Prayer and the Well-Armed Believer

Let me have you turn in your Bibles this evening or this morning to Ephesians chapter 6, verse 18.

Ephesians 6:18

!

Praying always, praying at all times in the Spirit.

Let's do just that.

Heavenly Father, as we come this morning to take your Word in hand, we are thankful that

we who know the Lord Jesus Christ may ask you to work in us through your Holy Spirit, who

you have given to us, that as the psalmist prayed, that your Word would be opened that

we might see wonderful truths in it.

And we ask this because of Jesus.

I'll tell you at the beginning that I am not going to cover the whole verse.

I am going to leave the remainder for your studies personally.

I think we have spent a fair amount of time in Ephesians chapter 6 beginning in verse 10 and carrying down here to 18.

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

And I trust you are not overly labored by the fact that I'm going to leave the second half of the verse because as we study the first half you will find it to be supremely important.

And I trust its value plays out in your life as a result.

Let me say ahead of time that I have a goal or objective that I think fits the Scriptures and it is this.

That as the result of the teaching and preaching of the Word of God with the enabling of the Spirit that your prayer life...

I mean there should be an outcome to preaching.

Would you agree with that?

That your prayer life is improved.

When I say that our prayer life is improved I suppose everybody is sitting here well okay that's alright.

Let me say that if I were to begin this sermon on the subject of prayer and start out by confessing that prayer is one of those areas in my life that I'm still working at you'd probably not be all that bothered.

Would you agree with me?

Last week as I was sitting with my father in the nursing home out of the clear blue he said to me,

Tim, what's your greatest challenge?

Well I have to confess that I have a fair share of them.

Being me is really hard.

And I remember after I thought for a moment I said, Dad my prayer life is my greatest challenge.

And I know my dad prays for me.

Even though he has Alzheimer's and has moments where probably his lucidity is not as sharp and acute as it should be.

Nevertheless, I know he prays for me because when I would come in following that he would talk to me about his prayers for me.

And I tell you that when I stand up here to preach on the matter of prayer and I say to you,

that's an area that I have some challenge and difficulty in.

It probably doesn't faze you but to help you understand and make a comparison.

Listen, were I to come this morning to this pulpit and say,

I am going to preach this morning about drunkenness and I would say,

and I'm having a real problem with it.

You'd probably say, well who are you to talk to me about that?

Right?

Or if I were to come up here this morning and say,

I am here to preach this morning about moral purity and I'm just not on top of that one.

That would be very unsettling to you, wouldn't it?

Agreed?

Yes.

When I come to you this morning and say, listen, prayer is the area in my life that I continue to work at

and I need his help.

The fact of the matter is, is that you identify so closely with me because your lives are struggling with the same thing.

And I want us this morning to understand just how important it is that our prayer life is governed and controlled

and enabled by the Spirit of God.

Ephesians chapter 6 beginning in verse 10 and carrying on down to verse 18 is really about spiritual warfare.

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

And we can get all caught up in the armor.

But I want you to understand that this morning what we really are here to focus on is this matter of the priority of prayer.

It is supremely important in the believer's life.

When I was a young boy, you know, most of you know that I grew up as a missionary's child in India.

And this was in the days, I remember when we went from New York to Bombay by ship.

And on our first return from the field, it was a many weeks journey.

We came by steamer and my parents were bound and determined to find the cheapest way to travel.

And it was by some tramp steamer that made its way across the Indian Ocean and down.

Actually went around the Cape of Good Hope.

Can you imagine what that was like?

And then came up.

And eventually we landed somewhere in England.

And then we journeyed and visited different missionaries in that area.

And one of the things that my parents were bound and determined is that I should grow up with a little bit of enculturation.

And so they took me to every conceivable place that had historic significance.

One museum after another.

I was intrigued by one particular thing in museums.

I was always intrigued by the military parts of those museums, you know.

I'd want to go out and put my hands on the cannons and look at these great big balls that they shot out of those cannons.

And you'd walk through the museum and you would see these suits of armor.

I was just enthralled by suits of armor.

I thought, man, when I grow up I want to wear one of those things.

