June 11th, 2021
by Robert Presson
by Robert Presson
“But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost” Jude 1:20 KJV
Prayer is challenging for most believers. It can seem like it’s hard to connect with God and easy to run out of words. And that’s why praying in the Holy Spirit (or in tongues) is such a valuable component of our available resources to pray and connect with God.
There are many benefits to praying in the Spirit. I will list three benefits below, and I believe you will be inspired to pray in the Spirit more often by reading these.
Three benefits to praying in the Spirit:
1) Praying in the Spirit strengthens us spiritually.
Praying in the Holy Ghost gives you an edge. Out of all the spiritual disciplines, there is arguably nothing more powerful than praying in the Spirit to build up your spirit.
“A person who speaks in tongues is strengthened personally” — 1 Corinthians 14:4 NLT
Praying in tongues is spiritually what lifting weights is physically. You build yourself up. Bodybuilders build their physical bodies up; tongue talkers build their spiritual life up. And when it comes time to get something done that requires strength, people who have been building themselves up are the ones who get chosen.
Some believers are strong spiritually, and some are weak spiritually. Why? Because they spend different amounts of time building themselves up. It’s no different in the physical realm. I don’t spend a lot of time in the gym. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson does. And we have different levels of strength.
Take time to pray in the Spirit, and you will be strengthened spiritually. Or don’t, and you won’t.
2) Praying in the Spirit shifts the spiritual atmosphere around us.
Listen to what happened when the believers were filled with the Spirit and began praying in tongues on the Day of Pentecost:
Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.” — Acts 2:2-4 NLT
Not only were the believers filled with the Spirit — the whole room was filled with the Spirit. The sound from heaven filled the house. What was happening? The spiritual atmosphere was changing. Something undeniable was happening. A sense of the presence and glory of God was filling the place, and that’s what happens when we take extended periods of time to pray in the Spirit. The atmosphere around us will be charged with the presence of the Holy Spirit and it will be obvious that there’s something different about us.
3) Praying in the Spirit emboldens us and empowers us to share the gospel.
The early believers were filled with the Holy Spirit not only on the Day of Pentecost, but over and over again.
“And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word. Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness. — Acts 4:31 NLT
That pattern is necessary for us as well. We don’t just need one infilling of the Spirit — we need to keep praying that we will have boldness to preach the gospel and power to demonstrate the nature of God to the world around us.
New challenges represent new opportunities to lay hold of the power of God and be filled so that we can rise up and fulfill the will of God in our generation. And it all happens when we pray — specifically, when we pray in the Spirit.
This was a normal rhythm of life for the church in the New Testament. Pray in the Spirit. Be filled. Do the will of God. Repeat.
Prayer is challenging for most believers. It can seem like it’s hard to connect with God and easy to run out of words. And that’s why praying in the Holy Spirit (or in tongues) is such a valuable component of our available resources to pray and connect with God.
There are many benefits to praying in the Spirit. I will list three benefits below, and I believe you will be inspired to pray in the Spirit more often by reading these.
Three benefits to praying in the Spirit:
1) Praying in the Spirit strengthens us spiritually.
Praying in the Holy Ghost gives you an edge. Out of all the spiritual disciplines, there is arguably nothing more powerful than praying in the Spirit to build up your spirit.
“A person who speaks in tongues is strengthened personally” — 1 Corinthians 14:4 NLT
Praying in tongues is spiritually what lifting weights is physically. You build yourself up. Bodybuilders build their physical bodies up; tongue talkers build their spiritual life up. And when it comes time to get something done that requires strength, people who have been building themselves up are the ones who get chosen.
Some believers are strong spiritually, and some are weak spiritually. Why? Because they spend different amounts of time building themselves up. It’s no different in the physical realm. I don’t spend a lot of time in the gym. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson does. And we have different levels of strength.
Take time to pray in the Spirit, and you will be strengthened spiritually. Or don’t, and you won’t.
2) Praying in the Spirit shifts the spiritual atmosphere around us.
Listen to what happened when the believers were filled with the Spirit and began praying in tongues on the Day of Pentecost:
Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.” — Acts 2:2-4 NLT
Not only were the believers filled with the Spirit — the whole room was filled with the Spirit. The sound from heaven filled the house. What was happening? The spiritual atmosphere was changing. Something undeniable was happening. A sense of the presence and glory of God was filling the place, and that’s what happens when we take extended periods of time to pray in the Spirit. The atmosphere around us will be charged with the presence of the Holy Spirit and it will be obvious that there’s something different about us.
3) Praying in the Spirit emboldens us and empowers us to share the gospel.
The early believers were filled with the Holy Spirit not only on the Day of Pentecost, but over and over again.
“And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word. Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness. — Acts 4:31 NLT
That pattern is necessary for us as well. We don’t just need one infilling of the Spirit — we need to keep praying that we will have boldness to preach the gospel and power to demonstrate the nature of God to the world around us.
New challenges represent new opportunities to lay hold of the power of God and be filled so that we can rise up and fulfill the will of God in our generation. And it all happens when we pray — specifically, when we pray in the Spirit.
This was a normal rhythm of life for the church in the New Testament. Pray in the Spirit. Be filled. Do the will of God. Repeat.
Recent
Archive
2024
January
April
2023
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
November
2022
February
June
No Comments