Chapter 4 Perfect Prayers

CHAPTER 4

PERFECT PRAYERS

Spiritual weakness and insecurity often plague those who stand before the throne of God alone. Human frailty becomes distinctly apparent in the light of His eternal presence and power. Words seem superfluous, thoughts meaningless, and even the sound of one’s own voice is but a whisper compared to the One who spoke the universe into existence. We often experience petitionary insignificance, spiritual unworthiness, and perfidy when we consider ourself before the Almighty. For one who prays in the Spirit, however, no such spiritual inadequacies exist. The prayers of the Holy Spirit are perspicuous utterances of perfection; such is His nature and character as the Holy Spirit of God.

AUTHORIZED

The Holy Spirit joins with us as we pray to authorize our petitions. The dictionary defines authorized as: “to approve by official confirmation.” Romans 8:26-27 identifies the Holy Spirit as the One who “makes intercession.” It is He who stands in the official capacity as God the Holy Spirit to parallel our prayers with His perfect nature.

Occasionally when attempting to secure a substantial loan, or large purchase, a co-signer is required. Such is the functionary nature of the Holy Spirit when we petition our Heavenly Father. He is the “Paraklete,” the (One called along side), who parallels our prayers to secure an answer of our Heavenly Father. Such authorization is represented in perfection and holiness as He authorizes our petitions before the Lord.

AGREEMENT

From our text, we discover two references to “maketh intercession.” The first, in verse (26,) refers to the making, or creating, of intercessory prayers in our behalf. The Greek term rendered “maketh intercession” in verse (26) is only used this one time in the New Testament.

The other usage of “maketh intercession” is in verse (27) of our text. “And God that searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” The Greek term in this case is found five times throughout the New Testament and is [can be] translated as (to confer). Thus we discover the Holy Spirit “confers” with God according to His, God’s, will. This can only be considered an act of perfect agreement. Humanly speaking, it is impossible to be totally familiar with every aspect of God’s perfect will for our lives. The Holy Spirit, on the other hand, is perpetually sentient of God’s perfect will for our lives, thus He prays in agreement with the Father. We need only therefore be confident as we pray; we have the knowledge that the Holy Spirit agrees with the Heavenly Father in perfection as He “makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”

ILLUSTRATION

A child has been diagnosed to have leukemia. Family and friends join together in prayer to petition God for a miracle. What if, in fact, the child does not have leukemia but rather some rare blood disease yet undiscovered by medical science? Could God answer the request of those in prayer who were asking that the child be delivered [healed] of leukemia when, in fact, that was not the case? The question is not: “Could God?” As God, He knows no limitation. The question rather should be: “Would He?” As God, he is not obligated to hear or answer any prayer offered outside of His will: “And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing according to His will, He hears us” (I John 5:14). He is, on the other hand, more than willing to give us the petitions that we desire of Him (I John 5:15). How should we pray, therefore, if we are simply unsure of what, or how, we should pray? The only option would be to pray in the Spirit. When we rely upon the partnership of the Holy Spirit in prayer, He will offer perfect prayers of agreement according to the will of God. The perfect nature and prayers of the Holy Spirit harmonize with the perfect will of God and thus a perfect spiritual union can always be maintained while praying in the Spirit. If we are willing to exercise our faith by praying in the Spirit, He will “make intercession” – confer – with God; and accomplish God’s perfect will in our behalf each and every time we make petition of Him.

The question is often raised, “Can’t God figure it out on His own?” As sovereign Lord, and omniscient God, He knows all things and God has sent the Holy Spirit to be our Intercessor; the Paraklete…called along side, to make intercession for the saints according to the will of God. God’s will is for us to agree with the Holy Spirit in prayer for God’s will to be accomplished.

Some confess, “But I mean well!” Again, God is not obligated to answer prayers based on how well meaning we may be when we pray. He answers prayer, however, based upon His perfect will. If we are unwilling to allow the Holy Spirit to parallel our prayers, as one who confers with God in our behalf, we should not be surprised when answers are not forth coming. We need, therefore, to learn to pray in the Spirit. Such prayer is harmony with God’s will. As He, the Spirit of God, intercedes in the spiritual realm, we pray in the natural realm. We are aware of such intercessory activities when we pray in tongues – divided languages.
ACCURACY

Many of our prayers, perhaps most, are never answered because we have prayed in error. Somehow we loose sight of our Heavenly Father’s holiness and simply have concluded that He will overlook anything done unawares. We know, for example, that one cannot be born again by works, church membership, water baptism, or by simply claiming to be a Christian. One is only born again by confessing Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. We willingly admit no variance in such doctrine but radically change our views when it comes to our own personal relationship with God through prayer. We suddenly claim no personal responsibility in our actions or attitude based upon ignorance when we pray. “Well, God knows what I mean,” becomes a common escape when we are simply not willing to abide by His Word.

We are required by Scripture to be just as accurate when we petition God as we were when we received [confessed] Him as Lord. Everyone faces inadequacy in prayer: “for we know not what we should pray for as we ought.” If spiritual accuracy is required by God when we pray, we have no choice but to depend on the ministry of the Holy Spirit when we pray.

ACCURACY DEFINED

The dictionary defines accuracy as: “to conform exactly to truth or a standard. as Believers, the standard is the will of God. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is to “make intercession” and to do so (according to the will [standard] of God).

We often experience frustration when we pray because the answer has not conformed to our desire. Yet we have the promise: “and we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him” (I John 5:15). The conflict lies with our will verses God’s. God may indeed withhold an answer if it does not conform to His perfect will. Faith, therefore, becomes the variable. Are we willing to trust God? If so, then we must learn to wait on God for the fullness of His perfect will. Praying with supernatural accuracy is only possible through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. He has promised to Do so “according to the will of God” and in perfect agreement with God’s perfect design for the lives of His people. Praying in the Holy Spirit is the only Scriptural way of assuring we are praying “will of God” prayers. Learning to trust God for His perfect will thus becomes the topic of our next chapter.

