And so, we see that to pray with the spirit is of immense value to the believer, for think about praying for a loved one for example. Even though you may know the person intimately, you cannot know everything about them, including their deep inner thoughts. But God on the other hand, does know everything about them, including their deep inner thoughts. And so, God knows exactly what needs to be changed, and just how to bring about that change in that person’s life in order for your prayer to be answered. Paul the apostle learnt this truth, which is why he emphasized praying with the spirit, for notice that Paul, in listing the two types of prayer in the earlier quoted passage, placed praying with his spirit before praying with his understanding. This is why he could confidently make the statement that he prayed with tongues more than any other believer living at that time. The reason Paul could say that, was not because he was more anointed to speak in other tongues than everyone else, but rather because he chose to pray with tongues more than anyone else. Our prayers of understanding are extremely limited, for even those who have a sound knowledge of God’s word, cannot know God’s perfect will for every situation that they bring before the Father in prayer.
Michael E.B. Maher
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