Devotions - Read Online
Tuesday | 13 November 2018
When we begin to pray in the Spirit, we are joining the fire of God’s presence. We are coming to fellowship with God. At this point, we do not know what we should pray for, or how we are to offer ourselves. It is important that we recognise and accept that this is true. Otherwise, our prayer will be from the basis of self-righteousness. However, if we are poor in spirit, acknowledging that we do not know how to pray as we should, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. As we pray in tongues, we are cooperating with the Spirit as He intercedes for us according to the will of God. Rom 8:26. Through His intercession, we receive grace to surrender to God’s will in every circumstance of the day.
We recall that when Jesus was praying, ‘Not My will, but Yours, be done’, to the Father, He was strengthened with Eternal Spirit from the Holy Spirit. Heb 9:14. He then began to pray even more earnestly. This is when He began to sweat great drops of blood. Luk 22:42‑44. This sprinkling of Christ’s blood marked the removal of the self-will that governs the motivation of us all as a result of our fallen humanity. It is also the means by which His life is given to all who are in Christ, so that they are able to obey their heavenly Father.
The Holy Spirit joins us to this fellowship of prayer. Just as Jesus began to pray more earnestly when He was strengthened with Eternal Spirit, the Holy Spirit burns within us with more vehemence, enabling us to pray more earnestly in fellowship with Christ. Christ searches our heart with His eyes, bringing illumination to our understanding regarding our motives, which may be corrupted with self-righteousness and sin, and therefore, need to be put off, in Him. We also receive understanding regarding the will of God in which we are to walk. Rom 8:27.
Further Study:
Ephesians 6
Daily Proverb:
References:
Rom 8:26
In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
Heb 9:14
How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Luk 22:42-44
Saying, ‘Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.’ Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground.