1 Corinthians 14:2 “For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries.”
In the above quoted passage of scripture the apostle Paul confirms the truth to us that when we pray in tongues that our spirits are speaking directly to God, and that it is only God and the spirit of the believer that understand what is being prayed at the time. So why is it so important for our spirits to be able to pray directly to God in their own language?
Romans 8:26-27 “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. (27) Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”
In the above quoted passage of scripture the apostle Paul answers the question as to why it is important for our spirits to have their own supernatural language i.e. tongues. In this passage Paul teaches us that we do not know what to pray for as we ought. In other words because our understanding is extremely limited about any given situation, we cannot come close to praying as effectively as we should. Because the Holy Spirit resides in our spirits however, our spirits have a unique advantage in the area of prayer. In this passage Paul teaches us that because the Holy Spirit knows exactly how to pray in every situation, He imparts that information to our spirits, thus enabling our spirits to pray God’s perfect will for the situation in other tongues.
Luke 22:31-32 “And the Lord said, "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. (32) But I have prayed for you; that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”
The above quoted passage of scripture is a very illustrative example of just how ineffectual our prayers of understanding can be, and why we so desperately need to be able to pray with our spirits. In this passage the Lord Jesus gave us a small glimpse of His prayer life when He walked in the flesh. And so we see in this account that God had revealed to Jesus before the time, what Satan was planning to do in Peter’s life, and how Jesus had prayed for Peter to counter Satan’s plans. Clearly no saints walk in the same level of fellowship with the Father that Jesus did. And so subsequently we don’t hear God telling us what Satan is planning to do in the lives of our fellow saints. And even if we did by some miracle manage to hear God’s voice on any given situation, we wouldn’t have the spiritual insight to pray as effectively for the situation as Jesus did. And so it is only by praying in the spirit that we can overcome the weakness of our extremely limited understanding, and thus pray as effectively as Jesus prayed.
1 Corinthians 14:18-19 “I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all; (19) yet in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, that I may teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue.”
The apostle Paul clearly understood the importance of praying with his spirit, for in the above quoted passage of scripture he thanked God that he prayed in tongues more than anyone else. In other words Paul recognised the limitation of praying with his understanding, and thus relied far more heavily on praying with his spirit. In this passage Paul tells us that in a church gathering that he would rather speak five words with his understanding than ten thousand words in a tongue. The reason Paul said that, was so that others would be blessed because they could understand what he was saying. However, Paul is implying in this passage that outside of church i.e. in his prayer closet, that Paul reversed the order. In other words he rather prayed ten thousand words with his spirit than five words with his understanding, and the reason is simply because Paul understood the principle of his spirit being able to pray far more effectively than he could ever pray with his understanding.
1 Corinthians 14:4 “He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church.”
Besides praying God’s perfect will for various aspects of our Christian walk, praying in the spirit has other benefits as well. In the above quoted passage of scripture the apostle Paul teaches us that when we pray in the spirit that our spirits are edified. In other words our spirits become stronger. Remember that scripture teaches us that Jesus, when He was growing up, became strong in spirit (Luke 2:40). And so if our Lord Jesus had to become strong in spirit, how much more do we need to become strong in spirit?
Romans 8:14-16 “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. … (16) The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”
As revealed to us in the above quoted passage of scripture, the saints under the new covenant are led by the Spirit of God, as He bears witness with our spirits as to what God’s will is for our lives. And so another facet of praying in the spirit is that when we pray in other tongues our spirits are praying God’s perfect will for our lives. It is in that environment that our spirits are able to communicate thoughts to our minds that we can understand, and in that manner we are able to be led by the spirit of God (Romans 2:15).
1 Corinthians 14:16-17 “Otherwise, if you bless with the spirit, how will he who occupies the place of the uninformed say "Amen" at your giving of thanks, since he does not understand what you say? (17) For you indeed give thanks well, but the other is not edified.”
The Holy Spirit also teaches us in the above quoted passages of scripture that when we pray in the spirit, that we bless the Lord and that we also give Him thanks.
Michael E.B. Maher
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