In fact, I'll remember my parents actually gave me a little bit of pocket money.

And I spent all of my pocket money on a piece of aluminum, briefly, very flimsy.

It was a breastplate.

It looked like armor.

You know, it's shiny.

And my brother and I played with those things until I, being much older than him at that point and larger than him,

I could take significant advantage of him.

So we stopped doing those things.

You know, sword fighting is pretty dangerous when you're big and, you know.

But I just loved the idea of armor.

And, you know, you'd walk through these museums and you'd see these great big suits of armor.

And I have to tell you, I thought, these are pretty neat.

This is nifty.

This is nice.

You know, they didn't frighten me at all.

They didn't bother me.

But I want you to imagine that if in the ancient world some great big hulking knight had put on that suit of armor,

armor, and torn out after a set of serfs in a village, it would have been pretty terrifying, wouldn't it?

You see, it's not the armor itself that makes all the difference in the world.

It is the person who's inside it and the one who gives the armor its energy that makes the difference.

And so this morning as we think about the subject of the believer being well-armed against the enemy,

I want you to understand at the very outset that the Holy Spirit wants us to get a grip on the fact that our battle is not our own and that we must have his help.

That's what we're looking at this morning when at the conclusion of this lengthy passage on the subject of spiritual warfare,

the Spirit of God says there in verse 18,

praying at all times in the Spirit.

I want you to go back just for a moment, if you will, back to verse 10.

And pick up, if you will, there the argument that Paul begins.

He says,

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.

Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.

As Paul brings this wonderful book to a conclusion,

he wants us to understand that we are going to face adversity and difficulty

and we have an adversary that is very interested in our harm and our destruction

and if we are going to endure and we're going to survive his attacks,

we can't do it on our own.

And so verse 10 is the beginning of the argument

and verse 18 is the conclusion.

There is a sense in which you have bookends in which at the beginning and the end of Paul's argument,

he helps us understand that this battle is not our own.

I trust that as we've worked our way through Ephesians chapter 6

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

and dealt with this matter of spiritual warfare,

that you've not been all caught up in the armor and the details

and forget that spiritual armor without the spirit is worthless.

You can actually have a head full of Bible verses.

You can have a firm grip on some of the theological truths that are foundational to us.

You can know every point about the nature of God.

You could be ready to pass a theology exam

and the truth of the matter is,

is you could still be readily overcome by the enemy

because in the face of all the information that you've gathered,

you really don't have a dependence upon the spirit

and the enemy loves when you're in that condition.

And so Paul begins to tell us here at the beginning in verse 10

that our strength must be in the Lord

and here at the end,

he highlights the fact that our spiritual strength is inseparable from our prayer life.

Our spiritual strength is inseparable from our prayer life.

And so he makes this statement, he says,

praying at all times in the spirit.

And his emphasis here is on the centrality of prayer in spiritual living

and he wants us to recognize that this is a foundational matter

for every one of you as believers.

Prayer is really at the center of spiritual living and success

and apart from prayer,

we are just an accident looking for a place to happen.

Can I say that again slowly so you understand it?

Apart from prayer,

we are just an accident looking for a place to happen.

So how important is prayer in the Bible?

Just touch on a few illustrations.

I could spend the remainder of our time

going through one after another,

but let's pick up on several that make it clear

that prayer for the believer is absolutely essential.

Turn in your Bible back to Exodus chapter 17.

Exodus 17 · chapter mention

Exodus chapter 17.

Exodus 17 · chapter mention

This is early in the Exodus

when God took the nation of Israel out of Egypt

and he was taking them on their journey

to the promised land

where they were going to be involved in conflict.

Earlier, actually, in Exodus,

we are told that God did not take them the short route

because they had not been toughened up

and they had to endure some hardship

and difficulty in battle

so that when they came into the land of promise,

which they were going to have to capture with their sword,

they were ready for the conflict.

Here in Exodus chapter 17,

Exodus 17 · chapter mention

we find one of their early battles.

And if you pick up there in verse 9,

we read that,

So Moses said to Joshua,

Choose for us men and go out and fight with Amalek.

Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill

with the staff of God in my hand.

Now, sometimes those who are generals

are distantly removed from the battle

and do you know why they're distantly removed?

They don't want to risk being caught and killed.

That was not the reason that Moses did what he did.

And as we read through the passage,

we discovered that what happened

is that while Moses had his hands lifted up,

what was going on with the battle down there

on the plain with the people of Amalek?

The nation of Israel was enduring.

They were succeeding.

They were being victorious.

And Moses eventually got tired

and he put his hands down.

And as soon as he put his hands down,

what happened with the conflict?

The nation of Israel began to suffer.

And Moses, seeing this,

he learned that there was something going on

that was directly connected with his time of prayer

and his hands being lifted up

for the people that were down there in the conflict.

And as a result of that,

what we have is that Aaron and Hur

grabbed a stone,

had Moses sit down on the stone,

and then they stood on either side

and had Moses' arms up in the air.

And as a result,

the people of Israel succeeded in the battle.

Why?

Because of prayer.

I'm reminded also of what we read over in 1 Kings 17-18.

You don't need to turn to that passage.

But if you would remember,

in 1 Kings 17-18,

we're given a little picture of the power of prayer

because it tells us that Elijah prayed,

and it tells us in the book of James

that for three years it...

Does anybody know what happened?

It didn't rain.

It didn't rain.

And God uses that

to bring Ahab and all the nation together,

and they end up on top of this mountain,

and here is Elijah and the prophets of Baal,

and they're having this little contest,

and Elijah prays down fire from heaven,

and then he prays rain into the nation.

And it tells us over in that passage in James

that it was because of his prayer

that these things took place.

I'm reminded also of what Jesus taught his disciples

on the matter of prayer

and our dependence upon him.

And over in John chapter 15, verse 5,

John 15:5

there's a passage that I trust

is just woven into your life.

Without me, you can do what?

You can do nothing.

So I want you to think just for a moment this morning

of just how important,

how significant the matter of prayer is

in your life as a believer,

and recognize that here you are,

you are faced with the reality

that you have a spiritual enemy

that is desperately determined to destroy you.

And it's not the armor in itself

that is by itself that essential.

Apart from prayer, it's just a suit.

And there are some of you here this morning

that as I, as your shepherd,

as your pastor, think about your life,

I am aware of some of the heartache

and the difficulties,

and as I look at what's going on in your life,

one of the things that I would plead with you

is that your prayer life would change

so that you're not harmed as you have been.

I want you to understand

that your enemy is after you.

And I want you to understand

that prayer must be your heart's great defense.

Well, let's stop and think about the passage

because it says they're praying.

Praying.

I don't need to break down the issue of prayer for you

because you understand what it means.

It is coming to the Lord

with a dependence upon Him.

It is coming with a recognition

of the promises that He's made.

It is coming believing that He is,

as it says in Hebrews chapter 11,

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

He is and He is the one who is the rewarder

of those that do diligently seek Him.

You understand what prayer is.

So let's think a little bit

about what it says there.

It says that at all times,

we're to pray at all times.

That little word always,

or at all times,

as we have it in the ESV,

is a word that is talking

not so much about the length of time.

There are two different ways

that time is used in the Greek here.

One is talking about the length of time.

Like, I prayed for 39 minutes.

That's not what's being said.

It is talking about praying

at all kinds of circumstances,

all kinds of settings,

all kinds of moments.

And it's recognizing that praying 10 minutes

or reciting the Lord's Prayer for 20 times

or whatever is,

is not what is in view here.

It is talking about the fact

that every setting

and every circumstance,

every issue in your life

is worthy of prayer.

prayer.

So when should we pray?

For one,

we should pray

when we are being tempted.

I want you to remember

what Jesus said to His disciples

in Matthew chapter 26, verse 41.

Matthew 26:41

He, knowing what was coming,

went off to pray.

And He made statement to them.

He said,

listen, pray

that you enter not into temptation.

And so let me ask you the question,

how often are you challenged

and tempted by the enemy?

Is it something that only happens

very rarely and occasionally,

or is it something that is incessant?

I know that it's incessant

because it happens to me.

