The California Collection/TheCaliforniaCollection.cdr/his101/gt07.arj/GT07.TXT

Text File | 1989-09-24 | 15KB | 274 lines

                            CHAPTER 4

                         PERFECT PRAYERS



     Spiritual weakness and insecurity often plague those who
stand before the throne of God alone.  Human frailty becomes
distinctly apparent in the light of His eternal presence and
power.  Words seem superfluous, thoughts meaningless, and even the
sound of one's own voice is but a whisper compared to the One who
spoke the universe into existence.  We often experience
petitionary insignificance, spiritual unworthiness, and perfidy
when we consider ourself before the Almighty.  For one who prays
in the Spirit, however, no such spiritual inadequacies exist.  The
prayers of the Holy Spirit are perspicuous utterances of
perfection; such is His nature and character as the Holy Spirit of
God.

AUTHORIZED

     The Holy Spirit joins with us as we pray to authorize our
petitions.  The dictionary defines authorized as:  "to approve by
official confirmation."  Romans 8:26-27 identifies the Holy Spirit
as the One who "makes intercession."  It is He who stands in the
official capacity as God the Holy Spirit to parallel our prayers
with His perfect nature.

     Occasionally when attempting to secure a substantial loan, or
large purchase, a co-signer is required.  Such is the functionary
nature of the Holy Spirit when we petition our Heavenly Father.
He is the "Paraklete," the (One called along side), who parallels
our prayers to secure an answer of our Heavenly Father.  Such
authorization is represented in perfection and holiness as He
authorizes our petitions before the Lord.

AGREEMENT

From our text, we discover two references to "maketh
intercession."  The first, in verse (26,) refers to the making, or
creating, of intercessory prayers in our behalf.  The Greek term
rendered "maketh intercession" in verse (26) is only used this one
time in the New Testament.

     The other usage of "maketh intercession" is in verse (27) of
our text.  "And God that searches the heart, knows what is the
mind of the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit maketh
intercession for the saints according to the will of God."  The
Greek term in this case is found five times throughout the
New Testament and is [can be] translated as (to confer). Thus we
discover the Holy Spirit "confers" with God according to His,
God's, will.  This can only be considered an act of perfect
agreement.  Humanly speaking, it is impossible to be totally
familiar with every aspect of God's perfect will for our lives.
The Holy Spirit, on the other hand, is perpetually sentient of
God's perfect will for our lives, thus He prays in agreement with
the Father.  We need only therefore be confident as we pray; we
have the knowledge that the Holy Spirit agrees with the Heavenly
Father in perfection  as He "makes intercession for the saints
according to the will of God."

ILLUSTRATION

     A child has been diagnosed to have leukemia.  Family and
friends join together in prayer to petition God for a miracle.
What if, in fact, the child does not have leukemia but rather some
rare blood disease yet undiscovered by medical science?  Could God
answer the request of those in prayer who were asking that the
child be delivered [healed] of leukemia when, in fact, that was
not the case?  The question is not: "Could God?"  As God, He knows
no limitation.  The question rather should be: "Would He?"  As
God, he is not obligated to hear or answer any prayer offered
outside of His will:  "And this is the confidence that we have in
Him, that, if we ask any thing according to His will, He hears
us" (I John 5:14).  He is, on the other hand, more than willing
to give us the petitions that we desire of Him (I John 5:15).  How
should we pray, therefore, if we are simply unsure of what, or
how,  we should pray?  The only option would be to pray in the
Spirit.  When we rely upon the partnership of the Holy Spirit in
prayer, He will offer perfect prayers of agreement according to
the will of God.  The perfect nature and prayers of the
Holy Spirit harmonize with the perfect will of God and thus a
perfect spiritual union can always be maintained while praying in
the Spirit.  If we are willing to exercise our faith by praying in
the Spirit, He will "make intercession" - confer - with God; and
accomplish God's perfect will in our behalf each and every time we
make petition of Him.

     The question is often raised, "Can't God figure it out on His
own?"  As sovereign Lord, and omniscient God, He knows all things
and God has sent the Holy Spirit to be our Intercessor; the
Paraklete...called along side, to make intercession for the saints
according to the will of God.  God's will is for us to agree with
the Holy Spirit in prayer for God's will to be accomplished.

