Reality #4 Part 8 God Speaks through Prayer
Romans 8:26-27
"Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God."
What a fitting day for this post! Once a month my roomie Matt and I host a prayer party, and it just so happens that it is tonight!
If you are not keeping a spiritual journal or diary, you need to! If the God of the universe tells you something, you should write it down. When God speaks to you in your quiet time, immediately write down what He said before you have time to forget. Then record your prayer response! You can also write down the verse of Scripture He used and what God has said about Himself through that verse! Another thing to write down also would be how you intend to adjust your life to God!
Truth is a Person
The Holy Spirit reveals truth. Truth is not just some concept to be studied. Truth is a Person. Jesus did not say, "I will teach you the truth." He said, "I am...the truth" (John 14:6). When God give you eternal life, He gives you Himself (John 17:3). When the Holy Spirit reveals Truth, He is not teaching you a concept to be thought about. He is leading you to a relationship with a Person. He is your Life! When God gives you eternal life, He gives you a Person. When you became a Christian, Jesus didn't give you some thing; He gave you Himself!
1. God creates in me the desire to participate in His mission to reconcile a lost world to Himself.
2. I respond and come to God seeking to know His will.
3. When God reveals a truth to me, I know He is trying to alert me to what He is doing in my life.
When God reveals truth through His Word, that doesn't lead to an encounter with God; it is the encounter with God. When He reveals truth to me, I am in the presence of a living Person. He is Author of the Scriptures. The Author is telling me through His Word what He is doing in my life. The Spirit of God knows the mind of God. He will make the will of God known to me through the Word of God. I must then take that truth and immediately adjust my life to Him. I do not adjust my life to a concept or a philososphy but to a Person. Have you ever read a Scripture you have read many times before, but suddenly you see something in it for the first time? That truth is not a concept for you to figure out how to work into your life. God is introducing you to Himself and alerting you that He is wanting to apply this truth to your life right now. When God is ready to do something in your life, the Spirit of God uses the Word to make that know to you. Then you can adjust your life to Him and what He has just revealed to Himself, His purposes, or His ways.
Prayer is a Relationship
Prayer is two-way fellowship and communication with God. You speak to God and He speaks to you. It is not a one-way conversation. Your personal prayer life may primarily be one-way communication -- you talking to God. Prayer is more than that. Prayer includes listening as well. In fact, what God says in prayer is far more important than what you say!
Prayer is a relationship, not just a religious activity. Prayer is designed more to adjust you to God than to adjust God to you. God doesn't need your prayers, but He wants you to pray. You need to pray because of what God wants to do in and through your life during your praying . God speaks to His people by the Holy Spirit through prayer. When the Holy Spirit reveals a spiritual truth to you in prayer, He is present and working actively in your life. Genuine prayer does not lead to an encounter with God. It IS an encounter with God. What happens as you seek God's will in prayer? The sequence is this:
1. God takes the initiative by causing you to want to pray.
2. The Holy Spirit, through the Word of God, reveals to you the will of God.
3. In the Spirit, you pray in agreement with the will of God.
4. You adjust you life to the truth (to God).
5. You look and listen for confirmation or further direction from the Bible, circumstances, and the church (other believers).
6. You obey.
7. God works in you and through you to accomplish His purposes.
8. You experience Him just as the Spirit revealed as you prayed.
The Spirit of God often uses the Word of God when you pray. I find that when I pray about something, Scripture often come to my mind. I don't see it as a distraction. I believe He is trying to guide me through the Scripture. I have found that as I pray about a particular matter, the Spirit of God takes the Word of God and applies it to my heart and my mind to reveal the truth. I immediately stop my praying and open the Word of God to the passage I believe the Spirit of God brought to my mind.
We are weak and do not know how we ought to pray. There is, however, some good news: "Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God." Romans 8:26-27
The Holy Spirit has an advantage over us -- He already knows the will of God. When He prays for us, He is praying absolutely in agreement with the will of God. He then helps us know the will of God as we pray.
Is it important to know when the Holy Spirit is speaking to you? Yes!! How do you know what the Holy Spirit is saying? I cannot give you a formula. I can tell you that you will know His voice when He speaks (John 10:4). You must decide that you only want His will. You must dismiss any selfish or fleshly desires of your own. Then, as you start to pray, the Spirit of God starts to touch your heart and cause you to pray in the direction of God's will. "For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure." Philippians 2:13
"When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come." John 16:13
When you pray, anticipate that the Holy Spirit already knows what God has ready for your life. He does not guide you on His own initiative; He tells you only what He hears from the Father. He guides you when you pray.
You may be asking the question: "But how do I know that the directions I am praying are the Spirit's leading and not my own selfish desires?" Do you remember when we talked earlier about not having our own will?
