricks.  The Bible is an excellent source for studying the methods and schemes of the devil.  He employs many different “cons” on people in order to get them under his control.  However, the Holy Spirit within us-who was also directly involved in the writing of Scripture, can also give us warnings from within us.  This is where we need to truly be in prayer and sensitive to what God may be saying.  Anything short of complete dependence upon God and His wisdom will cause us to be entrapped by these demonic schemes.

Another thing to notice in Spiritual Warfare is that our enemy is not a physical enemy.  We are not fighting against people or nations even when they are treating us as their enemy.  In fact, demonic ideas and beliefs always lie behind those who mistreat us.  We don’t “see” them or sense them.  Rather, we recognize their influence through teachings, beliefs, lies, sinful lifestyles, and attitudes, whether they are religious or secular.  Thus we need the Holy Spirit to help us see how the enemy uses others to try and promote ungodly lies to us and to see through this.  The people themselves may not be even aware of this dynamic.  Thus our problem is not generally with someone who is possessed by a demon, but rather with someone who has been tricked and trapped into an ungodly mentality.  Recognizing this will go a long way to helping us keep from getting angry with people and avoiding the pitfalls the enemy sets for us through them.

He Helps Us Advance Against The Devil

Now the next verses in Ephesians 6:13-18 lay out the “Armor of God.”  Paul uses the armor of a Roman soldier to help us recognize the reality and seriousness of the battle around us.  We need to be spiritually prepared.  It will not come by dreaming about slaying demons.  It comes from listening to God’s Word, doing it, getting knocked down, getting back up, and repeat over and over again.

Though much of this armor seems defensive, many of them also have an offensive aspect as well.  Just as the battle is not physical, so our protection and weaponry are not physical as well.  So let’s look at the list.

The belt of Truth points the believer to live their life based on the Truth of God’s Word, especially the Truth about Jesus.  We should be truthful and receive a love of the Truth that the Holy Spirit is seeking to give us.  In fact in John 16:13 The Holy Spirit is called the “Spirit of Truth.”  Thus, we should have an intimate relationship with the Scriptures and spend time in prayer understanding it. We need to make truthfulness the basis of all our relationships.  This is not only a protection, but it is a weapon that God uses to set us and others free.

Next is the Breastplate of Righteousness.  Foremost we are to understand the need for the righteousness of God.  My righteousness falls short without Jesus.  Within the covering of His righteousness then we can embrace doing the right thing.  In fact part of the work of the Holy Spirit is to convict the world of righteousness.  How much more can he lead the believer in living out the righteousness of Christ is this world?  As we lean on Him, He will help us to live righteously and treat people as God would have us.

Next is the Gospel of Peace.  Paul ties this in with the feet particularly because in the Old Testament the prophet says, “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of them who bring good news.”  The Gospel of Peace with God through Jesus needs to be the flag of every believer’s life.  Thus our feet are prepared to walk tough roads, whether to distant places or across the street, in order to share the Gospel.  This too is aided by the Holy Spirit as He leads and directs us in this endeavor.  Part of our preparation to share the Gospel is knowing the Word.  2 Timothy 2:15 tells us to study to show ourselves as approved workmen.  Yet the other side of it is to recognize that because we have studied and internalized the Word, the Holy Spirit comes along and directs us in what to say.  In fact Jesus promised His disciples in Matthew 10:19-20, “Do not worry about how or what you should speak.  For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.”  Wow, what a promise for those who take this spiritual battle seriously.

Paul goes on to mention the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the Sword of the Spirit, Prayer of all kinds and in the Spirit. The Spirit is involved in bringing us to Faith and Salvation.  Also the Sword of the Spirit implies that though we may quote Scripture and share it with others, it really is the Holy Spirit who is using it like a spiritual knife to cut through the layers down to the tender part of their heart.  Prayer becomes important for us and for those that we battle.  In all kinds of prayer and praying in the Spirit we present our needs and also present ourselves for strengthening.  When we live a life filled with these things we combat the enemy in our life and the lives of those around us.  No wonder the enemy spends so much time undermining our faith in God’s Word.

Now I do want to take some time to talk about demon possession because it is a real phenomenon.  Though it seems common place in Scripture we do need to realize that our culture exists upon the foundation of the Christian ethic.  In countries that do not have a biblical foundation demon possession is not rare.  Today anti-spiritualists try to explain everything away as mental illness and of course mental illness does exist.  In fact, Jesus didn’t cast demons out of everyone, some he simply healed.  So, even the Bible recognizes that sometime the problem is merely physical.  However, sometimes a spiritual element exists beyond the physical.  Most likely we will see more and more of this in our country as we continue to cast off Biblical guidance and wisdom.

If you look at the passage in Acts 19:13-17, you will see Paul in the city of Ephesus.  God was doing unusually powerful miracles through Paul there.  Part of that was the deliverance of those who were demon possessed.  It caught the attention of many in Ephesus.  They had tried to deal with the demon possessed people in the past without any effect.  In this passage 7 sons of a Jewish chief priest named Sceva try to copy what Paul was doing.  Thus they go up to a demon possessed person and say, “we exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.”  The Bible says that the evil spirit responded, “Jesus I know and Paul I know; but who are you?”  Then the man jumped on the 7 guys and proceeded to overpower all of them until they ran from the house naked and wounded.

Here we see that without a true living relationship with Jesus himself, we are not prepared for spiritual battle.  No “magical” phrase will make demons come out of a person.  In fact demons don’t always manifest brutally.  Sometimes they come on sickly sweet.

Jesus told his disciples that some demons are harder to cast out than others.  In fact we need to pray and fast as we approach such serious business.  The demon has invested a lot of work to get control of a person and they will try every trick to remain.  The key is that Jesus has all authority over all spirits, both good and evil.  Thus as long as we are anchored in Jesus and take the situation seriously, we can grow in learning how to combat such unseen enemies.

Final Thoughts

Living for Jesus and sharing the Gospel is God’s plan against the enemy.  This doesn’t need to change because we are closer to the end times.  It is simple and yet serious.  When we have the Holy Spirit in us we become a light in a dark world.  How important it is for us to work with Him to take down any strongholds in our life and to take that light into the lives of those who are bound under ideas and philosophies of demons.

When you speak to the lost, pray for insight in how the enemy has trapped them and how to use the Truth to set them free.  Sometimes we can be saying true things, but they are the point that attacks the lie that they have believed.  Take time in prayer and in asking questions and simply listening so that then you can truly be a warrior for God in this life.

The Holy Spirit and Sanctification

Today we will start in Romans 15:14-16 as we look at the Holy Spirit’s work in the life of a believer.  As you read this passage you will see that Paul is concerned that the Gentile Christians live a life that is pleasing to God.  In this context he reminds them that they are “sanctified by the Holy Spirit.”

The word “sanctify” or “sanctification” is the process by which one is made holy.  Though the word may sound strange, it really focuses on separating someone for God’s purposes.  The holy person now belongs to God.

The Holy Spirit Makes The Believer Holy

This word is related to the word “saint.”  When we hear the word, we are tempted to think that it can only refer to a small number of people within the church who do miracles and such.  However, throughout the New Testament “saint” is used to describe

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