What is praying in the spirit?

Beloved,

I used to wonder what is meant by praying in the Spirit. It is something I felt I need to be able to do as a Christian because the Bible exhorts us to pray at all times in the Spirit for the saints:

"With all prayer and petition pray at all times
in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the
alert with all perseverance and petition for all
the saints" (Eph 6:18 - NASB)

And the Bible further exhorts us to build our faith up by praying in the Spirit:

"But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your
most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit" (Jud 1:20 - NASB)

I heard a number of possible explanations for what it means to pray in the Spirit, for example prayer that is very emotional and intense, or praying when (or until) we have a strong sense of God's or the Spirit's presence.

But I want to know what the Bible says about it. Like one pastor once said, we got to let the Bible interpret the Bible, not use our own logic or wisdom.

So I fired up my e-Sword PC Bible and did a search on "pray" and "spirit". And I found that the phrases "pray(ing) in the spirit", "pray with the spirit" only appears in the New Testament! It does not appear in the Old Testament.

So it is something that only New Covenant believers can do. And the big difference has to be our baptism in the Holy Spirit.

One of the initial evidence of the baptism in the Holy Spirit is the ability to pray in other tongues. And as Paul clearly stated in 1 Cor 14:14, it is his spirit that is praying with he prays in tongues.

"For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays" (1Co 14:14 - NASB)

So my conclusion has to be that when we are exhorted to pray in the spirit, we do it by praying in tongues.

We should not resist speaking/praying in tongues just because our mind tells us it is illogical, silly or meaningless. Paul tells us that when we speak in a tongue, we are speaking to God!!

"For one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men
but to God; for no one understands, but in his spirit
he speaks mysteries." (1Co 14:2 - NASB)

And not only are we speaking mysteries to God, we are actually praying the WILL OF GOD for the saints!

"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." (Rom 8:26,27 - NASB)

Have you always wondered how we can "pray without ceasing" (1Th 5:17 - NASB)? I have wondered for many years! I have trouble praying just 10 mins! I run out of words to pray very quickly. Especially when I don't have a prayer list like those I get from church or mission organisations. Even then I can go through a full page in 15 mins or less.

But now I know how! By praying in tongues I can practically pray all the time because the Spirit Himself is interceding for me. I can pray quietly under my breath wherever I am and during whatever I am doing.

Does my mind need to know what the Spirit is praying through me? No need because God does... but I can easily pray for anyone and everyone I can think of even if I don't know any specific prayer requests. I can even pray for strangers I meet on the road as the Spirit leads. Sometimes when I see a person walking along the road with a heavy heart, I will pray in the Spirit for that person. In English I may begin by saying "Father, have mercy on that person..." and then I will continue in tongues because the Spirit knows how to pray for that person. I will continue to pray in tongues for that person until I sense a peace or a release of that burden in my spirit, then I can move on to pray for other things.

Now there is a life to my prayer life! There is a joy and a refreshing whenever I pray in tongues. Even when I think I am praying for someone else, I am sure the Spirit is praying for me too!

"One who speaks in a tongue edifies himself" (1Co 14:4 - NASB)

So don't resist speaking in tongues. After all, speaking in other tongues is something our Lord Jesus says all believers can do:

"These signs will accompany those who have believed:
in My name they will cast out demons, they will
speak with new tongues" (Mar 16:17 - NASB)

For His Glory!