I just want to share something with you
that will help you so much in walking in the Spirit.
And that is actually a New Covenant prayer.
I call it Prayer 2.0.
What prayer is that?
It’s praying in the Spirit, praying in tongues.
Today, in the evangelical fields, they use the term
“praying in the Spirit” but many a times they mean:
“I'm praying by the leading of the Spirit.”
What does that mean?
Praying in the Spirit?
How about other prayers?
Is it saying that they're not led by the Spirit?
Obviously, when the Bible says: “praying in the Spirit”,
it must be translated and interpreted by the Bible.
And 1 Corinthians 14 says:
“For if I pray in an unknown tongue,”
there’s no escaping this. “my spirit prays.”
Notice that?
“When I pray in an unknown tongue,”
“my spirit prays.”
Which part of you prays?
“my spirit prays.”
But remember this: Praying in the Spirit is
praying in tongues.
But praying in tongues is something that was
never given to the Old Testament saints.
When they were under the law, it was something that
was never given to them.
No one prayed in tongues.
It was unique for this dispensation.
It was unique for the New Covenant.
Now, ask yourself this.
Why is this prayer, Prayer 2.0, so unique?
It only came into being, into existence on the
Day of Pentecost.
Well, it is a prayer that can only come forth from
your Spirit and it denotes that the Holy Spirit is in you.
It denotes that you are now so clean on the inside
by the blood of Jesus that the Holy Spirit
has taken residence in you.
Did you know that even for all the prophets of
the Old Testament and the righteous kings—
when the Holy Spirit came on them,
that's what happens.
The Holy Spirit comes on them and then leaves them
and comes on them to prophesy,
to cause them to prophesy and then leaves them.
Just like Jesus said in the upper room
to His disciples:
“…the Holy Spirit, who is with you,”
The word ‘with’ means
to be with you like in the Old Testament,
“shall be in you.”
“And He will be in you forever.”
How long is the Holy Spirit in you?
Forever.
Amen.
So because of that, we have this prayer language.
And friend, we are not tapping into it.
One of the ways we walk in the Spirit
and be led by the Spirit is to pray in tongues,
to pray in the Spirit.
And if you're telling me that the early church needs
all the gifts of the Spirit, whereas for us, it all petered out
when Peter petered out.
Then friend, are you saying that we are living in
better times than them?
On the contrary, we are living in worse times.
That was the church in its infancy.
And they needed the power of the Holy Spirit,
yes nonetheless.
But in the times that we are living in,
we need it even more, my friend!
We're living in the last days!
And nowhere in the Bible does it say that all the
gifts of the Spirit have ceased.
That's why in the 7th article of
the spiritual armor found in Ephesians 6,
that a believer ought to have,
it tells you that first, you have the loins
girded with truth.
Then you have the breastplate of righteousness.
You have your feet shod with the preparation of
the gospel of peace, your shoes.
Amen.
Then you have the shield of faith.
You have the helmet of salvation.
Have we counted?
1,2,3.
4.
Amen.
Helmet of salvation, 5.
And the sword of the Spirit, 6.
6th item now.
Now God never stops at 6.
6 is the number of man.
Goliath has three 6s stamped upon him.
If you study the story of Goliath and David
in the battlefield, you find that Goliath was
stamped with 666.
So God doesn't end with 6.
What is the 7th one?
The next verse tells us.
Let's go to it right now.
This is from the Young’s Literal translation.
“and the helmet of salvation receive,”—
it's the imperative mood in the Greek.
“receive and the sword of the Spirit.”
“receive the helmet, the hope of salvation”
“and receive the sword of the Spirit,”
which is the ‘rhema’ of God
In the Greek,
it is the ‘rhema’, the saying of God.
How?
“Through all prayer and supplication.”
Now, this is so good because in Verse 18, it starts with
the word ‘dia’ and ‘dia’ always means
“through the channel of, by the means of.”
Unfortunately, in other translations, in the King James,
the word ‘dia’ is not even there.
It just starts off with “praying at all times.”
But it's not praying at all times.
It doesn't start with that.
In the Greek, it starts with ‘dia’ and Young's is the only one
I see that translates that.
The New American Standard Bible (NASB) has a footnote translating that.
But here, it uses the word ‘through.’
How do you receive the helmet of salvation
to cover your head from all the mental attacks?
From depression, from all the fiery darts.
That's where it always lands.
Usually in your mind.