It happens to you.

My temptation may not be the same

as your temptation,

and some of the things

that you are battling with

may be completely different

from the things I am enduring.

But here's the truth of the matter.

All of us are tempted

incessantly by the enemy

who is interested

in our demise

and our harm.

And so what we should do

is be people

that are praying all the time.

All the time.

We should pray

before we open our mouth.

We should pray

before we open our mouth.

I want you to turn back

in your Bible

just for a second

to Nehemiah chapter 2.

Nehemiah 2 · chapter mention

Look at verse 4.

Nehemiah chapter 2 verse 4.

Nehemiah 2:4

By the way,

if you've been tracking,

we're teaching,

we're studying the book

of Nehemiah

in Wednesday evening,

but at the outset

of the book,

it starts out

by Nehemiah discovering

the condition

of the nation of Israel,

in particular,

the city of Jerusalem,

and we know

that he had spent

a long time

in prayer

for the condition

of the city

and what had happened

to the people of God.

I believe

as a result

of his incessant prayer

that God opened the door

and gave him

an opportunity

to present his concern

to the king.

He'd prayed

for a long time.

He'd been fasting.

Weeks had passed.

It had been front

and center

on his life,

but the moment

that the king

asked him,

what is it

that you would like,

do you know

what he did first?

He took a second

and he prayed

one of those

bullet prayers.

How many of you

prayed a bullet prayer?

A year and a,

well,

not last winter,

the winter before last,

I was driving

in the city

and I had come

to a left-hand turn

and there I was

waiting.

It had been snowing

pretty bad

and I am waiting

at the stoplight

for the opportunity

to go.

And there was a guy

that came skating around

making a,

how was it,

a left,

a right-hand turn

and as I'm watching him,

it became quite evident

that his tires

were not going

in the direction

that he was cranking

the wheel.

I was actually

at the stoplight

talking to my wife

saying,

honey,

I'll be home

in a,

I'm going to have

a wreck.

Do you follow that?

And I remember

in that same frame

saying,

oh Lord.

That's a short prayer.

Do you understand that?

Could anybody add

a couple other words

along with that?

Oh Lord,

help me to whatever.

You know,

it's like,

those are known

as bullet prayers.

It's like,

help me.

So when should you pray?

How many of you

would admit

that you would be

well served

if you never opened

your mouth

without praying first?

James tells us

that the tongue

is the toughest

thing to handle.

Am I right?

And so,

I would encourage you,

when should you pray?

Well,

pray when you are tempted.

Pray when you are tempted

to open your mouth.

Pray instead of fretting.

I want you to look

in your passage,

in your Bible,

to Philippians chapter 4,

Philippians 4:4–7

verse 4 through 7.

When should I pray?

I should pray

when I am tempted

to fret.

And some of us

are better fretters

than others.

We have more practice.

But listen to what it says

there in Philippians

Philippians 4:4

chapter 4,

verse 4.

He says this,

he says,

rejoice in the Lord always,

and again I say rejoice.

How many of you

really enjoy

being around grumpy Christians?

You know what

a grumpy Christian is like?

It's one of those persons

who,

you know,

everything is just

not going well

and they're kind of

frowny and unhappy

and,

you know,

they've missed

the truth,

the sweet blessing

of their relationship.

Well,

we're reminded here

in Philippians,

it says,

hey,

rejoice in the Lord.

Verse 5,

it says,

let your reasonableness

be known to everyone.

The Lord is at hand.

And then verse 6,

do not be anxious

about anything.

But in everything,

by prayer and supplication

with thanksgiving,

let your requests

be made known to God.

So,

when should we pray?

That's the question

that the Bible verse

brings to our attention

when it says,

pray at all times.

When should we pray?

We should pray

when we are tempted

to fret,

to be anxious.

When else should we pray?

We should pray

at the start of our day.

Isn't that right?

The start of your day

as you are waking up

and you are beginning

to ponder the things

that lie in front of you

and you're thinking

through the responsibilities

that you have

and some of the challenges

that you're facing,

that's the time

to come to the Lord

in prayer and say,

listen,

I want you to be

the one that I look to

and I trust

and I depend upon

this morning

rather than get caught up

in my own thing.

