Concerning Prayer

Here’s the question put to me: What do I think of the statement -

The goal isn’t to “speak with God;” the goal is to let the Holy Spirit pray through you. (referencing Romans 8:26)

My first reaction contended with that statement. Surely, we followers of Christ have the ability to pray without “channeling” the Holy Spirit. After all, James talks about prayer in this way:

James 5:16-18 (NASB1995) The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.

I am certainly not a prayer warrior like Elijah. Prayer is a constant thing with me, but not with that sort of power.

Yet, the idea of the Holy Spirit praying through us certainly has biblical merit.

Rom 8:26 NASB1995

26 In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; 27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

Whenever Paul starts with the words “Likewise” or “Therefore” I need to back up and read the preceding lines. In this case, I was not further enlightened.

Jesus spoke a lot about prayer in Matthew.

5 “When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 6 But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. 7 “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. 8 So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

9-13 “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.’

There is a lot of information about prayer in these passages.

We see multiple guidelines from our Lord in that last bit, which we call the Lord's prayer. Firstly, acknowledge God as our Heavenly Father, which means we at least attempt to be dutiful children – otherwise, why come to our Father? Praise God for Who He is, the Lord God, Creator of all, Whose will is paramount in both Heaven and Earth. Petition for physical needs, align ourselves with God’s will and plead for protection from being tempted to stray from His path for us.

Even without assistance from the Holy Spirit, we cannot go wrong praying in this manner.

Probably the most famous instance of Jesus praying, at least in my mind, is when He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane before His crucifixion.

Matt 26:40b-41 (NASB1995) “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? 41 Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

He wanted Peter, James and John to watch and pray. Yet Jesus did not send the Holy Spirit upon his disciples until after His resurrection, as shown in Luke.

Luke 24:39 And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.

I could infer from this that prayer does not necessarily require the Holy Spirit.

The entirety of prayer is a matter for our heart!

Perhaps the heart is the issue at the forefront of this question.

Twice in my life I can recall placing my face to the floor before God with no conscious thought of how God could help me. In my anguish, I wanted the Holy Spirit to intercede for me, and He did, yet neither time in the way my earthly mind wanted my problems resolved.

Once in my life I recall being so swept up in adoration for God Almighty that I was wordless, yet my heart sang out in praise to God. That one transcendent moment will remain with me forever and I thank God for it. In that singular time, the Holy Spirit and I praised God the Almighty with one accord. How blessed a man I am!

Quite often, however, my prayer is a struggle to come to a place of prayer, not a physical place, but a spiritual location. As Psalm 100 sings “Enter His gates with Thanksgiving and into His courts with Praise.” I love that.

I always want to be in the center of God’s will. That’s my most common prayer.

Yet, there is merit to the original statement, as much as I’d like to think that I am a worthy prayer warrior. To slip into the trance of a deep, spiritually guided prayer, praising God and seeking His Face, I want the Holy Spirit praising and praying right along with me.

I’m not sure that I agree that the goal is to let the Holy Spirit pray through me. I’m not a sock puppet.

Yet, prayer with the Holy Spirit is a perfect goal, for the Spirit can align our hearts with God's heart, and that's the place we want to be when we pray.

Holy Spirit help my heart move into that place before my Lord where I can give Him praise and worship and open my life to Him entirely.

Oh, yes. The Holy Spirit can drive. I’m okay with that. I call shotgun every time.