     Some confess, "But I mean well!"  Again, God is not obligated
to answer prayers based on how well meaning we may be when we
pray.  He answers prayer, however, based upon His perfect will.
If we are unwilling to allow the Holy Spirit to parallel our
prayers, as one who confers with God in our behalf, we should not
be surprised when answers are not forth coming.  We need,
therefore, to learn to pray in the Spirit.  Such prayer is harmony
with God's will.  As He, the Spirit of God, intercedes in the
spiritual realm, we pray in the natural realm.  We are aware of
such intercessory activities when we pray in tongues - divided
languages.
ACCURACY

     Many of our prayers, perhaps most, are never answered because
we have prayed in error.  Somehow we loose sight of our Heavenly
Father's holiness and simply have concluded that He will overlook
anything done unawares.  We know, for example, that one cannot be
born again by works, church membership, water baptism, or by
simply claiming to be a Christian.  One is only born again by
confessing Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.  We willingly admit
no variance in such doctrine but radically change our views when
it comes to our own personal relationship with God through prayer.
We suddenly claim no personal responsibility in our actions or
attitude based upon ignorance when we pray.  "Well, God knows what
I mean," becomes a common escape when we are simply not willing to
abide by His Word.

     We are required by Scripture to be just as accurate when we
petition God as we were when we received [confessed] Him as Lord.
Everyone faces inadequacy in prayer:  "for we know not what we
should pray for as we ought."  If spiritual accuracy is required
by God when we pray, we have no choice but to depend on the
ministry of the Holy Spirit when we pray.

ACCURACY DEFINED

     The dictionary defines accuracy as: "to conform exactly to
truth or a standard.  as Believers, the standard is the will of
God.  The ministry of the Holy Spirit is to "make intercession"
and to do so (according to the will [standard] of God).

     We often experience frustration when we pray because the
answer has not conformed to our desire.  Yet we have the promise:
"and we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him"
(I John 5:15).  The conflict lies with our will verses God's.
God may indeed withhold an answer if it does not conform to His
perfect will.  Faith, therefore, becomes the variable.  Are we
willing to trust God?  If so, then we must learn to wait on God
for the fullness of His perfect will.  Praying with supernatural
accuracy is only possible through the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
He has promised to Do so "according to the will of God" and in
perfect agreement with God's perfect design for the lives of His
people.  Praying in the Holy Spirit is the only Scriptural way of
assuring we are praying "will of God" prayers.  Learning to trust
God for His perfect will thus becomes the topic of our next
chapter.

BAPTISM OF THE SPIRIT

     As a Baptist, I disagreed strongly with those that used the
phrase "baptism of the Spirit" to refer to the Spirit filled life.
I often preached firmly against such doctrine as I ministered in
various
Baptist churches.  It was only after being filled with the Spirit
in early August 1982 that I began to realize my teaching was
unscriptural.

     The Apostle Peter returned to Jerusalem in Acts 11 and was
approached by the Jerusalem leadership as to why he had ministered
to Gentiles.  Peter explained the vision he had been given by God
and the leading of the Holy Spirit to go and minister the Word to
a gentile household.  Cornelius and his entire household had been
led to Christ through the preaching of Peter.  According to
Peter's own testimony, they likewise received the "baptism of the
Holy Spirit" (Acts 11:16).  Our Lord also instructed His
disciples to remain in Jerusalem after His ascension until they
received the "baptism of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 1:5).  Thus the
term "baptism of the Spirit" or, "baptism of the Holy Ghost" is
Scriptural in reference to the filling of the Spirit.

     From our Biblical examination of tongues in Chapter 3 of this
book, it should be clear that the baptism of the Spirit, or the
experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit with evidence of
tongues, is for today's Church.  As we have seen, one receives the
Holy Spirit at the moment of regeneration (Eph. 1:13), but being
"sealed" with the  Holy Spirit is different than being "filled
with the Holy Spirit.  How do we know there is a difference?  "You
shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you"
(Acts 1:8).