More on that in the next post
In Christ,
David
"Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God."
What a fitting day for this post! Once a month my roomie Matt and I host a prayer party, and it just so happens that it is tonight!
If you are not keeping a spiritual journal or diary, you need to! If the God of the universe tells you something, you should write it down. When God speaks to you in your quiet time, immediately write down what He said before you have time to forget. Then record your prayer response! You can also write down the verse of Scripture He used and what God has said about Himself through that verse! Another thing to write down also would be how you intend to adjust your life to God!
Truth is a Person
The Holy Spirit reveals truth. Truth is not just some concept to be studied. Truth is a Person. Jesus did not say, "I will teach you the truth." He said, "I am...the truth" (John 14:6). When God give you eternal life, He gives you Himself (John 17:3). When the Holy Spirit reveals Truth, He is not teaching you a concept to be thought about. He is leading you to a relationship with a Person. He is your Life! When God gives you eternal life, He gives you a Person. When you became a Christian, Jesus didn't give you some thing; He gave you Himself!
1. God creates in me the desire to participate in His mission to reconcile a lost world to Himself.
2. I respond and come to God seeking to know His will.
3. When God reveals a truth to me, I know He is trying to alert me to what He is doing in my life.
When God reveals truth through His Word, that doesn't lead to an encounter with God; it is the encounter with God. When He reveals truth to me, I am in the presence of a living Person. He is Author of the Scriptures. The Author is telling me through His Word what He is doing in my life. The Spirit of God knows the mind of God. He will make the will of God known to me through the Word of God. I must then take that truth and immediately adjust my life to Him. I do not adjust my life to a concept or a philososphy but to a Person. Have you ever read a Scripture you have read many times before, but suddenly you see something in it for the first time? That truth is not a concept for you to figure out how to work into your life. God is introducing you to Himself and alerting you that He is wanting to apply this truth to your life right now. When God is ready to do something in your life, the Spirit of God uses the Word to make that know to you. Then you can adjust your life to Him and what He has just revealed to Himself, His purposes, or His ways.
Prayer is a Relationship
Prayer is two-way fellowship and communication with God. You speak to God and He speaks to you. It is not a one-way conversation. Your personal prayer life may primarily be one-way communication -- you talking to God. Prayer is more than that. Prayer includes listening as well. In fact, what God says in prayer is far more important than what you say!
Prayer is a relationship, not just a religious activity. Prayer is designed more to adjust you to God than to adjust God to you. God doesn't need your prayers, but He wants you to pray. You need to pray because of what God wants to do in and through your life during your praying . God speaks to His people by the Holy Spirit through prayer. When the Holy Spirit reveals a spiritual truth to you in prayer, He is present and working actively in your life. Genuine prayer does not lead to an encounter with God. It IS an encounter with God. What happens as you seek God's will in prayer? The sequence is this:
1. God takes the initiative by causing you to want to pray.
2. The Holy Spirit, through the Word of God, reveals to you the will of God.
3. In the Spirit, you pray in agreement with the will of God.
4. You adjust you life to the truth (to God).
5. You look and listen for confirmation or further direction from the Bible, circumstances, and the church (other believers).
6. You obey.
7. God works in you and through you to accomplish His purposes.
8. You experience Him just as the Spirit revealed as you prayed.
The Spirit of God often uses the Word of God when you pray. I find that when I pray about something, Scripture often come to my mind. I don't see it as a distraction. I believe He is trying to guide me through the Scripture. I have found that as I pray about a particular matter, the Spirit of God takes the Word of God and applies it to my heart and my mind to reveal the truth. I immediately stop my praying and open the Word of God to the passage I believe the Spirit of God brought to my mind.
We are weak and do not know how we ought to pray. There is, however, some good news: "Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God." Romans 8:26-27
The Holy Spirit has an advantage over us -- He already knows the will of God. When He prays for us, He is praying absolutely in agreement with the will of God. He then helps us know the will of God as we pray.
Is it important to know when the Holy Spirit is speaking to you? Yes!! How do you know what the Holy Spirit is saying? I cannot give you a formula. I can tell you that you will know His voice when He speaks (John 10:4). You must decide that you only want His will. You must dismiss any selfish or fleshly desires of your own. Then, as you start to pray, the Spirit of God starts to touch your heart and cause you to pray in the direction of God's will. "For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure." Philippians 2:13
"When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come." John 16:13
When you pray, anticipate that the Holy Spirit already knows what God has ready for your life. He does not guide you on His own initiative; He tells you only what He hears from the Father. He guides you when you pray.
You may be asking the question: "But how do I know that the directions I am praying are the Spirit's leading and not my own selfish desires?" Do you remember when we talked earlier about not having our own will?
More on that in the next post
In Christ,
David
posted by Mark 1:17 at 1:09 PM
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