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P3: Praying...in the Spirit, with Understanding, and in Agreement
From the Introduction:
In the last several years at our church, God has opened our hearts and minds to a different level of interacting with Him in prayer. We are praying in the Spirit with great power and listening for God to give us revelation . . . and He does. We’re learning to listen as a team and in every aspect of church life, as well as individually. The Spirit isn’t just moving every now and then; He’s manifesting himself to us regularly, and it has become a new normal—a thrilling new normal! These experiences are transforming our lives, our teams, and everyone at Oaks Church. It’s AMAZING, but I wonder why I didn’t see this before.
When I was eight years old, our family went to a camp meeting— yes, a camp meeting . . . in a tent. At the end of one of the services, the pastor gave his invitation: “If any of you want to experience more of God, come up and we’ll pray for you.” As people went forward, the rest of the crowd started singing a hymn.
I turned to my father and whispered, “Dad, you always pray in the Spirit, and there’s always something powerful about it. I wish I could pray like you do. Would you go down front with me and ask God to help me to pray that way?” Whenever I was upset as a little boy, my father took me in his arms and prayed in the Spirit. It meant so much to me, and I wanted what he had.
We walked forward together. At the makeshift altar, he told me, “Son, it’s a gift, and you can receive it. When He gives it, just speak it out.”
After about five minutes, words I’d never known began coming out of my mouth. It was the first time I spoke in tongues. I cried with joy, and Dad was thrilled.
When we went back to the place where we’d been sitting, Dad leaned over and said, “Now son, if you don’t use it, you’re going to lose it.” He wasn’t warning me that I’d actually lose the gift, but he was encouraging me to let my prayer language be a regular part of my walk with God.
I prayed in the Spirit for the rest of my childhood, into my twenties when I responded to God’s call to be a pastor, into my thirties when I was running hard after God, and now in my forties when God began to give me more insight about the beauty and power of this gift. During all these years, I felt connected with God and deeply encouraged when I prayed in the Spirit. But only a few years ago as I read 1 Corinthians 14, I saw something I’d never noticed before. Paul explained,
For this reason the one who speaks in a tongue should pray that they may interpret what they say. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding.
(1 Corinthians 14:13–15)
I will pray . . . with understanding. I will sing . . . with understanding. I was 40 years old, and I’d taught the Scriptures (and this passage!) many times, but I’d never noticed that Paul said the gift of tongues can be and should be accompanied with understanding. While we know that Paul’s primary purpose in writing 1 Corinthians 12-14 is to help establish godly order in the congregation, these passages also outline basic concepts of how the Spirit manifests himself, sometimes in corporate settings, sometimes in one-on-one encounters, and sometimes in private.
Before this moment, I thought tongues served to bring a general feeling of encouragement and being close to God—which, to be honest, is pretty magnificent! And I engaged the gift more when I felt burdened and wanted God to lead me, but I never assumed God would give me an interpretation of tongues as I prayed individually. As I sat with my Bible open and stared at this passage, I sensed God say, “I’d like to let you know what I’m praying through you.”
With the realization that a huge door had opened to God, I sat back and said, “This changes everything!”
I want to tell you the story of how God has led me, our team, and our church into this revelation, then we’ll look at the biblical foundation, the practical process of how we do it, and finally, how to pastor the process. I hope it changes everything for you too.
In the last several years at our church, God has opened our hearts and minds to a different level of interacting with Him in prayer. We are praying in the Spirit with great power and listening for God to give us revelation . . . and He does. We’re learning to listen as a team and in every aspect of church life, as well as individually. The Spirit isn’t just moving every now and then; He’s manifesting himself to us regularly, and it has become a new normal—a thrilling new normal! These experiences are transforming our lives, our teams, and everyone at Oaks Church. It’s AMAZING, but I wonder why I didn’t see this before.
When I was eight years old, our family went to a camp meeting— yes, a camp meeting . . . in a tent. At the end of one of the services, the pastor gave his invitation: “If any of you want to experience more of God, come up and we’ll pray for you.” As people went forward, the rest of the crowd started singing a hymn.
I turned to my father and whispered, “Dad, you always pray in the Spirit, and there’s always something powerful about it. I wish I could pray like you do. Would you go down front with me and ask God to help me to pray that way?” Whenever I was upset as a little boy, my father took me in his arms and prayed in the Spirit. It meant so much to me, and I wanted what he had.
We walked forward together. At the makeshift altar, he told me, “Son, it’s a gift, and you can receive it. When He gives it, just speak it out.”
After about five minutes, words I’d never known began coming out of my mouth. It was the first time I spoke in tongues. I cried with joy, and Dad was thrilled.
When we went back to the place where we’d been sitting, Dad leaned over and said, “Now son, if you don’t use it, you’re going to lose it.” He wasn’t warning me that I’d actually lose the gift, but he was encouraging me to let my prayer language be a regular part of my walk with God.
I prayed in the Spirit for the rest of my childhood, into my twenties when I responded to God’s call to be a pastor, into my thirties when I was running hard after God, and now in my forties when God began to give me more insight about the beauty and power of this gift. During all these years, I felt connected with God and deeply encouraged when I prayed in the Spirit. But only a few years ago as I read 1 Corinthians 14, I saw something I’d never noticed before. Paul explained,
For this reason the one who speaks in a tongue should pray that they may interpret what they say. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding.
(1 Corinthians 14:13–15)
I will pray . . . with understanding. I will sing . . . with understanding. I was 40 years old, and I’d taught the Scriptures (and this passage!) many times, but I’d never noticed that Paul said the gift of tongues can be and should be accompanied with understanding. While we know that Paul’s primary purpose in writing 1 Corinthians 12-14 is to help establish godly order in the congregation, these passages also outline basic concepts of how the Spirit manifests himself, sometimes in corporate settings, sometimes in one-on-one encounters, and sometimes in private.
Before this moment, I thought tongues served to bring a general feeling of encouragement and being close to God—which, to be honest, is pretty magnificent! And I engaged the gift more when I felt burdened and wanted God to lead me, but I never assumed God would give me an interpretation of tongues as I prayed individually. As I sat with my Bible open and stared at this passage, I sensed God say, “I’d like to let you know what I’m praying through you.”
With the realization that a huge door had opened to God, I sat back and said, “This changes everything!”
I want to tell you the story of how God has led me, our team, and our church into this revelation, then we’ll look at the biblical foundation, the practical process of how we do it, and finally, how to pastor the process. I hope it changes everything for you too.
126 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2019
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8 people want to read
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