Holy Spirit-Power to Pray

Holy Spirit

Power To Pray

Romans 8:26-28

Question: Have you ever been at a loss of words?

Intro: If you know me, you are probably thinking to yourself that there are not very many times that I am at a loss of words. To be honest, I wish there were times that I could not come up with words to say; it would probably keep me out of trouble. As I have “matured” and gained “wisdom,” I have found it easier to bite my tongue and not say the first thing that pops into my head. Tim Allen once in Last Man Standing was asked by his wife Vanessa if he would not always say the first thing that pops into his head. His response was that sadly he doesn’t. If you know the show, Tim Allen’s character is known for being opinionated and sarcastic. The ability to not speak not only shows restraint, but also humility. This humility comes from learning that we may not always have the answers and we may need someone else to speak on our behalf.

Romans 8:26-28: 26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. 27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. 28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. 

Speaks For Us, 26-27:

If you are a parent you have probably experienced where one child believes that it is his or her right to speak for a sibling. Whether that spokeschild is speaking to protect himself or due to the younger sibling not being able to probably communicate for herself, this child (typically older) feels that his or her role is to speak for all parties involved. My son has a tendency to speak for his sister when we are asking her questions. We have to remind him that he is not her legal counsel therefore he does not have to speak for her.

I think it is unique that the Greek word for helps in verse 26 means to come and help. It is the same word used in Luke 10:40 to describe Martha wanting Mary to come help her prepare the meal for Jesus and the rest of the party (New Spirit-Filled Life Bible). If we look at this from the same lens, the Holy Spirit does not take our place but works with us to speak life into our prayer life. A consistent prayer life is one of the most difficult things Christians develop in their walk. We can be encouraged that we find peace in the fact that God gave us the Holy Spirit to aid us in our prayer lives. The Fire Bible Commentary states that the Holy Spirit is our intercessor here on earth.

The Holy Spirit speaks to God on our behalf and takes hold of what we want to say as well as what we don’t know what to say. The word groanings mean that we very well may not know the words to speak, but the Holy Spirit can provide us support in what to say and how to say it. This can mean the ability to pray in tongues, but also the ability to pray with wisdom, discernment, faith, and prophetic words over others. The Holy Spirit is our go-between in this world and the supernatural.

The Holy Spirit communicates to God for us. The Holy Spirit speaks when we cannot or do not know how to pray. Praying in tongues is the Holy Spirit praying to God on our behalf. Paul wrote in Corinthians that he prays in tongues frequently, but that is really only for his own benefit because man does not know what he is praying. To follow that, this means we are surrendering our prayer life over to God. Earnestly we must seek the gift of praying in tongues in our prayer closet, or our private prayer moments. This allows the power of God to be displayed in our prayer life. (Disclaimer: We will talk more about how God uses the gifts of the Holy Spirit to publicly display his supernatural intervention in the lives of others.)

Good For His Purpose, v.28: 

When was the last time that we did something not knowing the outcome? Part of coaching is putting a lot of time into scouting, practice, and game planning with no knowledge of the outcome of the game. As a coach, you may have an idea of what the outcome may be, but in the end you are relying on someone else to put the plan into action. You have to trust players to go out and compete. While you can make adjustments, they are not usually drastic from the original game plan. If you do, it is usually because you did not prepare well enough in the film room and in practice. Part of trusting in the Holy Spirit working on our behalf is trusting that he knows God’s plan (which He does because, Hello, He is God) better than we can even begin to plan for it ourselves.

First and foremost, the Holy Spirit displays God's love and God has a deep love for His creation. The Holy Spirit displays that love through connecting us to God’s plan and the work involving us. As we place trust in the Holy Spirit’s anointing, we can know that God's love draws us into a deeper understanding of His purpose. We can seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance to know that God is working in a purpose that is bigger than our own purpose. The Holy Spirit speaks comfort and peace to understand that God is working all things together for our good, who are called according to our purpose.

While we desire to fit into His plans, we must know that we must surrender ourselves into His plans. His purpose is greater than our purpose and what we want to see accomplished in our lives. The Holy Spirit will always point us towards the will of God and how we fit into that will. Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be given to you. What this means is that when we trust the Holy Spirit’s leading, we will see that God’s plan is for us to prosper.

Closing:

The Holy Spirit is more than just a spiritual benchmark, a check mark that we seek to show our “holiness in God.” The Holy Spirit is meant to be our source for prayer, our source for purpose, and our source for understanding the will of God. When we seek the anointing of the Holy Spirit over our lives, the Holy Spirit brings us into a deeper understanding of God’s plan in our lives and the lives of others. Seek the Holy Spirit’s influence over your prayer life and your purpose.

