The Secret to Experiencing God's Presence by John Belt

Author:John Belt
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Charismatic Interest;REL079000;REL012120
ISBN: 9781493414581
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2018-05-23T00:00:00+00:00

The Weapon of Prayer

There are many kinds of prayer, and I will not get into every one. The important thing is that all forms of prayer are effective. My favorite type is praying in the Spirit. That is mainly because it most often connects me with the presence of God quicker than any other method of prayer.

When I speak of “praying in the Spirit,” I am referring specifically to speaking in tongues. In the Bible, Paul explains that when we pray this way, we do not understand what we are saying: “For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries” (1 Corinthians 14:2). Praying with the spirit is a direct connection to God that bypasses the natural mind. The natural mind likes to have everything figured out; it wants to know everything. Praying in tongues is a good practice for the very reason of taking away from your mind the right of “knowing it all.” Some things we need to know; others we do not.

The gift of speaking in tongues is available to every believer in Jesus Christ, as Peter testified, “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality” (Acts 10:34). Ask the Lord to fill you with His Holy Spirit and give evidence of it with the gift of tongues. When we pray with our spirit, we build ourselves up, edifying the spirit man (see 1 Corinthians 14:4).

“What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding” (1 Corinthians 14:15). Before my conversion experience, I remember trying to read the Bible, the living Bible. It made no sense to me and was a very hard read. This was The Living Bible version, about as easy a read as anything you can find—so it should have been easy, even for me! I had been baptized in water but had not learned what living for God looked like. When I was baptized in the Holy Spirit, my understanding of the Bible opened up. As I practiced praying in the Spirit, speaking in tongues in my times with God, His words began to come alive and make sense.

“Put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:24). The spirit man is created in the image and likeness of God. When we engage in prayer, we renew the spirit man. There is no quicker or better way to do this than by simply praying in tongues. “[You] have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him” (Colossians 3:10).

Paul said that we should pray to interpret what we are saying by the Spirit (1 Corinthians 14:13). When we pray for interpretation, we are basically asking that God would give us revelation and understanding. Many times when I am praying in the Spirit, I will instantly get wisdom and understanding.

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