1. Pt. 7, “Praying in the Spirit”

2.  The Armor of God  Part 1: The Belt of Truth  Part 2: The Breastplate of Righteousness  Part 3: Feet Shod with the Preparation of the Gospel of Peace  Part 4: The Shield of Faith  Part 5: The Helmet of Salvation  Part 6: The Sword of the Spirit

3.  Ephesians 6:10-20, “10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.  13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so

4.  that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14 Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit,

5.  which is the word of God.  18 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, 19 and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”

6.  Ephesians 6:18,  “18 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit…”

7.  “Paul probably departed from the armor analogy when he moved to speak of prayer in verse 18, but prayer is probably a person’s strongest defense against the assault of evil.” - John B. Polhill  “Prayer undergirds everything that is going to be fruitful and effective…the two weapons – the sword of the Spirit (which is the Word of God) and pray in the Spirit…the common denominator in both is the Spirit.” - Charles Price

8.  We are not engaged in natural warfare, but we are engaged in a spiritual warfare, and prayer is the key to overcoming the enemy.  We are fighting against “the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places…”

9.  “Standing ready for combat is to be combined with prayer…this is more than a worldly or human conflict…the close link between the material on prayer and what proceeded…underlines the spiritual nature of believer’s combat.” - Andrew T. Lincoln

10.  “Putting on, taking up, and receiving God’s armor all require an attitude of dependence on God. Prayer for strengthening from God can be see as a major way in which believers appropriate the divine armor and are enabled to stand.” - Andrew T. Lincoln

11.  1). Pray – At All Times  Ephesians 6:18, “With all prayer and petition pray at all times…”  “‘On all occasions’ suggests that the believers will be in constant prayer in preparation for the battle as well as in the engagement itself. But it is in the critical hour of encounter that such support is most required (cf. the day of evil” in v. 13).” - A. Skevington Wood

12.  “The immediate context of the battle against evil powers only makes it all the clearer the constant need for calling on divine aid.” - Andrew Lincoln  Philippians 1:3-4, “3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all…”

13.  Colossians 1:3, “We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you…”  Colossians 4:12, “Epaphras, who is one of your number, a bondslave of Jesus Christ, sends you his greetings, always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of God.”

14.  2 Thessalonians 1:11, “To this end also we pray for you always, that our God will count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power…”   1 Thessalonians 5:17, “Pray without ceasing…”

15.  Romans 1:9, 10, “9 For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you, 10 always in my prayers making request, if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you.”  To be prayerless is to be powerless, and to be powerless is to be helpless against the attack of Satan.

16.  2). Pray – In the Spirit  A). Be Filled with the Spirit  I). To be filled with the Spirit is to be lead by the Spirit.  Luke 4:1-2, “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness 2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil.”

17.  2). Pray – In the Spirit  A). Be Filled with the Spirit  I). To be filled with the Spirit is to be lead by the Spirit.  “Praying in the Spirit is praying according to the Spirit’s leading. It is praying for things the Spirit leads us to pray for….“Praying in the Spirit should be understood as praying in the power of the Spirit, by the leading of the Spirit, and according to His will…”

18.  2). Pray – In the Spirit  A). Be Filled with the Spirit  II). To be filled with the Spirit is to walk by the Spirit.  Galatians 5:16-18, “16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. 17 For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.” 

19.  2). Pray – In the Spirit  A). Be Filled with the Spirit  III). To be filled with the Spirit is to have the mind of the Spirit.  Romans 8:5, “5 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.”

20.  2). Pray – In the Spirit  A). Be Filled with the Spirit  III). To be filled with the Spirit is to have the mind of the Spirit.  1 Corinthians 2:14-16, “14 But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. 15 But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. 16 For who has known the mind

21.  2). Pray – In the Spirit  A). Be Filled with the Spirit  III). To be filled with the Spirit is to have the mind of the Spirit.  of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.”  “To pray in the Spirit is to pray with the mind of the Spirit from the perspective of the Spirit.” - Charles Price

22.  2). Pray – In the Spirit  A). Be Filled with the Spirit  “The writer is calling for prayer inspired, guided, and made effective through the Spirit. Those who are united in their access to the Father through the Spirit (Eph. 2:18), who are built into God’s dwelling place in the Spirit (Eph. 2:22), and who are being filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18) can and should pray constantly in and through the Spirit.” - Andrew T. Lincoln

23.  2). Pray – In the Spirit  A). Be Filled with the Spirit  Just as the Spirit anoints the Word and makes it more powerful and effective, so does the Spirit anoint prayer and make it powerful and effective.  James 5:16, “The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.”

24.  2). Pray – In the Spirit  B). Be Baptized in the Spirit  Acts 2:1-4.“When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.”

25.  2). Pray – In the Spirit  B). Be Baptized in the Spirit  When we are baptized in the Spirit, we receive a prayer language, whereby we can come before the Father and pray in the Spirit, and know that we are praying the perfect will and purpose of God the Father.  1 Cor. 14:13-14, “13 Therefore let one who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret. 14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful.”

26.  2). Pray – In the Spirit  B). Be Baptized in the Spirit  Romans 8:26-27, “26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.”

27.  2). Pray – In the Spirit  B). Be Baptized in the Spirit  Jude 1:20, “But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit…”

28.  2). Pray – In the Spirit  B). Be Baptized in the Spirit  When we pray in the Spirit, we pray aligned to the Word of God.  John 16:13-14, “13 But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.” 

29.  2). Pray – In the Spirit  B). Be Baptized in the Spirit  When we pray in the Spirit, we pray aligned to the Word of God.  “There is an inseparable union between the Spirit, the Word and prayer, which indicates that the Spirit will always lead the saint to make much of the Word, and especially God’s promises in the Word....This explains the fact that the great pray-ers have always been great students of the Word.” - H. W. Frost

30.  2). Pray – In the Spirit  B). Be Baptized in the Spirit  When we pray in the Spirit, we pray aligned to the Will of God.  “Being God Himself, the Spirit knows and can interpret God’s will to us. Indeed, this is one of the very reasons why He has been given to the Church. “He intercedes for the saints ac- cording to the will of God” (Rom. 8:27). We can therefore count on Him to enable us to pray in harmony with the will of God.” - Oswald Sanders

31. Pt. 7, “Praying in the Spirit”