Praying in the Spirit
I have heard people say, "I was praying in the spirit," and am wondering if this is something different than regular praying. How do you define "praying in the spirit"? Also, I have recently been approached by a friend who is suggesting that we should "pray in tongues." This is private prayer versus the public speaking in tongues and supposedly a deeper prayer language given by God. I don't get it and would appreciate your thoughts on this. Thank you.
“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.” That is the instruction we find in Ephesians 6:18. It comes right after the directive to “Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17). The Holy Spirit is vitally important in our faith. The only access to God the Father is through faith in Jesus his Son (John 14:6), but no one is able to confess faith in Jesus without the work of the Holy Spirit in the heart (1 Corinthians 12:3). To “pray in the Spirit” is to pray to God in the faith the Holy Spirit has created in the heart.
Some churches and individuals believe that praying “in the Spirit” is done by praying “in tongues.” By “tongues” they usually mean language that is unintelligible to others and, perhaps, even them. While God of course can do anything, there is nothing in Scripture that tells us to expect the gift of immediately speaking in known, intelligible languages as in Acts 2. Nor does Scripture speak of our need to communicate with God in syllables that are mysterious to others and us.
Prayer is a wonderful gift from God. It enables us to communicate with him. How much more wonderful is the communication between God and us! God communicates to us through his word; he comes to us in word and sacrament. It is through his gospel—his communication to us—that God deepens our faith.