Praying in the Spirit

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VictoryinJesus

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James 5:17-18 KJV
[17] Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. [18] And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.


What is praying in the Spirit? Luke 22:41-44 [41] And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, [42] Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. [43] And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. [44] And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.


Jesus prayed in the Spirit, "not my will, but thine be done"

and also our prayer in the Spirit comes from the same heart: not my will but your will be done. In that regard do our prayers change the will of God or do our prayers (in the Spirit) align with God's will?

Some powerful prayers from His word that align with God's will.

Psalm 69:22 KJV
[22] Let their table become a snare before them: and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap.

Romans 11:7-10 KJV
[7] What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded [8] (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear unto this day. [9] And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them: [10] Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway.

Another:

2 Kings 6:18-23 KJV
[18] And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the Lord , and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. [19] And Elisha said unto them, This is not the way, neither is this the city: follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek. But he led them to Samaria. [20] And it came to pass, when they were come into Samaria, that Elisha said, Lord , open the eyes of these men , that they may see. And the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw; and, behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. [21] And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them ? shall I smite them ? [22] And he answered, Thou shalt not smite them : wouldest thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master. [23] And he prepared great provision for them: and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master.

Consider the Samaritan woman by the well:
John 4:4-10 KJV
[4] And he must needs go through Samaria. [5] Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. [6] Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour. [7] There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. [8] (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) [9] Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. [10] Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

John 16:23 KJV
[23] And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.

Romans 8:26-27 KJV
[26] Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. [27] And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.


How do we know what is the will of God?
 
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FHII

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I think that the most powerful thing we can do in prayer is saying, "not my will, but thy will be done".

The [small] problem is that when we do that, we may initially be disappointed.
 

Miss Hepburn

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Well! What a fabulous thread...Prayer! The Will of God....alright!
I will have more to say when it's not Thanksgiving day, I bet...but to ans the last question, at least...''How do we know what is the will of God?''
Simply put, but I can say way more to explain, ha...anything that is for good...
our health, wealth, success, happiness of ourselves and others!
icon_cheers.gif
 

Miss Hepburn

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I think that the most powerful thing we can do in prayer is saying, "not my will, but thy will be done".
The [small] problem is that when we do that, we may initially be disappointed.
Hmm, interesting perspective...I have had only one prayer my whole life not answered...
and that had interference, so to speak, haha...an atheist husband telling, supporting,
encouraging the belief in my friend that she was, indeed, going to die from her ALS...
thus, canceling , blocking any healing...all her faith...and any belief in her that
she indeed could be healed easily...since healing is God's Will!
(Well, alrighty, then...Be that way and believe him and not God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit
and me!) Oh well...

* Jesus being exactly the image of his Father God...healed every single person...
far or near
or in a crowd of thousands...he did nothing that was not God's Will. Just an aside...
 
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amadeus

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What is it that we want?
What is it that God's wants?
When our answer to the two questions is exactly the same then are we not in the Spirit of God with that answer?

So then are there not many questions which could and/or should be and are asked by each of us and God will respond favorably?

"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." Matt 7:7-8

And then again are there not questions that need to be asked but are not?

"Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not." James 4:2

And then again do we not at times ask for things when it would been better for us to have remained silent?

"Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts." James 4:3

What did Jesus want here?

"And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." Matt 26:39

Jesus asked for something that his flesh wanted, but it was amiss. In the three times he asked for it, he caught himself each time with that little phrase:

"nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt."

The man of Jesus did not want to be tortured and killed in such a horrific way any more than any one of us would. But, the Spirit in Him knew that he was not follow the leading of his flesh for that way was the way of sin. Jesus never sinned.

When and if our will was always exactly equal to God's will, then we would never sin. This is where God can help us to grow in prayer so as to move toward always being in His will, which is to always be in His Spirit.


"Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." James 5:16
 

VictoryinJesus

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Jesus asked for something that his flesh wanted, but it was amiss. In the three times he asked for it, he caught himself each time with that little phrase:

"nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt."

Amadeus, I usually agree with you but here I have to disagree. I don't believe Jesus asked "amiss" and here is why: there are only two times the word "amiss" is used in the NT. Once in regard to our asking "amiss" to devour in our own lust. The other in stark contrast to our asking "amiss" acknowledged by the thief's confession on the cross: Luke 23:41-42 [41] And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. [42] And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.

I do not believe the thief's choice of words are random. There is no way the thief crucified along side Jesus could have known that Jesus Christ had done nothing "amiss" except that the God Himself(Spirit) revealed it to the thief; along with the revelation that Jesus Christ was indeed the messiah...King of the Jews. I do not for one second believe Jesus Christ asked for something for the flesh...

1 Peter 2:22 KJV
[22] Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:

Why Jesus prayed three times for the cup to be removed...I haven't a clue. Why three times? Why not four? Why not eight? Why three?
 

Job

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How do we know what is the will of God?

The will of God is for us to be content with what we have, forget self and to be doers of good.

Proverbs 3
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.

7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the Lord and depart from evil.
8 It will be health to your flesh,
And strength to your bones.



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amadeus

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Amadeus, I usually agree with you but here I have to disagree. I don't believe Jesus asked "amiss" and here is why: there are only two times the word "amiss" is used in the NT. Once in regard to our asking "amiss" to devour in our own lust. The other in stark contrast to our asking "amiss" acknowledged by the thief's confession on the cross: Luke 23:41-42 [41] And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. [42] And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.

I do not believe the thief's choice of words are random. There is no way the thief crucified along side Jesus could have known that Jesus Christ had done nothing "amiss" except that the God Himself(Spirit) revealed it to the thief; along with the revelation that Jesus Christ was indeed the messiah...King of the Jews. I do not for one second believe Jesus Christ asked for something for the flesh...

1 Peter 2:22 KJV
[22] Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:

Why Jesus prayed three times for the cup to be removed...I haven't a clue. Why three times? Why not four? Why not eight? Why three?

Jesus was tempted as a man. Because he was the Word of God he had the answer to every temptation. [So do we with Holy Ghost and the Word in us.]

I do not believe that he sinned by asking for relief from what he already knew were the contents of the cup: suffering of extreme pain and death.
He did not sin by asking that the cup be removed. If he had insisted or he would have chosen to do so [could he?] there may have been a different conclusion. Could he have chosen differently?

The flesh of Jesus was as our flesh. For a single time any one of us in our flesh might have been tempted but moved on without sin. But when the man of flesh is assaulted repeatedly with the same temptation, it may not be so easy to keep saying, No.

In this case it was not to keep Jesus from sinning that he prayed, but to keep him from the suffering. The sacrifice of Jesus was important to mankind and it was important to God. There was not, I believe, anyone who would or could have qualified to be that sacrifice. Jesus was it. The Father knew it and Jesus knew it. His flesh rebelled, but the Spirit in him overcame that rebellion.

Probably one time would have been enough, but in God's plan three prayers and three yieldings of himself to the Father's will were required. I also don't know why it was three rather than some other number. Perhaps God in His time will reveal that to us.
 
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