A Nugget from New Life Network
(by Dr. Larry Ollison)
Scripture for the Day (November 14, 2017)
What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also; I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also. (1 Corinthians 14:15)
One question that is common when there is a need for prayer is this: “How should I pray?” That is a good question, but it is also an easy one to answer. When we pray, we should always pray God’s will, which is His Word, and we should pray in the Spirit.
When Jesus was here on the earth, He said something that shows us how to pray. “For I have not spoken on My own authority: but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.” (John 12:49-50).
Jesus himself tells us here that He only said what the Father told him to say. When we pray, we need to pray the Word of God because the Word is the Father’s thoughts, words, and will about everything (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Too many Christians are out there praying for things to happen in their lives that are totally against God’s will for them.
If we want God to hear us when we pray, we must know His will. The only way to know His will is to know His Word. Only then will we know how to pray effectively.
Once a man told me that his son and daughter-in-law were having problems in their marriage. He said that they were both raised in Christian families and claimed to be Christians. They had a child and for a while, seemed to have a happy family. But then something happened and now it looked like they might get a divorce. Then he asked me this question. “How should I pray? Should I pray that they separate and each find someone that will make them happy or should I pray that they stay together?”
I told this man to get out his Bible and see what God said about it, then pray the Word. A few days later he told me that he had direction in his prayers now. He knew God’s will was not divorce.
In the same way, when we get sick, we must pray the will of God. I’ve heard well-meaning Christians pray that the sick person wouldn’t be in too much pain if they die. Don’t pray for me that way! Keep those people away from me!
Wouldn’t it be better to pray God’s Word? For instance, James 5:14 says, “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up.” Praying God’s will in faith brings life. If you don’t pray the will of God in faith, you’re wasting your time. The Bible talks about praying the will of God and the results in 1 John 5:14-15, “This is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.”
If you want to pray God’s will and can’t find it in the Word, then pray in the Spirit. “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered” (Romans 8:26).
So, it’s this way. Pray the Word or pray in the Spirit. Either way, you will be praying the will of God and He will hear you. And when God hears His will being prayed, He acts on His Word.
