Word Feast - Tuesday 1st Sept 2020Posted by Ravayah Assembly on Tuesday, September 1, 2020
“But have nothing to do with irreverent folklore and silly myths. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness [keeping yourself spiritually fit]. For physical training is of some value, but godliness (spiritual training) is of value in everything and in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and for the life to come.” 1 Timothy 4:7-8 AMP
Spiritual exercises are activities that we engage in different ways toward increasing our spirituality or intimacy with God. We learn to walk in the spirit by engaging them.
Spiritual exercises have more value than physical exercise in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and for the life to come. The scriptures gives us many examples of people who exercised themselves spiritually in an attempt to build intimacy with God, one of these was Daniel. Daniel 1:1-16.
Some spiritual exercises that we can practice in our lives to build intimacy with God are Godly meditation, quality time in the word and praying especially in the spirit.
Christian meditation entails a disciple practicing silence and solitude. Quitting the mind to practice spirit consciousness.
Joshua 1:8 states “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall read [and meditate on] it day and night, so that you may be careful to do [everything] in accordance with all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will be successful.” AMP
There are some meditation practices that are not scriptural and as Christians we should not be involved in them. Any meditation that removes Jesus from the Center of the art of meditation is not scriptural.
Quality time in the word involves hearing the word, reading the word of God, studying the word of God, speaking the word of God, involves praying the word of God. The word becomes a weapon when you receive inspiration from the Holy Spirit. It can be used to judge spirits, to fight spiritual warfare. It can also be used to fight temptation. Matthew 4:2-11.
Types of prayers
There are different type of prayers that we engage in by praying in the spirit or praying in our understanding.
* The prayer of faith. Example is A prayer offered in faith for some who’s sick, “And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.” James 5:15 NKJV
* The prayer of agreement. When Peter was held in prison to be killed, prayer was offered by the church continuously Acts 12:5. This is corporate prayer or prayer of agreement. The church prayed that peter would be released from prison supernaturally.
* The prayer of supplication. The prayer of making requests to God. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;” Philippians 4:6 NKJV
* The prayer of praise and thanksgiving.It is about thanking God for his doings Psalms 136:1-26. Jesus would always offer thanksgiving to God. John 11:41-42.
* The prayer of worship. Prayer that focuses on who God is and his character.
* The prayer of consecration. prayer of consecration is praying and aligning yourself with the will of God. “He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will. ” Matthew 26:39 NKJV
* The prayer of intercession. To make requests for others to God. Job prays for his friends. “And the LORD restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.” Job 42:10 NKJV
There are two ways to engage the spiritual exercise of prayer.
Praying in tongues and Praying in the understanding. They all serve different purposes and have different benefits.
Praying in your understanding involves praying in a known language that you have learnt. Praying in tongues or praying in an unknown language is praying in an unknown language not learnt but inspired by the Holy Spirit.
“What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding.” I Corinthians 14:15 NKJV
Paul lived praying in the spirit. “I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all;” I Corinthians 14:18 NKJV
The spiritual exercise of praying in an unknown tongue is useful for every believer.
“For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful.”
I Corinthians 14:14 NKJV.
If you want to engage spiritually and be effective, praying in the spirit must take preeminence in your prayer exercise . The Holy Spirit through the vehicle of praying in tongues can help you to be effective. You become spiritually quickened when you pray in tongues, your spiritual senses come alive.
Praying in the spirit is a language that you did not learn. A language that the Holy Spirit himself inspires. Praying in tongues is an act of faith because It takes faith to engage the unction of the Holy Spirit because your mind will not understand what you’re saying.
When we engage the exercise of praying in the spirit we align ourselves with the Holy Spirit and by so doing aligning ourselves with the will of God according to Romans 8:26-27 AMP.
“In the same way the Spirit [comes to us and] helps us in our weakness. We do not know what prayer to offer or how to offer it as we should, but the Spirit Himself [knows our need and at the right time] intercedes on our behalf with sighs and groanings too deep for words. And He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because the Spirit intercedes [before God] on behalf of God’s people in accordance with God’s will.”
Praying in the spirit is consistent with the will of God. All the gifts of the spirit given to believers by God is to help us. We’re engaging a world that is powered spiritually. When a believer leaves his own anointing to engage in a world where the unbeliever brings his negatively demonic powers or negative anointing on the scene he will become a victim.
Believers should not despise any gift of the Holy Spirit because it’s meant to empower us to engage supernaturally. As believers we are not ordinary people: we’ve been empowered supernaturally. Don’t try to engage God with the limitations of your understanding, the concept of salvation itself is supernatural. Everything about the Christian faith is spiritual.
The spiritual exercise of Praying in the spirit will build your faith.
“But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,” Jude 1:20 NKJV
Prayer Challenge:
Pray in the spirit for at least 20 minutes a day for a week.