How do you have the hope of salvation?
As you look at the future, is your mind looking at
something dark, dreary, or are you looking at
something bright?
Amen.
The hope, the positive expectation of good is a helmet.
How do you receive that?
And how do you receive the sword?
“the helmet of the salvation receive and the”
“sword of the Spirit receive, which is the saying of God,”
The ‘rhema’ of God.
“the sword of the Spirit, which is the ‘rhema’ of God.
How?
“through all prayer and supplication praying at all times in the Spirit.”
The word ‘times’ here is the word ‘kairos.’
There are two basic words in the Greek for the word ‘times.’
One is ‘chronos’, which is where you get the
timing in your watch.
‘Chronos’, ‘chronological order’ is referring to ‘time’
in its purest sense.
Time.
But the other word ‘kairos’ is actually an opportune moment.
One Greek scholar says it like this: ‘favorable season’.
Favorable season.
So “through all prayer and supplication, praying at all times in the Spirit,”
I believe it is going to cause a favorable season to happen.
When you're praying the Spirit, you are never in a bad situation.
Even though the circumstances are dark, but when you
pray in the Spirit, there’s a favorable
opportune season around you.
Hallelujah.
So how do you receive the helmet of salvation?
How do you receive the ‘rhema’ of God, which is the
sword of the Spirit?
“through all prayer and supplication in the Spirit.”
One thing about speaking in tongues is
I'm telling you, church, it is going to bless you
if you realize this truth.
Sometimes you do not know what to pray.
Let's say the doctor has given you a bad prognosis
and maybe it has got to do with your liver.
So what you do?
You can say: “Holy Spirit, I do not know how”
“to pray as I ought. I've had hands laid on me.”
“I’ve received prayer.”
”But Holy Spirit, you know how to pray best.”
Don't forget, Romans 8 tells us: “Likewise, the Spirit”
“also helpeth our infirmities” And the word ‘infirmities’
is the same word used for the diseases that Jesus
healed in the gospels.
Amen.
So it says: “By making prayers for us.”
The Holy Spirit intercedes for us.
So you can say:
“Lord, I don't know how to pray for my heart.”
“I do not know how to pray for my blood pressure.”
“But Holy Spirit, you do.
“And Father, let your Holy Spirit in me right now,”
“pray for my heart, pray for my liver.”
You can pray for any area of your life.
And then you go like this.
(praying in tongues) Under your breath and
undertones the whole day.
And it doesn't mean you got to stop doing what you need to do.
We need to understand grace because all the
teachings on prayer— many a times,
we have this idea growing up in the church.
When I was growing up in my teenage years
in the church, the church always give the impression
that praying in tongues has got to be in one place,
one location.
Now that's great.
If you can do that, that's great.
But there are people who are working.
There are people who are busy.
There are mothers who have little mouths to feed,
homework to help them with.
And responsibilities to execute.
They are busy the whole day.
So God has designed, under grace, a prayer
that you can pray while you are busy.
Your Holy Spirit knows how to pray for His perfect healing.
Your Holy Spirit knows how to pray against this headache.
“I've been having it for a few days.”
Your Holy Spirit knows.
And then you just let loose.
(praying in tongues) It might be one day.
It might be two days.
There might be a spiritual attack even,
on the first day you are doing it.
But I’ll tell you this.
As you persevere.
It says: “Watching with all perseverance.”
As you persevere and keep on praying in the Spirit,
there's going to come a time when it's like something broke loose.
The dam is broken and the refreshing liberating waters
of God's Spirit just flows into your life.
Hallelujah.
“Lord, I don't know how to pray for my son”
“or my daughter.”
“I don't know what's troubling them but you know.”
“Holy Spirit, pray through me.”
(praying in tongues)
Are you willing to pray in undertones the whole day?
Even if more days are needed?
Until, you know the answer comes or feel a release?
Something happens while you're praying in tongues.
You know that Someone greater than you, Someone
more powerful than you, Someone who loves you
is praying for you.
When you come to a man of God and you tell him
to pray, you feel a bit assured.
But none is as therapeutic and as life-giving as
the Holy Spirit praying for you.
And while you're praying, psychologically, mentally,
you're having a peace because you know that
the One who has all power is working on it.
And you are praying perfect prayers because
you cannot circumvent your prayer with ignorant words
or with words that are not on point.
It transcends all that.
Grace transcends all that.
It is a prayer that was birthed only in the New Covenant.
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