BAPTISM OF THE SPIRIT

As a Baptist, I disagreed strongly with those that used the phrase “baptism of the Spirit” to refer to the Spirit filled life. I often preached firmly against such doctrine as I ministered in various
Baptist churches. It was only after being filled with the Spirit in early August 1982 that I began to realize my teaching was unscriptural.

The Apostle Peter returned to Jerusalem in Acts 11 and was approached by the Jerusalem leadership as to why he had ministered to Gentiles. Peter explained the vision he had been given by God and the leading of the Holy Spirit to go and minister the Word to a gentile household. Cornelius and his entire household had been led to Christ through the preaching of Peter. According to Peter’s own testimony, they likewise received the “baptism of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 11:16). Our Lord also instructed His disciples to remain in Jerusalem after His ascension until they received the “baptism of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:5). Thus the term “baptism of the Spirit” or, “baptism of the Holy Ghost” is Scriptural in reference to the filling of the Spirit.

From our Biblical examination of tongues in Chapter 3 of this book, it should be clear that the baptism of the Spirit, or the experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit with evidence of tongues, is for today’s Church. As we have seen, one receives the Holy Spirit at the moment of regeneration (Eph. 1:13), but being “sealed” with the Holy Spirit is different than being “filled with the Holy Spirit. How do we know there is a difference? “You shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you” (Acts 1:8).

Even as a Baptist preacher, there came a time in my life that I realized I was powerless. I began to pray and claim Acts 1:8; asking the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth of the verse to my heart. I knew the evidence of such a Spirit filled life would be power. Of course, as a Baptist, I did not believe in speaking in tongues. I was convinced that the sign of tongues had passed from off the earth with the death of the last Apostle. After spending over two months praying daily on my knees and examining Scripture as I did so, I was filled with the Holy Spirit. Unusual as it may seem, however, I did not begin to pray in the Spirit – speak with tongues – until three years later. The reason? I simply did not believe. God will never give you any thing unless you first believe.

A year after being filled with the Spirit, I began to again search the Scriptures concerning answered prayer. I knew I was filled with the Spirit, and I knew the power of God was now present in my life; but something was missing. I was not receiving answers to my prayers consistently.

Returning to my knees, I began to once again examine Scripture concerning my need to receive answers to my prayers. More than a year past, until I finally began to consider the true meaning of “speaking in tongues.” As I examined and reexamined Scripture on this doctrine, I began to realize there were simply too many unanswered questions.

In early May of 1985, I began to submit myself to the leading of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. I simply confessed to the Lord I did not understand all on the subject of tongues but was unable to dismiss Paul’s statement in I Corinthians 14, “forbid not to speak with tongues,” and that when one did speak with tongues, he was speaking “mysteries to God” (I Cor. 14:2). I asked God to give me this gift of tongues and He did so. For complete details on just how this occurred in my life, refer to my booklet entitled: “When Baptist’s Speak In Tongues” The test, or evidence, of the Spirit filled life is, of course, power (Acts 1:8). The sign is tongues (Acts 2:4). Paul confessed that not all spoke with tongues but he desired that all Christians would do so (I Cor. 14:5). I found it theologically impossible and Scripturally improper to simply dismiss such Biblical teaching. With a great deal of uncertainty, and a small amount of faith, I submitted myself to the Holy Spirit and asked God to fully fill me with His Spirit and to give me the evidence of such power with the sign of tongues.

As I already mentioned, the evidence of the Spirit filled life is power. If the sign of tongues is a viable sign for today’s Church, and if I began to speak in tongues and to worship God in the Spirit accordingly; I expected my prayers to be answered consistently thereafter. In the first six months after receiving the gift of tongues, I experienced more answers to prayer than I had in all the years since I had been born again. This evidence of Holy Spirit power has continued and I have learned that God hears and answers prayer. All was made possible through the baptism of the Spirit which is available to every Christian who lives “in the last days” (Acts 2:17), and have called upon the name of the Lord to be saved (Acts 2:21).

FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT

The way one is filled with the Spirit, or receives the baptism of the Spirit, with the evidence of speaking in tongues; is the same way one is born again. Being filled with the Spirit is not adding to one’s redemption, only affording one power from God to do His will and works. If you already have the power of God in your life, – do you get your prayers answered – I would assume you are Spirit filled. If such is not the case, you can easily be filled by simply making request of God. In some cases, the laying on of hands was used when receiving the baptism of the Spirit. In other cases – Peter’s experience with the household of Cornelius – no hands were laid upon them. If you will stop at this very moment, and ask to be filled with the Holy Spirit with the evidence of the gift of tongues, you will be filled. Because of unbelief, however, many of us do not speak in tongues at the moment we are filled with the Spirit. Again, God will never give us any thing unless we first believe. If you are still in doubt, read again Chapter 3 of this book and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal God’s truth to you on this doctrine. At the very moment you ask God to fill you, however, you will be filled. Expect to speak with tongues [divided languages]; you will either immediately, or soon thereafter, do so. Expect the power of God to rest upon you because you have asked to be filled with God’s Holy Spirit. As you make your request, remember that the Holy Spirit is agreeing with your request and making intercession for you according to the will of God. God’s will is for His people to be filled with His Holy Spirit. Remember that the Holy Spirit gives the utterance (Acts 2:4). As He does so, you will be “praying in the Spirit” and magnifying God.