Garry continued his series on prayer this morning, looking at Eph 6:10-18 and particularly at verse 18: ‘pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.’ For our prayers to be effective and productive, we need to pray ‘in the Spirit‘, praying in line with God’s Spirit and according to what He wants. This means praying according to the character or manner of God, even as John was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day (Rev 1:10) or John the Baptist moved in the spirit and power of Elijah (Luke 1:17).
Just as a child imitates its parents, so we need to imitate God. We need to be aligned and attuned to Him so that we know His mind and can pray accordingly. Paul’s decision to go to Jerusalem (Acts 19:21) was made in the Spirit; it was not a mere whim. He was attuned to what God wanted and was therefore able to see the bigger picture and see things from God’s perspective. Paul told the Corinthians that he was like a father to them and therefore they needed to imitate him (1 Cor 4:15-16); we too need examples to follow (see also Heb 13:7) and can learn a lot from Paul.
Paul urged us to be filled with the Spirit (Eph 5:18), teaching about the gifts of inspiration, of revelation and of power which the Holy Spirit gives in 1 Cor 12 and 1 Cor 14. Speaking in tongues is one way we are drawn further into the presence of God and we need to ask God for this gift and seek not to neglect the gifts He gives us if we are to grow in prayer. Being filled with the Spirit is an ongoing process which requires His fire to be rekindled and revived in us on a regular basis. We also need to spend time with God, getting to know Him more deeply so that we become more sensitive to His leading and to His voice. As we are washed by the Word (Eph 5:26) and enlightened by God’s Spirit, we can put into practice what God says to us in private as we go out to our frontlines, whether that is at home, at work or in our local community. God wants to pour out His Spirit on all people (Joel 2:28, Acts 2:1-21), not just on some kind of ‘super-saint.’ Praying in the Spirit is something Paul urges us all to do!