Tonight, Pastor Brad continues his mid-week bible study on Prayer.
Pastors Notes:
What are the different aspects of prayer?Petition. Meditation. Intercession. Supplication. Thanksgiving. Praise. Worship. Confession. Listening. Waiting. Praying the Word.SCRIPTURAL SUPPORT*Important scriptures which deal with the importance and purpose of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.Is. 28:11/ With stammering lips and another TONGUE will He speak to this people. 12. To whom he said, This is ...
Tonight, Pastor Brad continues his mid-week bible study on Prayer.
Pastors Notes:
What are the different aspects of prayer?
Petition. Meditation. Intercession. Supplication. Thanksgiving. Praise. Worship. Confession. Listening. Waiting. Praying the Word.
SCRIPTURAL SUPPORT
*Important scriptures which deal with the importance and purpose of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Is. 28:11/ With stammering lips and another TONGUE will He speak to this people. 12. To whom he said, This is the REST wherewith you may cause the weary to rest and this is the refreshing; yet they would not hear [some will not receive it].
Rom. 8:26/ The Spirit also helps our INFIRMITIES for we KNOW not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit itself makes INTERCESSION for us with groanings/groans which cannot be uttered/ understood. 27. And he that searches the heart knows what is the MIND of the Spirit, because he makes intercession for the saints according to the WILL of God.
Joel 2:28/ And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out of my Spirit upon ALL flesh; and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. 29. And also upon the servants and the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. He didn’t promise to pour out his Spirit only on church leadership or the apostles/it is a gift for EVERYONE.
Acts 1:8/ You shall receive POWER after that the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be WITNESSES unto me both in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth.
Matt. 5:8/ Your Father KNOWS what things you have need of before you ask Him.
John 14:16,17/ I will pray the Father and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may ABIDE with you forever...He dwells with you and shall be IN you.
John 16:7/ If I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart I will SEND Him unto you. [The outpouring of the Holy Spirit is the signal that Jesus Christ finished His earthly work, arrived in Heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God to make intercession for us.]
Acts 1:4,5/ TARRY/WAIT for the promise of the FATHER for John [the Baptist] truly baptized with water; but you shall be baptized with the HOLY GHOST not many days hence. [The baptism of the Holy Spirit is a separate work from baptism in water.]
Acts 2:4/ and they were ALL filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other TONGUES, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Acts 2:16/ Peter said, This is that which was spoken by the prophet JOEL 17. It shall come to pass in the last days saith God, I will pour out of my spirit upon ALL flesh. [reposting of Joel 2:28 prophecy]
Acts 2:38/ Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the GIFT of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 2:39/ The PROMISE is unto YOU, and to your CHILDREN, and to all that are AFAR off, even as many as the Lord our God shall CALL.
1 Cor. 2:11,12/ no man knows the things of GOD but the Spirit of God. We have received the SPIRIT of God that we may KNOW what has been freely given to us by God.
*Problems which hinder us from praying and receiving from God.
Conversation and communication is the key to every relationship/ including our relationship with God.
We are SELFISH by nature/ we pray the kind of prayers which God can’t answer.We often lack the UNDERSTANDING of God’s WORD to pray effectively. We pray our WILL versus God’s WILL.
We are INDEPENDENT and IMPULSIVE.We look to God as our last RESORT.We are IMPATIENT and fail to WAIT on God.We have LIMITED insight, knowledge, revelation, and understanding. We harbor UNFORGIVENESS and BITTERNESS in our hearts.
*Paul instructs us to pray in the Spirit and to pray in our understanding. What does it mean to pray in our understanding?
Pray the FACTS as you know them.Pray according to your UNDERSTANDING AND WISDOM.. Pray the amount of your personal REVELATION of the Word. Pray what you THINK should happen.Pray what you want to happen.Pray how you think GOD should make it happen.Pray according to the TIMETABLE you want it to happen.
Why it is crucial that your prayer life includes a prayer language?
Christ [acts 1:4,5] told his followers not to go back home, but to WAIT/TARRY in Jerusalem until they RECEIVE the Baptism of the Holy Spirit
James 4:2/ you have not because you ASK not [problem with unoffered prayer].