     Even as a Baptist preacher, there came a time in my life that
I realized I was powerless.  I began to pray and claim Acts 1:8;
asking the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth of the verse to my
heart.  I knew the evidence of such a Spirit filled life would be
power.  Of course, as a Baptist, I did not believe in speaking in
tongues.  I was convinced that the sign of tongues had passed from
off the earth with the death of the last Apostle.  After spending
over two months praying daily on my knees and examining Scripture
as I did so, I was filled with the Holy Spirit.  Unusual as it may
seem, however, I did not begin to pray in the Spirit - speak with
tongues - until three years later.  The reason?  I simply did not
believe.  God will never give you any thing unless you first
believe.

     A year after being filled with the Spirit, I began to again
search the Scriptures concerning answered prayer.  I knew I was
filled with the Spirit, and I knew the power of God was now
present in my life; but something was missing.  I was not
receiving answers to my prayers consistently.

     Returning to my knees, I began to once again examine
Scripture concerning my need to receive answers to my prayers.
More than a year past, until I finally began to consider the true
meaning of "speaking in tongues."  As I examined and reexamined
Scripture on this doctrine, I began to realize there were simply
too many unanswered questions.

     In early May of 1985, I began to submit myself to the leading
of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God.  I simply confessed to the
Lord I did not understand all on the subject of tongues but was
unable to dismiss Paul's statement in I Corinthians 14, "forbid
not to speak with tongues," and that when one did speak with
tongues, he was speaking "mysteries to God" (I Cor. 14:2).  I
asked God to give me this gift of tongues and He did so.  For
complete details on just how this occurred in my life, refer to my
booklet entitled: "When Baptist's Speak In Tongues"  The test, or
evidence, of the Spirit filled life is, of course, power (Acts
1:8).  The sign is tongues (Acts 2:4).  Paul confessed that not
all spoke with tongues but he desired that all Christians would do
so (I Cor. 14:5).  I found it theologically impossible and
Scripturally improper to simply dismiss such Biblical teaching.
With a great deal of uncertainty, and a small amount of faith, I
submitted myself to the Holy Spirit and asked God to fully fill me
with His Spirit and to give me the evidence of such power with the
sign of tongues.

     As I already mentioned, the evidence of the Spirit filled
life is power.  If the sign of tongues is a viable sign for
today's Church, and if I began to speak in tongues and to worship
God in the Spirit accordingly; I expected my prayers to be
answered consistently thereafter.  In the first six months after
receiving the gift of tongues, I experienced more answers to
prayer than I had in all the years since I had been born again.
This evidence of Holy Spirit power has continued and I have
learned that God hears and answers prayer.  All was made possible
through the baptism of the Spirit which is available to every
Christian who lives "in the last days" (Acts 2:17), and have
called upon the name of the Lord to be saved (Acts 2:21).

FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT

     The way one is filled with the Spirit, or receives the
baptism of the Spirit, with the evidence of speaking in tongues;
is the same way one is born again.  Being filled with the Spirit
is not adding to one's redemption, only affording one power from
God to do His will and works.  If you already have the power of
God in your life, - do you get your prayers answered - I would
assume you are Spirit filled.  If such is not the case, you can
easily be filled by simply making request of God.  In some cases,
the laying on of hands was used when receiving the baptism of the
Spirit.  In other cases - Peter's experience with the household of
Cornelius - no hands were laid upon them.  If you will stop at
this very moment, and ask to be filled with the Holy Spirit with
the evidence of the gift of tongues, you will be filled.  Because
of unbelief, however, many of us do not speak in tongues at the
moment we are filled with the Spirit.  Again, God will never give
us any thing unless we first believe.  If you are still in doubt,
read again Chapter 3 of this book and ask the Holy Spirit to
reveal God's truth to you on this doctrine.  At the very moment
you ask God to fill you, however, you will be filled.  Expect to
speak with tongues [divided languages]; you will either
immediately, or soon thereafter, do so.  Expect the power of God
to rest upon you because you have asked to be filled with God's
Holy Spirit.  As you make your request, remember that the
Holy Spirit is agreeing with your request and making intercession
for you according to the will of God.  God's will is for His
people to be filled with His Holy Spirit.  Remember that the
Holy Spirit gives the utterance (Acts 2:4).  As He does so, you
will be "praying in the Spirit" and magnifying God.