What Does It Mean to “Pray in the Spirit”?
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“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people” (Ephesians 6:18).
I remember when I was a kid, growing up Catholic, we’d go to confession on Saturday afternoon – not because I wanted to, my dad would make me. It was all so we could take communion on Sunday morning. The priest behind the screen would listen and then assign the obligatory sentence: “Say 3 our fathers and 3 hail marys.” Then we’d go out and kneel and fly through the prayers, just uttering words with no real meaning behind them.
For many of us, that was our childhood experience – just uttering words. For many, myself included, that pattern continued into adulthood. Oh sure, the words changed over time and the prayers became more wordy. Even so, often I didn’t really know how to pray, never mind what to pray. I dare say, if you have felt the same way, you are not alone. The apostles too asked Jesus to teach them to pray.
“One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples’” (Luke 11:1).
From that request, we get the Lord’s Prayer. But few believe that Jesus intended for us to simply utter those words and, boom, we’re done. It is more an example of things that should go into our prayer: worship, trust, confession, submission, and our requests.
My wife and I have been married for more than 40 years. Over that time, she has heard me say “I love you” many times when she knows that it is just words coming out because I think I’m supposed to say them. Don’t get me wrong – I mean it, but it is entirely different than the moments where I speak “I love you, honey” with such deep sincerity that she can feel it. So it is with our prayers.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).
Is There a “Right” Way to Pray?
“And if we know that he hears us — whatever we ask — we know that we have what we asked of him” (1 John 5:15).
So many look at prayer as some “magic formula” – enough that prayer is mocked by non-believers. Some believe that if we don’t use the right words, say the right thing, or pray in the right position, then God won’t hear us and will not answer our prayers. Others are convinced that the position of our bodies is important to our prayers, whether we kneel, stand, or sit.
None of these are the least bit biblical. What God hears is the posture and “words” of our hearts. Prayer is a tool to express our worship, our love, and our gratitude – and yes, our requests – to God without having to worry about saying just the right words or in just the right position.
The “proper” way to pray is to pour our hearts out to God. He knows us, our wants and needs, and He already knows what is best for us far better than we do. So we can be open and honest with Him in every way possible. In that way, God is much more interested in the content of our hearts than the expression of our words.
Why then is there such a reluctance or a disinclination to pray from the heart? To open our hearts for the Lord to hear our words and our feelings?
And please don’t misunderstand, there are a great many who are true “prayer warriors.” But there are others who struggle to sit down and utter the words. Ultimately, our prayers turn into nothing more than when we need something or need help – and our prayers reflect that.
What Is Prayer?
Prayer is more than simply presenting our requests. It is a means to connect with our Lord, to grow in our faith, to align with His will. The apostle John, who really ought to know a thing or two about prayer, said “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us” (1 John 5:14).
James, the brother of Jesus, also tells us: “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective” (James 5:16).
Prayer involves expressing worship, gratitude, and love, as well as seeking guidance, while trusting that God knows what is best. Paul emphasized that God values the sincerity of our hearts over eloquence of specific words.
“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).
We seek to pray for His will to be done – just as Jesus did in Gethsemane when He prayed for the Father to take away the cup He was about to endure. “Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39).
Mother Teresa was once interviewed by Dan Rather on CBS News. At one point, Rather asked, “When you pray, what do you say to God?” Mother Teresa answered, “I don’t say anything, I listen.” Rather replied, “Well, okay…when God speaks to you, what does he say?” Mother Teresa replied, “He doesn’t say anything, He listens. And if you don’t understand that, I can’t explain it to you.”
While there are many things about a relationship with Jesus that are certainly a challenge to explain to a non-believer, our faith in prayer and how we pray certainly is right up there. Even for many believers, Mother Teresa’s words would strike curiosity. After all, “praying in the Spirit” is simply not spoken about often, not preached by our pastors, and not actually practiced by most. And yet, this is precisely what was she meant with her rather astonishing and somewhat bewildering answer.
But first, it might be important for us to remember that we have two advocates praying on our behalf to the Father.
One is Jesus. The other is the Holy Spirit within us.
“My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father — Jesus Christ, the Righteous One” (1 John 2:1).
Flesh Versus Spirit
“…the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you” (John 14:17).
God is not surprised that we struggle with our prayer life. After all, we remain imperfect. It seems clear that it was never His intent that we would be left to our own strength in anything. Jesus knew we would struggle against the flesh and that we would need His help in all things in this life.
Below are some examples from Scripture:
In John 16:7, Jesus tells the disciples that it is for their good that He goes away, otherwise the Holy Spirit – the “Helper” – would not come. However, if Jesus does go away, then He will send the Holy Spirit to them.
This verse reassures all believers that the Holy Spirit will be with us and be there to guide us in our faith while we remain here, physically separated from God.
