One of the best books I have ever read on prayer was written by O. Hallesby. In that book, he highlights the role of the Holy Spirit. He calls the Spirit, “the Spirit of Prayer.”
Zechariah highlights God’s promise that He will pour out on humans the Spirit of grace and prayer.
“I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced;
“And they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn (Zechariah 12.10).
I hope you’ll take a look at today’s YouTube video. Rudy Ross has an interesting perspective on this passage as it relates to Jewish people, of which he is one.
For my article, I will focus on how the Holy Spirit assists us in prayer.
We Don’t Know How to Pray
Paul emphasized the importance of God pouring out the Holy Spirit of Prayer upon us. He acknowledged that we don’t know how to pray as we should.
Consider the great Apostle Paul admitting that he couldn’t pray effectively unless he was led, guided, and empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with groanings too deep for words.
And God, 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).
What if we began our time of prayer with these words: “Lord, I don’t know how to pray, but Your Holy Spirit does. Holy Spirit, please pray through me.” What do you think would happen?
I think that God would inform and empower our prayer. After all, He has poured out on us His Holy Spirit of prayer for that very purpose.
Prayer – Opening the Door
Many people misunderstand Jesus’ statement that “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Matthew 6.8), and believe that they should not ask about personal issues in prayer.
If God intended that to be so, He would not have followed this statement with the Lord’s Prayer. In the midst of the Lord’s Prayer, we have these words: “Give us this day our daily bread.”
“Daily bread” can be a meeting with God and His Word. “Daily bread” can also refer to our needs for life.
God has provided us with the Holy Spirit of prayer to refine and purify our petitions. By inviting the Holy Spirit to guide and shape our prayers, we can trust that our desires will be presented before God in the best way.
Hallesby uses Jesus’ message to the Church of Laodicea in Revelation as a way to highlight how prayer works when led by the Holy Spirit.
Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in and eat with you, and you with me (Revelation 3.20).
The needs that drive us to prayer are God’s way of standing at our door and knocking. Prayer is the recognition that we can’t solve our own problems and live self-sufficiently.
Prayer opens the door. The Holy Spirit gives us the direction and the power to do just that. The Lord’s promise is, that I will come in.
Jesus’s mother is a perfect example of how prayer works. They were at a wedding and the wine had run out, possibly because Jesus had brought his disciples and the wedding party had not anticipated such a large crowd.
His mother simply stated the obvious to him: She said to him, “They have no wine” (John 2.3).
She didn’t suggest to Him how to fix the problem. She just stated the need, opening the door for Jesus to come in and do His work.
By surrendering our prayers to the Lord, we invite the Spirit’s guidance. This act of surrender opens the door for the Lord to address our needs, allowing Him to resolve them in His own way.
The last phrase of Revelation 3:20 highlights one of the reasons why God has given us the Spirit of prayer. In the ancient world, eating with someone was a mark of friendship and relationship.
He wants to enter into a love relationship with us. Prayer is one of His greatest gifts to that end.
YouTube Video
Rudy Ross and I discussed this passage on YouTube today. It is on the Bob Spradling channel.
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