Praying in the Holy Ghost

I believe prayer is the engine of the church. And when the church stopped the weekly prayer meeting, that's when they ran out of gas. A praying pastor will have a praying church.

A prayerless pastor will have a prayerless church. Dr. Stephen Offord used to say that the average pastor only spent ten minutes a day in prayer. If that's the sad case, what does the average church member pray? Three minutes? Five minutes? The need for corporate prayer has never been more evident than today as our churches sit powerless against the enemy of our souls in a sin-loving society.

Alan Redpath, former pastor of Moody Church in Chicago, had this to say regarding prayer. Today, the Christian church is helpless, behind the scenes and away from the public arena. We are facing powers of darkness too strong for us because somewhere in our personal lives we have forfeited our right to the Spirit's anointing, His authority and His power.

In His absence, all we can do is to substitute planning and organization, schemes and techniques. Well, Redpath made that statement in the 1960s. Well, what do you think of our prayerless, modern church today? The title of my message today, friends, is praying in the Holy Ghost for I believe our strength lies in the power of prayer.

Listen, friends. God will always raise up in Elijah, whose prayers impact a sleeping nation. The church in each generation has had individuals who live upon their knees, whose prayers reach heaven with a holy violence.

India had her praying hide. China, her Hudson Taylor. England, her Puritans.

Scotland, her Covenanters. America, her fiery E.M. Bounds. Voices which gained the attention of the throne room, startled angels and shook the gates of hell, making even the demons quake and tremble with their desperate prayers.

There is no expiration of a prayer, for a prayer once made has wings, a life and a force that reach far into the future and into eternity, all for the glory of God. As a sovereign God hears and answers the prayers of his saints on earth, he also has given us a pattern for prayer in his holy word. In the book of Jude, we read, But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost.

Here, Jude speaks a prayer in the Holy Ghost. To pray in the Holy Ghost means that you first must be anointed with the Holy Ghost, empowered by the Holy Ghost, and sensitive to the Holy Ghost. For to pray in the power of the Spirit means clear, unobstructed access to the almighty power to gain his attention and attain answers to our petitions.

For praying in the Holy Ghost moves mountains into the sea, shakes cities off their foundations, and rattles the gates of hell. One who is praying in the Holy Ghost knows no opposition, fears no evil, and conquers all enemies. For praying in the Holy Ghost gives prayer its effectiveness and fervency.

As spoken by James of the prophet Elijah, that the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. For praying in the Holy Ghost energizes prayer with a heavenly influence that permeates the very atmosphere with the divine. May each of us seek a more effective prayer life as we pursue God in an intimate walk with Him.

Let us pray.