Blessings,

Nick Engleman

As always, if you have any questions about this devotional or about a life with Christ, please feel free to reach out to me by phone at 417-808-1049 or email at nengleman902@gmail.com.

 

Holy Spirit-Bigger and Better

Holy Spirit

Bigger and Better

Acts 1:4-8

Question: Have you ever been told that you could be better if you tried something new?

Growing up the first summer of baseball that I remember was the summer of 1998. For those of you who are not baseball junkies, 1998 was the year that Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa made a run at the all time home run record. It was the summer for the quest of 62. As September hit, it was evident that 62 was not only in reach, but also considered to be smashed by both sluggers. McGwire broke the record on September 8th that year and Sosa actually passed him for the lead shortly later. McGwire finished with 70 home runs and Sosa finished with 66.

On the day that McGwire broke the record, I was so excited that I asked my father if I could call Grandma Farm to see if she watched it happen. In my excitement, I dialed the wrong number. It was such a pivotal moment in my childhood. However, it was a short time later that I realized that both used performance enhancing drugs. It was devastating to my view of my childhood heroes.

What they did was only meant to enhance their already high-end God given ability. While they were good players, they wanted to be great. The Holy Spirit is our spiritual enhancement. While I am not comparing the Holy Spirit to PEDs, the Holy Spirit is God’s way to enhance our spiritual walk beyond what we are capable of on our merit. His role is to increase our ability to impact the world around us because it is no longer our own accord, but the authority and power of God living through us.

Acts 1:4-8: 4 Once when he was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. 5 John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” 6 So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?” 7 He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Waiting Game: 

Waiting may be the hardest thing for us to do in life. We live in a microwave society, and we are consistently wanting everything now. At the start of this passage we see that the disciples and other Christ followers were told to wait. Waiting is not fun. Jesus told them that there is a promise that God has for them. A word I heard from a pastor once was that you may not be receiving the Holy Spirit due to your heart position.

Jesus desired the disciples to begin to turn their attention from their own authority to the authority of God. The Holy Spirit (in this case the baptism of the Holy Spirit) is not meant to be a spiritual checkmark, a badge that we earn in our walk in Christ. We are not Boy Scouts trying to earn merit badges. The Holy Spirit’s anointing is a gift so we can benefit others and the growth of the Kingdom of God. Jesus explains that this is a gift of power. 

The Holy Spirit is something that makes us better. He is the very spirit of God living inside of us and this makes us better Christians and more able to fulfill God’s commands. The Jeremiah Study Bible states, “Any attempted work of the church is doomed to failure without the Spirit.” We cannot fulfill God’s purpose without the Holy Spirit. Without it, we will attempt to do God’s work without His anointing and power. A screwdriver can put a screw into a wall, but a drill is more efficient. Be willing to wait for the power and anointing that God has for each one of us through the provision of the Holy Spirit.

Witnesses 

Lebron James had an ad campaign with Nike declared, “We are Witnesses.” The idea of this campaign was that we are all witnessing the greatness of the king that was Lebron. This “witness” was the symbolic influence of the greatness of one individual. Nike was the voice pushing people towards the greatness of Lebron.

The Holy Spirit is the voice that is pointing people towards the greatness of God. The instrument that the Holy Spirit uses is the willingness of His disciples to commit to a Holy Spirit-led life. Like the disciples, we must be willing to wait for the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Jesus told them that His Father has a great gift in store for them. This gift is not about worldly influence but eternal influence.

As we pursue the anointing of the Holy Spirit, we must recognize that we are seeking supernatural influence for God to have a supernatural influence on humanity. The Holy Spirit is not just for us to remember the individual witness of Jesus on our own lives, but to share in the witness that Christ is great and He is who He claims to be in that He is the risen Son of God.

Rejoice in the Lord for He has done great things. We are to be witnesses to the love, attributes, and miraculous signs of Christ. The Holy Spirit is our reminder, our advocate, our authority, and our power source. Our witness is increased when we allow the anointing of God to flow through us. Part of this witness is taking the power of Jesus with you and sharing it with others so they too can witness God’s power. This means by word, by deed, and by action. Being a witness means sharing how God’s power has changed your life and that He can change the lives of others as well.

Closing

How many of you can say that you are followers of Christ, but you still try do things on your own? You try and try, but you can’t figure it out. Well, that’s not what we are called to do or be. We must wait on God and trust Him with our lives. The Holy Spirit was put in place so that we can hear God’s voice and have God’s power to change us. Don’t let yourselves and your shortcomings get in the way of how God wants to make you bigger and better.