THE SPIRIT OF PRAYER - by Jim Tharp

“Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” (Romans 8:26-27)

“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.. . .” (Ephesians 6:17-18)

“But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.” (Jude, verses 20-21).

The weakness of prayer in our churches today is due to our lack of knowledge of the Holy Spirit. Too many Christian believers, though convicted of sin and saved by the power of the Holy Spirit, do not go on to become filled with the Spirit. The scriptures quoted above should help us understand that unless we are filled with the Holy Spirit, our praying will be a religious form but devoid of power. We receive the Holy Spirit when we become a Christian, but at that time we are not ready for the Spirit’s fullness. In trying to live the Christian life, we soon learn we need more power—power to pray, power to resist temptation, and power to understand the Scriptures we read. 

But, when we make up our minds to want this power, we have to ask for the fullness of the Holy Spirit. When we are hungry enough to surrender our hearts and lives to Christ and allow Him to come first, we are ready to be filled with the Spirit. But, of course, we must continue to obey the Spirit in order keep praying in power.

I want to mention three ways in which the Holy Spirit helps us pray in power:

• The Holy Spirit enlightens our understanding so that we pray according to God’s will. Our hope for success in our praying begins with our humility to confess that we tend to pray selfishly, which often leaves us with no answers to our prayers. We need to remember that the Holy Spirit is a member of the Triune Godhead, meaning that His thoughts and His will and His love for us are the same as the Father’s and the Son’s. He knows whether the requests we make are what They want to answer positively. And, as Spirit-filled believers, our sanctified hearts will prefer the answer God wants to give. Only as we discern and follow the Spirit’s directions can we expect YES answers. And, how rewarding it is to pray the will of God to pass as we pray for ourselves, our loved ones, our churches, and our nation!

• The Holy Spirit energizes our human spirit so that we do not faint. Jesus and His apostles are faithful in the Scriptures to warn against fainting at our sacred call to pray. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter, James, and John fainted at their assigned posts of prayer (Luke 22:40-46). Jesus relied on the help of the Holy Spirit to enable Him to pray. Unless we do the same, we will discover a lack of interest in prayer. The great prayer warrior Samuel Chadwick would often charge Christian leaders with these piercing words: “Brethren, the crying sin of the church is our laziness after God!”

• The Holy Spirit enables our boldness of faith so that we will not be denied. In my 27 years of travelling the world teaching on prayer, I often described prayer as worship, work, and warfare. In describing prayer as warfare, the apostle Paul wrote: “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.” (Ephesians 6:10-16) 

From the beginning, the church of Jesus Christ has been called upon to fight the forces of evil. If enough Spirit-filled prayer warriors in our American churches will come forth devoted to Spirit-filled praying, we can still see the greatest spiritual awakening in all the 21 centuries of the church! Brothers and sisters in Christ, let’s get a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit and see God prepare His church and the world for the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

Closing Prayer: Oh, God! I believe it is time for emboldened Spirit-filled prayer warriors to make up their minds to be strong in the Lord and allow You to prove what You promised—“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place. For now I have chosen and sanctified this house, that My name may be there forever; and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually.” (2 Chronicles 7:14-16)

Note: All scripture quotations are from the New King James Version of the Holy Bible.