[Power of the Word] Praying in the Spirit--Part 2
Daniel Brady
“…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 6:18
In my last entry, I (hopefully sufficiently) established the fact that praying in the Spirit is not the equivalent of praying in tongues. Whoever has the gift of tongues can and should pray in tongues when prompted by the Spirit, as long as they are exercising the gift according to the principles found in I Corinthians (particularly chapter 14). But the call to pray in the Spirit is issued to all believers, and therefore we must conclude that praying in the Spirit does not always (not even primarily) equate to praying in tongues.
To learn what it means to pray in the Spirit, we would be better served by looking at what it means to pray in Jesus’ Name. Jesus and the Holy Spirit are co-equal members of the Triune Godhead (along with the Father, of course). Both are eternal. both are all-powerful. Both are holy. Both are sovereign. Both are God. Therefore, we can draw some similarities between what it means to pray in Jesus’ Name and what it means to pray in the Spirit.
You know, most of us end our prayers with the phrase, “In Jesus’ Name, amen.” As a kid growing up in church, this is how I was taught to pray. But what does it mean? For a long time, I couldn’t have told you why I end my prayers with, “In Jesus’ Name.” That’s just how you pray, right? You always start your prayers with, “Dear Heavenly Father,” and you end them “in Jesus’ Name.”
Several years ago, though, I heard a radio sermon by John MacArthur, teaching on this subject. Putting it quite simply, he said that to pray in Jesus’ Name is to pray according to the will and authority of Jesus Christ. The model for praying according to the will of Jesus Christ is given in the model Jesus Himself gave when His disciples asked Him how to pray. He opened with the words, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your Name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:9-10).
The principle for praying according to the authority of Jesus Christ stems from Christ’s claim in Matthew 28:18 that “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” Jesus is the Sovereign Lord of the universe. All the events of our lives are under His control.
Thus, by praying in Jesus’ Name, we are placing ourselves in subjection to Him. And this is a very important concept concerning prayer. For whenever we pray for something, how are we to know whether what we are asking is in accordance with His will? I, for one, have certainly prayed, asking that certain things happen in my life. But those things did not come to pass. This is not because God failed to answer my prayers. It is because what I was asking for was not consistent with His will.
By praying in Jesus’ Name, then, we are saying to the Lord, “My hope is that what I am asking will be consistent with Your will. However, I acknowledge that I do not know Your will. Therefore, I submit myself to Your authority, asking You to answer this prayer according to Your will. Your will, not mine, be done.” This is the attitude we ought to have when we say, “In Jesus’ Name.”
Next time, we will look at how we can apply this principle to Paul’s admonition for us to pray in the Spirit.
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