James 4:3/ you have not because you ask AMISS that you may please your selfish lusts. [problem with unacceptable prayer]
1 Cor. 14:2/ he that prays in an UNKNOWN tongue speaks not to men but to GOD; howbeit, in the Spirit he speaks MYSTERIES [when you pray in the Spirit, you pray things which agree with God’s will and purpose for your life/but unknown to man].
1 Cor. 2:7/ we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery...even the HIDDEN wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory. [When you pray in the Spirit, you are praying God’s plan and destiny for your future/ a plan which God ordained before you were ever born.]
1 Cor. 14:4/ he that prays in an unknown tongue EDIFIES himself 1 Cor. 14:14/ If I pray in an unknown tongue, my SPIRIT prays....
Jude vs. 20/ beloved, BUILD up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the HOLY SPIRIT.
1 Cor. 14:15/ I WILL pray with the Spirit, and I WILL pray with my understanding; [praying in the Spirit is an act of your WILL in the same way in which you pray in your understanding.]
1 Cor. 14:18/ the Apostle Paul said, I speak with TONGUES more than you all.
1 Cor. 14:39/ FORBID not to speak with tongues.
Acts 19:2/ Paul asked the Ephesians, Have you received the Holy Spirit since you BELIEVED? They said, we have not heard whether there be any Holy Spirit. Vs. 6. When Paul laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came upon them and they began to SPEAK with other tongues...
*How to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit
Accept Christ as your SAVIOR and be baptized.
Desire the promise which Christ said was important for the first century followers to WAIT for.
Receive the GIFT in faith. You don’t have to continue to wait for a gift that has already been given. Once something has been given, all that remains is for you to receive and use it.
Remember...God will not VIOLATE your will. He will not force you to do anything. He will not speak for you. He will intercede through the voice we give him. If you don’t give him a sound, he won’t speak.
It is a CHOICE whether you are going to pray in the Spirit or pray with your understanding. You must decide. You control which way you pray. Paul said, I will pray with the Spirit, and I will pray with my understanding.
It is impossible to pray in the SPIRIT while you are praying in your understanding/English. You must decide which.
English is INCAPABLE of praying God’s hidden wisdom/ will for your life. If I want to pray God’s will/ I must pray in the Spirit.
When you pray in English...you are asking God to AGREE with your will. When you pray in the Spirit...you are agreeing with GOD/HIS WILL.
9.I must give God a VOICE [sound]. It is up to God to give me a LANGUAGE. God will only use what I give Him. The more I use my prayer language...the more proficient my language will become.
10.When I pray in the Spirit, I CANNOT pray wrong because my Spirit is praying/ and God knows my heart.
11.To pray in the Spirit, I must truly believe that the Holy Spirit will do what God’s word says He will do/ that He will SPEAK through the voice/ SOUND I give Him, regardless how foolish it sounds.
12. To pray in the Spirit, I have to pray in FAITH. I must give God a sound/groan for Him to use. He will not force me to speak. As I yield to His leading, He will bring clarity, distinction, dialect, and direction to my prayers.
When I pray in the Spirit, I am...
...AGREEING with what God wants for my life
...agreeing with God that HIS WILL be done in the situations involving my life, that I may not be aware of...praying God’s PLAN FOR MY FUTURE into existence for my family, future, church, ministry, nation, and friends
...doing spiritual WARFARE / praying in a language the enemy cannot interpret/ binding principalities and powers, breaking strongholds, exposing and pulling down the strategies of hell, and releasing supernatural provision and power for my situation
...releasing GOD to act on my behalf/ according to His divine wisdom/ and level of knowledge that supersedes my understanding
...inviting the Holy Spirit to accomplish His work/word/will through MY LIFE.
*Don’t over-complicate the baptism of the Holy Spirit
Realize...in the same way in which a parent understands the groans/ cries of their children, ...to learn to speak any language...you have to be willing to make a sound/ give the Holy Spirit a voice and He will give you a language.
