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“By The Spirit”

Praying in the Spirit – Part 2

“But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.” (Jude 1:20–21 NIV11)

The Spirit is on our side, Rom 8.26a

  • A primary work of the Spirit is to convince us of and help us experience the love of God.
  • When you live with a sense of shame you know this is not from the Spirit. 
  • “..hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:5 NIV11). 
  • The Holy Spirit opens a channel so that God’s love may be made real to us.
  • “For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.” (Eph 2:18 NIV11)
  • In light of this truth, the difference this will make to my prayer life is……………..

The Spirit prays for us, Rom 8.26b

  • A primary work of the Spirit is to help us pray.
    • “The Spirit, however, makes our groaning his groaning, putting his prayers to the Father inside our prayers. He does so by placing within us a deep, inexpressible longing to do God’s will and see his glory….The Spirit enables us to long for the future glory of God and his will, even though we don’t know the specific thing we should pray for here and now.” Keller, Prayer, page 72
  • In light of this truth, the difference this will make to my prayer life is……………..

The Spirit moves us towards God’s will, Rom 8.27

  • A primary objective of Spirit is to get us to the will of God.
  • “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matt 6:10 NIV11). 
  • ““The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”” (Matthew 26:41 NIV11). 
  • “After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.” (Acts 4:31 NIV11).
  • “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” (Eph 6:18).
  • In light of this truth, the difference this will make to my prayer life is……………..

Summary, Luke 11.1-13

Pray with humility, vv1-4

  • Learn to pray (Lk 11.1)
  • Learn to forgive (Eph 4.32).

Pray with confidence, vv5-13

  • Confident in perseverance, Lk 18.1-8.
  • Confident in provision, 1 John 5.14

Conclusion

  • How will you adjust the way you pray as a result of tonight’s lesson about the Spirit?
  • Suggestion: Use Romans 8.26-27 as a prayer frame for a week.
  • Do you have questions about the Spirit? Send them to malcolm@malcolmcox.org.

Please add your comments on this week’s topic. We learn best when we learn in community. 

Do you have a question about teaching the Bible? Is it theological, technical, practical? Send me your questions or suggestions. Here’s the email: malcolm@malcolmcox.org.

If you’d like a copy of my free eBook on spiritual disciplines, “How God grows His people”, sign up at my website: http://www.malcolmcox.org.

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“Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.” (Psalms 100:2 NIV11)

God bless, Malcolm

PS: You might also be interested in my book: “An elephant’s swimming pool”, a devotional look at the Gospel of John