I'm reminded of what it says

over in Luke chapter 18,

Luke 18:1

verse 1.

Men ought always to pray

and not faint.

So,

why don't you do this

before you turn on the TV?

Why don't you pray?

Before you decide

you're going to check Facebook,

why don't you pray?

Before you decide

that you want to make

some scuzzy little comment

about somebody else's

statement on Facebook,

how many of you

know what I'm talking about?

I have deleted

more of the brilliance

that I have produced

from this little pea brain

that I've decided

after the second read

is like,

that is not going

to be good to say.

How many of you there?

Okay?

It would probably be

a little prophylactic

or preventive

just to pray

before you even

open Facebook, right?

Go ahead and pray

before you decide

you're going to surf

the internet.

Go ahead and pray

before you're going

to indulge in that

thinking,

that bitterness

or that irritation

or you begin to fret

about the way things

are devolving in your life.

Why don't you decide

before you entertain that

that you're going to pray?

Why don't you pray

before you decide

that you'll refresh

your memory

with some of the hurts

that you've endured

from other people

in the fellowship?

So as we look

at this part

in the beginning,

I want you to recognize

that what the apostle

is saying is that

the prayer life

of the believer

is to be something

that is robust

and profound

and covers

the broad range

of everything

going on

in our life.

Praying always,

all the time.

But now let's come

to the most important piece.

Praying in the spirit

is what Paul

is very interested

that we care for here.

And so as we are

addressing the issue

of spiritual warfare,

I want you to understand

that as we come

to this piece,

we're talking about

the very most important part

in the equation,

we are to pray

in the spirit.

We're instructed

to pray

through the enabling

of the spirit of God

and I cannot overstate

the importance

of doing so

in the power

of the spirit of God.

Let me help you understand

just how important

it is that we live

in the spirit,

walk in the spirit,

and rely upon the spirit

for our daily spiritual life.

You're in the book

of Ephesians.

Turn back just a little bit

to Galatians chapter 5.

Galatians 5 · chapter mention

In Galatians chapter 5,

Galatians 5 · chapter mention

it says this,

it says,

I say,

walk by the spirit

and you will not gratify

the desires of the flesh.

Walk by the spirit

and you will not gratify

the desires of the flesh.

Now, is the issue

of gratifying

the desires of the flesh

a gender-specific problem?

How many of you understood

what I just said?

Not at all.

Men, women, boys, girls,

all of us have issues

where we are tempted

by the enemy

and we look to gratify

the desires of the flesh.

And what Paul says

is that we are to walk

by the spirit

and we won't do that.

So I want you

to understand this morning

that it makes sense

that our prayer life

should be utterly dependent

upon the spirit of God.

And I want you

to ask yourself the question,

is that what characterizes

your prayer life?

Let's stop

and think carefully.

Is spirit dependence

the thing

that characterizes

your prayer life?

Some of us

are fairly good

with prayer lists.

How many of you understand

that prayer lists

are helpful?

If we don't have prayer lists,

guess what we're going

to pray for generally?

A little bit like this.

Dear Jesus,

help mommy and daddy.

Help all the missionaries

in the world.

Help me to have a good day.

Amen.

Our prayers,

if we don't have

a list that's a little

more robust

and a little far thinking,

a little further thinking,

we tend to be

pretty self-focused

in our prayer life.

Would you agree with that?

Prayer lists help us

to get a broader picture,

but here's the danger

of a prayer list.

You can crank

through your prayer list

and never think

one bit

about how

all of it

makes sense.

Have you ever done that?

Have you ever prayed

through your prayer list

and when the end of the day,

you just checked it off,

but there was nothing

really resonating?

So what does

praying in the spirit mean?

Let me talk first of all

about what it does not mean.

Praying in the spirit

does not mean

mouthing

an unintelligible

collection

of vowels

and consonants.

I have dear friends

that are quite caught up

in the supposed exercise

of speaking in tongues.

And I want to tell you

with gentleness

and clarity

that the New Testament

gift of tongues

undeniably

in the scriptures

was the ability

to communicate

in other dialects.

