With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints. Eph 6:18 (NASB)
I think I’ve mentioned before that I tend to be a list person. That is the case for prayer as much as for anything else. If it’s written down, I remember to pray for it. If it’s not…well, my memory isn’t all that great.
There’s nothing wrong with a prayer list, in my opinion. The problem comes when my praying is “in the list” instead of “in the Spirit.” A list can remind me of the names and the needs, but can it lead me to pray over what is needed in this moment? Praying “in the list” sends a generic prayer up to heaven for an overall need. Praying “in the Spirit” means I seek our Father’s face on behalf of those for whom I am praying, hungering for Him to provide their needs and bring them comfort today.
Praying in the Spirit doesn’t mean going nuts. Sometimes it means an uncanny understanding of a situation and how to pray. Most of the time, though, it just means that I seek God’s heart for them. His love. His passion. His power. His peace. When I am praying in the Spirit, that peace and joy wash over me for those I am praying over, and I able to pray for them more deeply.
Even as I type, my mind is recalling that peace and joy that comes from praying in this manner. But, that memory also breaks my heart as I realize how rarely I pray that way. I more frequently pray “in the list.” After all, I have to get through the list, don’t I? I have to lift them all up!
My challenge is to balance the two. To be guided by the reminders of the list, but to not resist coming in vulnerability and hunger before the throne that my heart may lift these needs up in the Spirit as well. It takes more time. It takes more energy. It takes true communication with my Savior. All things that my selfishness sometimes bucks against. May my hunger to be a true prayer warrior overcome all of that, allowing me to truly pray “in the Spirit.”
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