Q. What does it mean to pray "in the Spirit?"
A. To pray "in the Spirit" is to pray knowing God is present and active in my life.
God the Spirit is on site and constantly at work in every believer’s life. We need to pray, therefore, in dependence on Him and His work. It’s not some "spooky" trance, but it is supernatural. Wayne Grudem says, "To pray ‘in the Holy Spirit’ then, is to pray with the conscious awareness of God’s presence surrounding us and sanctifying both us and our prayers" (Systematic Theology, pg. 382).
2 comments:
Would you say then that 1 Cor. 14:15 ("I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the mind also" NASB) is not referring to two different prayer times (praying normally vs. praying in tongues), but rather two elements of the same prayer (that every prayer will involve both his spirit and his mind)?
Good question.
I hadn't considered this text when I was writing this. I was actually trying to explain what I see happening in texts like Ephesians 6:18 and Jude 20 which I don't think are about tongues, per se.
No, it does seem like Paul is making a distinction 1 Corinthians 14 between two kinds of prayer.
Thanks for asking.
-Matt
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