The Spirit-Led Prayer!

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

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.” – Ephesians 6:10-18 NIV

Some of us may find prayers boring, especially if they are praying for what they want and God is not answering to them. Thus, we intend to forsake the spiritual activity of prayer and we tend to make what we have hoped for to come true by physical actions. Sometimes, we may be confused what to pray and what can work by our deeds, if both of faith and deeds meet together as James 2:14-26 states. I got confused with this issue. I was kept asking close people of mine to pray for my time-management but I was not managing my time practically or I was not capable of doing of everything I want each days of my life. Because of my mentor’s disciplinary words that my life have to be flowed from the Spirit and my realisation of my limitation, I have finally decided I am going with the flow of the Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).

Despite of these circumstances, prayer is probably easiest spiritual activity, especially if we have a great faith in Jesus Christ. It is two-way conversation with God, for we can talk to God and He is able to speak to us through His Spirit. However, we have to align our will to His if we are expecting God to listen (1 John 5:14-15; see also James 4:1-3). This means that we have to crucify ourselves and accept to follow His ways (Mark 8:34-38). Although if we do not know any of His ways, we do not have to worry. Apostle Paul has proclaimed that the Spirit helps in our weaknesses and is interceding for us all the time (Romans 8:26-27). Thus, we do not have to use right and professional words as well. Matthew has declared that God listens to us and knows our prayer-thoughts, even before we ask Him (Matthew 6:5-8). Why do we need to pray, then? It is simple. Prayer builds our relationship to God (Philippians 4:4-7). When my mind was empty and I wanted not to fill my mind with anything, I started to pray. Now, I guess I know what joyfulness of prayer means as I believe prayer is about fellowshipping with God. Hence, I have decided to make it as my habit. When it comes to intercessory prayer, not only we want God’s miracles to happen toward others, but we also can learn things from prayer of others. I learnt that prayer could also be done conversationally by discussing things with other Christians. With this in mind and since I see many written prayers online, I have learned how to write prayers to others. As I was writing prayers, I began to notice that I am encouraging them as well.

Watch YouTube six series of Alpha Prayer Course (Adoration, Petition, Intercession, Perseverance, Listening, and Spiritual Warfare). Meditate on Matthew 6:9-13. Before your meditation, you should note that Jesus is not telling us a mandatory prayer but wants us to have those things in mind. Ask God to reveal what you have to work on.