One of the most difficult spiritual habits to establish and maintain is prayer. A quick poll of how many Christians actually pray reveals a significant gap in the practice of this spiritual discipline. It is interesting how highly valued this spiritual activity is in Christianity, despite the fact that few Christians engage in it.
No one can live their Christian life without prayer; it is nearly impossible to conduct spiritual affairs without the assistance of the Holy Spirit. Our Christianity is fueled by God's Spirit, the Holy Spirit, and no Christian spiritual discipline can be accomplished via the strength of our flesh. This is the primary reason why many Christians do not pray.
Prayer is powered by the Spirit of Prayer, the Holy Spirit.
“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.” Romans 8:26
This passage makes a very straightforward admission: we are weak in prayer and need assistance. One of the flaws, as stated in the passage above, is our limited knowledge of what to pray for. This is why individuals frequently pray a miss: we lack enough understanding when we pray. A praying Christian is a blessed Christian. Prayer is a discipline, yet unlike other disciplines, it is powered by the Holy Spirit. If we are to pray constantly, we must rely on the ever-helpful power of the Holy Spirit.
Call to Prayer
Exploring the demands of prayer and what God requires from us may be a surprising experience. After all, the bar is set pretty high.
“…Men always ought to pray…” Luke 18:1
“pray without ceasing”. 1 Thessalonians 5:17
How can we feasibly execute the command to pray without ceasing/always? It might be difficult to keep up with prayer appointments when life is so demanding.
Jesus himself experienced this struggle. In his final moments before being crucified, Jesus led two of his closest followers to the prayer chamber on the Mount of Olives. After an hour, he returned to find them sleeping. In Matthew 26:40-41, Jesus grieved, "What, could you not watch with Me one hour? The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." Jesus realized that his followers' lack of prayer could not be rectified in any other manner since it was the result of their human weakness. He confessed that the flesh is weak and unable to sustain a prayer life.
The Spirit of Prayer
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Prayer. While many people are familiar with the Doctrine of Prayer, few actually grasp the Spirit of Prayer. The Holy Spirit manifests in numerous ways. He is the Spirit of "I AM THAT I AM". This means He can manifest the Father's many qualities. If we want strength, we can activate the manifestation of strength called as the Spirit of Might. Similarly, if we desire wisdom, we can invoke the Spirit of Wisdom, and so on.
The Spirit of Prayer is a manifestation of the Holy Spirit that enables us to pray.
“…the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”
The Holy Spirit is a Praying Spirit, and without Him, we would not have the audacity to call on God our Father with confidence during prayer.
“For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’” Romans 8:15
“the Spirit of grace and supplication.” Zecharia 12:10
Through the Spirit of Prayer, we can access the power of God and experience His grace and mercy.
How to engage the Spirit of Prayer
The Holy Spirit is a King Spirit, He has a will and He only gets involved in situations where His will is fully expressed. The first step to engaging the Spirit of Prayer is to reconcile your will with His. He will not help you to pray your will. So, the first Prayer journey you get into is to pray for His desires. You do this by staying in the prayer room long enough until His desires become your desires.
The apostle Paul calls this process dying to self.
“Bringing our body as a living sacrifice…” Romans 12:1.
This is a daily walk. We die Daily. The fleshly desire you died to yesterday still has the potential of resurrecting today, so we die daily. This is why it is important to start your morning with a devotional and prayer. It is an effort to capture the mind of God concerning the day and taming your desires for the Day. Your desires are not eternal only His. We must strive to do things of eternal value.
How to Pray the Will of the Holy Spirit
Begin with a firm commitment to prayer, a resolve that is powered by an act of the will. However, relying solely on this commitment will not take you far. Your commitment should create a deep longing for the Holy Spirit to enter your prayer room and begin the purging process. Anything that you depend on will be removed, and the longer you cling to your dependencies, the longer you will remain in this stage. Ask the Holy Spirit in prayer to help you rely on Him. He provides the power and the ability, for it is He who works in us both to will and to do according to His good pleasure. Philippians 2:13.
Prayer is a powerful tool, and when you make a commitment to it, you open yourself up to the purifying work of the Holy Spirit. As you surrender your dependencies, you will be filled with the strength and capability to do God’s will. Invite the Holy Spirit into your prayer room and allow Him to work in you, so that you can experience the joy of fulfilling His good pleasure.
The Burdens of the Holy Spirit
Once you perceive that you are Praying in accordance with the will and power of the Holy Spirit, you will feel a weight of His burdens in your heart. His will comes with His burdens, and it is this burden that keeps us in the prayer room, burdening us to pray for long periods of time. Without this burden, our prayers would be short and meaningless.
When we look at the situation on the Mount of Olives, we can see that the disciples did not have the same burden as our Lord Jesus Christ. Consequently, they were unable to stay in prayer for long. Jesus went to the prayer room three times, each time for an hour. Something was compelling Him to stay in the prayer room. It was the burdens. May you receive His burdens for prayer.
Conclusion
Prayer is only effective when we align our requests with the heart of God. He will not support our own will, but rather, He will only get involved when His will takes precedence. A successful prayer life is one that meets this fundamental requirement. God is looking for someone to partner with Him to bring His will to pass here on earth. The ideal candidate is the one who makes a commitment to pray and then relinquishes their own will in favor of God’s. Jesus at Gethsemane had a desire not to go through the Cross, yet He stayed in the prayer room long enough until He came to a place where He declared, “Thy will be done, not mine.” This is the foundation of an effective prayer life.
Listen to the full Sermon👇🏾.