Prayer and The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is part of the Trinity – The GodHead. God is revealed as Father, Son & Holy Spirit.

Jesus said “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”.  Matt 28:19

“May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” 2 Corinthians 13:14

Fellowship = [Koinonia] which means 7 things: presence, sharing, company enjoyed, co-worker, intimacy, confidentiality, comradeship.

This is the relationship which God wants us to have with the Holy Spirit – It is to our disadvantage when we neglect or take the Holy Spirit for granted particularly in our prayer lives.

1.Who is & what is the role of the Holy Spirit?

In our prayer lives it is important to understand the role of the Holy Spirit and I believe the importance of being baptised in the Holy Spirit and praying in the Spirit.

a)The Holy Spirit is our Helper/Comforter.

John 14:16 “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter (Parakletos), that he may abide with you forever; “

The Holy Spirit is the friend who is always at your side to help you particularly in times of intercession and prayer.

b) The Holy Spirit is our Teacher.

John 14:26 ”But the Counsellor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”

Do you think you have a bad memory? – pray and ask the Holy Spirit to help you and remind you of scripture so that you can recall the word of God when needed in prayer.

c)  The Holy Spirit brings conviction of sin.

John 16:8” When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment:”

d)  The Holy Spirit guides us into the truth & prophecy

John 16:13 “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.”

e)  The Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus & brings revelation of Jesus

John 16:14 “He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.”

John 15:26 “When the Counsellor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me”.

Ephesians 1:17 “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.”

f) The Holy Spirit helps us to overcome temptation

Galatians 5:16 “So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17 For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want”.

g) The Holy Spirit produces fruit in us to be more like Jesus

Galatians 5:22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control”

h) The Holy Spirit blesses us with the gifts of the Spirit

A spiritual gift is a special attribute/ability given by the Holy Spirit to every Christian according to God’s grace. The scriptures tell us the various spiritual gifts which God has for the believers in Christ. 1 Corinthians Ch 12, Ephesians Ch 4, Romans Ch 12.

The gifts include: prophecy, service to others, teaching, encouragement, giving, leadership, mercy, wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, discernment, tongues, interpretation of tongues, apostle, evangelist, pastor

The gifts are for every believer in Christ. The scriptures tell us that every Christian has received at least one gift and can have more than one gift.   The gifts are given “to each one individually as He wills” So, if you are a Christian – be confident – the word says you have a spiritual gift so believe that you have one and find it. 1 Peter Ch 4 v 10. It is God’s intention that every Christian should find and exercise their gift. They are not earned, or rewards, you don’t have to be a Christian for so many years etc. before you get one – They are given by God’s grace to those who desire them with a pure heart.

1 Corinthians Ch 12 v 7 says “the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all” The gifts are given to edify others. They are for the glory of God and given so that as Christians we can mature and grow closer in our walk with God.   They should not be confused with natural talents and abilities. They are not given to us so that we can get proud or puffed up – to gloat or to be jealous of anyone’s gift. We must exercise the gifts with pure motives and with love. Paul clearly says this in 1 Corinthians Ch 13 when he talks of love.   The gifts are functional – They are there to equip God’s church.

It is such a help and a blessing to use the spiritual gifts in our private prayer time and when we pray for others – to give words of knowledge, encouragement & prophecy.

I find it helpful to use these scriptural truths about the Holy Spirit and his role to help me in times of prayer: e.g. If am praying for someone who is not saved then I can ask the Holy Spirit to bring conviction of sin, the need for salvation because of judgement and revelation of Jesus as being the only way to be reconciled to God.

If  I am,  or someone I know is struggling with temptation,  then I can pray and ask the Holy Spirit to draw alongside them to help them overcome temptation and for the fruit of self control to be produced in their lives.

If someone is grieving or in pain then for the Holy Spirit to draw alongside them to bring comfort at such times.

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth and leads us into all truth.  In times such as these when we can be led into error or deceived by false teachings, may we ask that the Holy Spirit leads us into truth and not error and keeps our feet on the right path.Prayer – Is God hearing my prayers?