… on all occasions
Summary: Praying in the Spirit might be okay when we are at home in a quiet room or garden, but how do we pray that way when we are on the run?
Paul tells us to “pray in the Spirit on all occasions.” We have to assume, since it is Paul telling us to do this, that praying on all occasions is a good idea. But how do we “pray in the Spirit” at all times? After all, not many of us carry a harp around with us.
Before Jesus was arrested and crucified, he promised his disciples that he would send them the Holy Spirit after he ascended to be with the Father (John 15:26). Paul has extensive personal experience with the Spirit. After meeting Jesus in person on the road to Damascus (Acts 9: 5-6), Paul was instructed by revelation from the Spirit (Ephesians 3:2-6, Galatians 1:12).
This same Spirit that instructed Paul about the true gospel of Jesus Christ lives in us. But God does not force himself on us. Even though we, through faith in Christ, have been given the Spirit, that doesn’t mean we are incapable of doing wrong. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul writes, “…do not use your freedom [in Christ] to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.” (Galatians 5: 13)
Paul continues his letter, encouraging us to keep up! He writes, “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:25)
In his letter to the church at Rome, Paul becomes more specific. He says, “You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.” (Romans 8:9)
Those are pretty strong words!
What we do matters. We have to choose to live according to the Spirit. If we choose to live by the Spirit, then we can pray by the Spirit. As Paul says, we can pray on “all occasions” because we are in Christ at all times.
Being a Christian is not a part-time gig. Following Christ isn’t something we dabble in occasionally to feel better about ourselves. We need to “keep in step,” as Paul says.
P.S. —
I want to close with one caveat.
We must be careful about judging what this means for anyone besides ourselves (Matthew 7:1). We know our own hearts, and so does God, but we don’t know anyone else’s heart. That is between them and their Maker. We all come to Jesus from different places and different starting points. Paul was chasing down Christians when God called him to himself. Many of us were living by worldly standards instead of God’s. He loves us all. (John 3:16)
Application: Keep our eyes on the Holy Spirit, and we will find it easier to keep in step.
Food for Thought: Our world has many more demands and distractions than the world Paul lived in. How is it possible to apply this teaching in today’s world?
I think that we do not need to have a quiet place and time to practice prayer (that is good, but not always possible throughout the day). Brother Lawrence even wrote a book about practicing the presence of God – and he wrote it a very long time ago. The idea is that God is ever present and available to us, we need to be aware of His presence and be continually praying throughout the day.
In the book of Nehemiah, we see Nehemiah regularly use what some have called “arrow prayers.” In the middle of a discussion with others, he would say, “but I prayed.” He obviously didn’t have time but to pray very quickly and briefly (e.g. Nehemiah 2; 4; Nehemiah 6: 9; Nehemiah 13: 22). He realized God was present and available and had the power that he needed – and it showed in his prayer life. So even when we are busy we can remember God and go to Him in prayer.
Rich,
I love the example of Nehemiah that you shared with us. What a great illustration of being in prayer in “all occasions.” Thank you!
I have been to restaurants where the menu was large and eclectic. It was easy to be distraced to indecision. In the end I had to ask myself “what is it you want without looking at the menu?”
When we deisre to be more like Christ, and ask the Spirit in faith to transform us to be more like Him, we are telling God that the desire of our heart is rightousness amd goodness. Then when we find ourselves in an environment where distractions are swirling around us, we know what we are looking for, and instead of just picking anything off the menu, we are eliminating things off the menu that don’t meet the standard. I see nothing wrong with simply asking the Holy Spirit “what do you think about this?” It is less of the words used and more of the humility and submission of the question in our heart.
Well said, Chris.
Asking the Holy Spirit for an opinion from God’s point of view is going to lead us in a godly direction. A godly direction, of course, leads us into God’s will for our lives. Living in God’s will is the best of all worlds.
11-11-2023, Our world has many more demands and distractions than the world Paul lived in. How is it possible to apply this teaching in today’s world?
We must understand, know, God is our eternal omnipresent, all-knowing, all-powerful, creator and sustainer of all things.
Colossians 1:17, Isaiah 66:1, Jeremiah 23:23-24, Psalm 113:4-6.
The Holy Scripture is eternally inerrant, infallible, and invincible. To live in God we must turn from the distractions of this physical world, to the reality of the spiritual realm of God, and choose to live according to His Spirit. When we choose to live by the Spirit, we become capable of praying in the Spirit. As Paul says, we can pray on “all occasions” because we are in Christ at all times.
Ephesians 6:18
Matthew 6:6 tells us, “ 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.”
When you pray,
Go into your inner room
Close your door
Pray to your Father
Our prayers are spiritual events with our Spiritual God. We go into our “Inner Room”, a place of inner privacy. We close the door to our “Inner room”, shut out the distractions of this physical world, and seek to spiritually interact with our Heavenly Father.
I believe the many demands and distractions of this world are tools of Satan designed to take believers away from our transformation from physical into spiritual children of God, and they will only succeed to the degree we allow them to have any power over us.
Choose time with God and all demands, distractions of this world, Satans domain will simply disappear, as they always have.
Matthew 6:33, Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and al these things shall be added unto you.
“Choose time with God and all demands, distractions of this world, Satans domain will simply disappear, as they always have.”
Ron,
This statement sounds counter-intuitive, and yet I know that it is true. It has to do with our focus. What are we focusing on? Whatever we choose as our focal point becomes the center of everything. Choosing God brings us into a place of calm. Staying focused on God brings us peace.
Thank you!