Interestingly enough,

when the charismatic movement

came back

into popularity

in the early 20th century,

that was like 1916

or something like that,

at Azusa Street Mission,

those who began teaching

the issue

of the charismatic

gift of tongues

made the supposition

that the gift

was actually

the ability

to speak

dialects

or foreign languages.

And as a result,

this is history,

this is fact,

they sent out

a wave of missionaries

without any language

training.

Now,

it makes sense,

do you follow me?

It makes sense

if what they thought

they had

was actually

the New Testament

ability

to speak

foreign languages.

Guess what happened

when they got to India

and China

and Burma

and Malaysia

and wherever else

they went?

Guess what happened?

All the nationals

in all those countries

had no idea

what they were doing

when they were going

blah, blah, blah, blah,

blah, blah, whatever.

And they came back

and rethought

their theology

and it became

a matter of,

well,

this is

spiritual

praying

and nobody

understands it.

I want you

to understand

that praying

in the Spirit

is not a collection

of unintelligible

vowels and consonants,

nor is it

being

exceptionally moved

by emotion.

Now,

sometimes we think

that just because

we have been moved

by emotion

that that necessarily

is the work

of the Spirit.

How many of you

understand that emotions

are pretty fickle things?

Huh?

I, once again,

bear with me

on Facebook,

but I have people

that will every now

and then post

these little cute things

about cats and dogs

and tell me that

if I just watch this clip,

it will break me down

into emotions.

You follow that?

Nah.

I mean,

I can get carried away

with emotions

and I think you know that,

but cats and dogs

don't do it.

And we ought to be careful

that we don't assume

that just because

we have a little

emotional surge

that it's the Spirit

of God.

You can

work up

emotions.

And that's not

necessarily the work

of the Spirit of God.

Just as an example,

when was the last time

you thought about people

going to hell

and you broke down

in tears?

That's the Spirit.

So,

let's talk about

what it is to pray

in the Spirit.

Praying in the Spirit

is praying with,

number one,

a sense of blessing

in our relationship

with Him.

I think about the passage

in Romans chapter 8,

Romans 8:15

verse 15.

I want you to look

at that passage.

One of the sweet...

Romans chapter 8

Romans 8 · chapter mention

has a lot to say

about the love of Christ

and the Spirit of God

who is at work

in the believer.

If you were to ask me

what are some of the

most significant things

that the Lord has done

in my life

in the last 10 years

spiritually,

I would tell you

that it has been

His working

in helping me

slowly grow

in appreciating

the love of Christ

and appreciating

the work of the Spirit

of God

in the life

of the believer.

And here in Romans

Romans 8:15

chapter 8,

verse 15,

it says this,

you have received

the Spirit of adoption

by whom we cry,

Abba, Father.

When was the last time

that in your prayer life

you just had this

abiding sense

that the God in heaven

is your Father

and He cares about you

in a way that is

beyond your comprehension

and you rest

in the goodness

of that relationship.

To pray in the Spirit

is to pray

with a sense

of blessing

in our relationship

both with the Spirit

of God

and with the Father.

To pray in the Spirit

is also to pray

with a thankfulness

for His indwelling.

I think about the passage

over in John chapter 15

John 15 · chapter mention

or 16

where Jesus said this,

it is to your advantage

that I leave.

That had to be

a mind blower

for the disciples.

Do you follow that?

They had no idea

that things were going

to end up

the way they did.

And we know that

because even after

the Last Supper

as Jesus went through

breaking the elements

and said,

this is my body

which is for you

and this cup

is the cup

of the New Testament

in my blood

and He explained

the fact that He

was going to die

for them.

As they left

that time

they were

bickering

with who was going

to be number one

in the kingdom.

They didn't get it.

Jesus says,

I'm leaving.

But it's a good thing

I'm leaving

because when I leave

you're going to get

the Spirit.

And so to pray

in the Spirit

means to pray

with a thankfulness

that He indwells me

that I have

the blessing

of the Spirit

of God

abiding in me.

