How to Walk by the Spirit (Part Two)

If an army wants to be effective, they need a good communication network. Every army patrol has its radio man. Even in ordinary life communication is essential. Just look at the social networks, the teenagers with their texting and the use of telephones and e-mail. People stay in touch all the time.

In order for us to know what the Lord wants of us, we need to stay in touch with Him all the time. “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:16-22).” How do we pray without ceasing?

When I wake up I say good morning to the Lord and then I chat with Him all day long – not non-stop, but like we do with each other; intermittently. For those who can believe it, we have the gift of praying in tongues once we’ve received the Holy Spirit. It was like that with the apostles and so it is with us. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. So I pray a lot in tongues (also called praying in the Spirit) and as I pray in tongues, thoughts of people and issues that need prayer occur in my mind. I then mention to the Lord that I pray for them and continue in tongues. When I promise I’ll pray for somebody, I tell the Lord that whenever I pray in tongues, I pray for them. When I’m involved with mechanical jobs that doesn’t demand mind activity, my prayers intensify – real inward groaning. It’s the Holy Spirit that leads my prayers then.

“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God (Romans 8:26, 27).”

Our real inner room is our spirit and we can enter into in it in intense prayer whenever we want to. It is when we commune with the Lord like this that He speaks with us about deep issues, giving us instructions and leading us according to His will. Dear reader, there is so much more we can have in Christ than a religious live, we just need to seek it (Matthew 6:33). “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working (James 5:16).”

As you read this you may think this is extreme. Does the Lord really expect this of me? Aren’t I saved by grace and just need to live in His love by worshiping Him and be grateful? If we don’t need to live like this, why was it written in the Bible then? These are commands that need to be obeyed as we’ll see in our third session on this topic, which will not be tomorrow but in the next posting. See our note about the next two weeks.

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