In John 14:15-21, Jesus promises the Holy Spirit – “the Spirit of Truth” – will come to them and be with them, to teach them. Jesus tells them (and us) that when the Spirit comes, they will know that “I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.” Jesus is emphasizing the importance of the Holy Spirit and repeating that the Holy Spirit will dwell with each of us.
In John 14:23-26, Jesus promises that the Father will love us and they (the trinity) will make their home within us. The Father would send the Holy Spirit to teach us and reminds us of everything Jesus has taught.
In John 15:26, The Holy Spirit – the Helper, the Spirit of Truth – is sent from the Father. He “proceeds from the Father” and will bear witness about Jesus.
One other verse is very important – John 14:16:
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever.”
The Greek word used is parakletos, which translates to Helper or Advocate. It signifies someone called in to the aid of another. The Holy Spirit is called in by Jesus to aid believers as they struggle through life – forever.
Clearly, we know that the Holy Spirit has been provided to help us through this life. To guide us and lead us, to teach us right from wrong, and to convict us when we do wrong. But the Spirit has also been provided as a Helper in our prayer lives.
The difficulty we so often find in our prayer lives is that we are praying in the flesh. We pray in our own power, trying to overcome our difficulty, choosing our words carefully. We try to pray in the right order, or the right posture. And so often we feel a bit, well … tongue-tied, not knowing exactly what to say or what we should pray about.
But how do we overcome that challenge? How do we move from praying in the flesh to praying in the Spirit? Well, the short answer is – by turning to the Spirit within us for help.
“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans” (Romans 8:26).
How to Pray in the Spirit
“But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life” (Jude 1:20-21).
Praying in the Spirit is mentioned three times in Scripture. In his first letter to the church in Corinth, Paul speaks of praying in tongues, leading some to believe that praying in the Spirit means praying in tongues. However, Paul says that when a person prays in tongues, he doesn’t know what he’s saying and no one else will know what he’s saying either. Yet, Paul instructs us to “…pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests” (Ephesians 6:18).
This, then, begs the question – how are we to pray on all occasions, with all kinds of prayers and requests, if no one understands what is being said? That would mean that “praying in the Spirit” can be understood as praying in the power of the Spirit, by the leading of the Spirit and praying according to the will of the Spirit.
But how do we do that?
It might be important to point out that the phrase “in the Spirit” from Ephesians, is literally “in Spirit” in the original language – without the definitive article “in.” This would mean then, the place or attitude of our prayer is to be surrounded by, or even engulfed in, the Spirit. We are to be more or less transformed by the Spirit – in total dependence on Him in our prayer. The Spirit is absolutely instrumental in our prayer.
Some have described this as praying in the “sphere” of the Holy Spirit. That would seem to mean removing ourselves as much as possible from this world and finding the Spirit within us. Turning inward, to our hearts, and stepping into the presence of the Father.
I’m certainly no expert at praying in the Spirit, but it seems to me that silence and solitude are critical to this journey. Silence around you and within you. Solitude so there are no outside interruptions. Silence, as you sit quietly, just listening. At that moment, the Holy Spirit – the Father – is listening to your heart. Your feelings. He already knows your intended prayers.
This is not to say you need to sit quietly the entire time, but our silence is such an important part of all of this. We are inclined to simply present our requests to the Father. But there is so much more to prayer than that.
This is when the Holy Spirit helps us; He intercedes for us, through wordless groans. And the father replies as He imparts to us a sense of being with Him as we begin to feel the Spirit of grace and of supplication (Zechariah 12:10). We begin to feel confidence in His presence with us.
“Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father’” (Galatians 4:6).
Feeling It in Our Hearts
“For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit” (Ephesians 2:18).
Yes, praying in the Spirit is a bit difficult to describe. None of this means that this will come easily or quickly. It may take a bit of practice. And it does not mean that your prayer time will be instantly transformed or suddenly electrified.
It does mean that you will soon begin to feel a significant difference between praying in the flesh and praying in the Spirit. When you begin to pray in the Spirit, you won’t feel the need to rush to say anything. You’ll find you won’t want it to end.
Have you ever found yourself with a worship song in your heart – not just in your head, but in your heart – that you simply repeat over and over? Me too. When that happens, it also invades my prayers – in a good way. I can feel worship. I feel like singing it out (and I’m a terrible singer.) Like a warmth all over your insides.
That is what praying in the Spirit feels like.
“So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding” (1 Corinthians 14:15).
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Daniela Jovanovska-Hristovska
Greg doesn’t pretend to be a pastor, a theologian, or a Bible expert, but offers the perspective of an everyday guy on the same journey as everyone else – in pursuit of truth.
Greg can be reached by email or on Facebook @ Greg Grandchamp - Author.