When was the last time

that you found yourself

tempted

and as you were

struggling with that

temptation

you thought to yourself,

listen,

if I do this sin

I am going to grieve

the Holy Spirit

who abides in me.

Do you follow that?

Think with me.

Your eyes are going

where they shouldn't go

and you think

to yourself,

the Spirit

is looking

and seeing

and grieved

by that.

To pray in the Spirit

is to pray

with a conscious

dependence

on His person

and His work.

When was the last time

that you let Him know

how glad you are

that He is there

to help you?

Do you follow that?

I am so glad

that I have

the Holy Spirit

abiding in me.

I can tell you

that earlier

in ministry

I found

that

I spent

a great deal

of time,

in fact,

more time

in study

than in prayer

over a passage.

I wanted to understand

the Greek,

I wanted to understand

the structure,

I wanted to understand

the flow of the sentence

and context

and all of those things

are supremely important

but as I have grown

older in the Lord

I have found

that praying

in the Spirit

is as valuable

if not more valuable

in comprehending

the Scriptures.

So praying

in the Spirit

is to be

dependent

upon His work.

I want to tell you

another thing

that to pray

in the Spirit

means to pray

with a deference

to His Word.

What do I mean

by a deference?

To pray

in the Spirit

means to pray

with the enabling

of the Spirit

of God

doing something

in my thinking.

Do you follow that?

And if we follow

the passage

in John chapter 16

John 16 · chapter mention

we understand

that the work

of the Spirit

of God

is to bring

the Scriptures

to mind.

And if I am

praying in the Spirit

my prayer life

will be enriched

and characterized

by the Scriptures.

To pray in the Spirit

is to pray

with an amplified

focus on Christ.

Turn in your Bible

turn in your Bible

and I close with this

to John chapter 16

John 16:14

verse 14.

I have made

repeated references

this morning

to the book

of John

in particular

to chapter 16

because in John

John 15 · chapter mention

chapter 15

16

you find

John giving us

perhaps

the most complete

study of the doctrine

of the Spirit's ministry

in our lives

as Jesus explains

to the disciples

the benefit

they're going to have

after He leaves.

But look at

John chapter 16

John 16:14

verse 14

as Jesus

is explaining

to His disciples

what the Spirit

of God

will do

when He comes.

He will glorify me.

How do I know

that I'm praying

in the Spirit?

How do I know

that I'm walking

in the Spirit?

How do I know

that I'm rejoicing

in the Spirit?

How do I know

that the Spirit

of God

is at work

in Tim Kenoyer's life?

I know it

when Jesus Christ

is the one

that is exalted

and lifted up.

Why?

Because that's

His work.

He

will glorify

me.

He

I want you

to think

with me

for a moment.

Paul is

greatly

concerned

for believers

in Ephesus

whose lives

were threatened

by an enemy

that wanted

to trash

them.

Do you

follow that?

And as

that passage

was being read

I have no doubt

that as

perhaps Timothy

don't know for sure

but as

whoever was reading

that passage

of Scripture

was reading it

with the enabling

of the Spirit

of God

I have no doubt

that he could look

out on the congregation

and see the faces

of people

that he loved

as a shepherd

and he saw

them there

harmed

and wounded.

And his heart

was with them

as he prayed

oh I hope

they get it

and they pray

always

in the Spirit.

Do we have

an enemy?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Has he wounded

you before?

Yes.

Am I more

fearful of him

today than I

used to be?

Yes.

Am I more

conscious of

the Spirit's

enabling

and sufficiency

and power

and blessing?

Yes.

And where

are you in

that?

Let's close

in prayer.

Holy Spirit

work

in the lives

of people

that know

the Lord Jesus

Christ

are blessed

with salvation

and desperately

need victory

over an

enemy

that hates

their soul.

And let

the thing

that characterizes

the outcome

of the

preaching

of the

word of God

today be

this

God

that we

be a

people

who pray

at all

times

in the

Spirit.

Amen.

Let's

stand together

as we

close

and as we

are singing

our closing

song

God

I want

to

encourage

you

if you

are here

this

morning

and

there's

a matter

that you

need

to

settle

and