Bible Rebel

Editors note: the guest article appearing here does not necessarily reflect the views of Bible Rebel editors or other guest authors and contributors. Bible Rebel seeks to present a wide range of ideas and viewpoints in order to fulfill our mission to provide resources for “Curious Fearless Faith”. This is Part 3 in a new series on prayer called ‘Cease Not To Pray’ by Steve Sann.

Cease Not To Pray: Part 1
Cease Not To Pray: Part 2

---

PRAYING PERFECTLY

This woman’s incident paints a vivid picture of how our prayer is crucial to bringing God onto the scene. Prayer unleashes God’s presence and power into this world. In all their journeys, He arrives prepared to protect and prosper those for which you pray. Knowing this, we should seek to implement the most effective prayer technique possible in our lives. What makes tongues, in many applications, the most effective form of prayer? I Corinthians 14:2: 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 [or, secrets].

What makes praying in the spirit so uniquely different than praying with our understanding? When speaking in tongues, we are speaking a language God is giving us at that moment. Since we cannot understand it, what we speak is unknown to us; hence, it is a secret, a mystery to us. All the time, however, God understands our prayer without question.

And herein we discover its remarkable uniqueness: praying by the spirit is truly perfect prayer. It is perfect because it is a prayer crafted by God Himself, untainted by our fallible minds! Spoken in a foreign language and bypassing our understanding, our mind is unable to interfere by interjecting our own limitations, fears, guesswork or doubts. We pray to God the exact prayer words that He gives our spirit, making our prayer perfect in every way. By speaking a language that is foreign to us, God guards the spirit’s perfect prayer from our natural tendency to “improve” it! Verse 14 explains it this way: I Corinthians 14:14: For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful.

Here again, this verse points out that the speaker’s understanding is unfruitful, and unproductive, as he cannot understand the words spoken. Also, note here and throughout I Corinthians 14, in order for our spirit to pray, we are the activators. We are one hundred percent in control. The spirit does not act of its own will any more than my mouth moves of its own will. The spirit is melded into our very being and functions by the willful believing action of the believer. Notable examples are found in Acts 2:4 and Philippians 4:13.

God’s spirit within us has become part of our total makeup. It is our spiritual “radio receiver”, our connection with God. Like an organ of our body, the spirit remains a vital part of us throughout our lives. When we speak in tongues, the spirit conveys the information from God, enabling us to pray perfectly. We move our lips, our mouths, our tongues. We form the words as the spirit gives us the language. What we speak is God’s business, but that we speak is our business. Our responsibility: To Speak!