Lesson 2 - Praying In The Will Of God

 

Adapted by Ruth Mahoney Swaim

I open this second teaching with the question. If we are to pray in the will of God to get answers from God, how do we know the will of God?

All our lives we struggle off and on in our prayer life with not knowing how or what to pray in certain situations. We know what WE want, but do we know what GOD wants? Often what we want might turn out to be non productive or selfish and will not ultimately be to our profit or the other persons good. Since we don’t know the end from the beginning we may often address the immediate need when what is necessary in prayer may be a much deeper work for the long haul. So, we are left with the dilemma of wondering how to pray.

"Likewise, the Spirit also helps our infirmities (compensates for our

deficiencies or inadequacies) for we know not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit itself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searches the hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because he makesintercession for the saints according to the will of God." Rom 8:26, 27

A. We don’t know how to pray.

" …ye have not because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because you

ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts." James 4:2b, 3

Paraphrase. You don’t ask, and when you do, you ask with wrong motives.

God doesn’t want you ignorant or without understanding

"Concerning spiritual gifts brethren, I would not have you ignorant."   
1 Corinthians 12:1
 

"Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is
of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
Which thing also we speak not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit, for they are foolishness to him."  1Corinthians 2:12-14

"Brethren, be not children in understanding; howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men."   1Corinthians 14:20
 

"For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all

wisdom and spiritual understanding; that ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God…." Colossians: 1:9, 10

B. God gives gifts to men

"Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, in order that you may prophesy. For he who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one

understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit." 1Corinthians 14:1,2

We’ve just seen in the scriptures that we don’t have the understanding. If God doesn’t want us to be like that, then he must have a way for us not to be like that. If Jesus talked about doing and knowing the will of the Father, then there must be a way to know the Father’s will. He provided this way by sending the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit gives gifts to men.

The gifts which the Holy Spirit gives are as follows: 1Corinthians 12:5-11       & 14:31

Three gifts of Speaking

Tongues (languages)

Interpretation of Tongues

Prophecy

Three gifts of Knowing

Word of Knowledge

Word of Wisdom

Discerning of Spirits

Three Gifts of Doing

Gifts of Healings

Working of Miracles

Faith

The three beginning gifts of the Holy spirit are the open door and must be used and exercised continually in order to move into all the other gifts.

In this teaching on prayer we will be emphasizing only the first two gifts, the gifts of speaking. The gift of Prophecy, which will be discussed in a later teaching, is mentioned but not stressed in this particular lesson.

Tongues:
"I want you ALL to speak with tongues (in order that) you may prophesy.”  
1Corinthians 14:5
       

The inference is that this is the stepping stone into the other gifts.

Interpretation of Tongues:
“Therefore, he who speaks in an unknown tongue should pray that he may interpret.”   1Corinthians 14:13-19; 14:5
 

Very few people that I know ever pray for the interpretation simply because they have not been taught to pray for it.

 “The manifestation of the Spirit is given to EVERY man to profit withal.”  
1Corinthians 12:7        

To each is given the manifestation of the spirit for the common good. You should ALL be interpreting if you speak in tongues.

Prophesy:
“For you can ALL prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged." 1Corinthians 14:31
“So, my brethren, earnestly desire to prophesy…” vs 39

Question: Why prophesy?

Answer: So that all may learn.

Learn what? Learn to prophesy, and when you learn to prophesy, you are encouraged,built up, and your faith is increased.

C. Praying is the first commandment of a spirit-filled life

 "Let everyone that speaketh in an unknown tongue, PRAY thathe may interpret." 1Corinthians 14:13-15
 

Paul starts with a thesis and follows with logic or rationale.

"For if I pray in tongues my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful."   

What is the conclusion then?

"I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also; I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also." vs. 14

Now, let’s go back to the scripture in James 4:2: “You have not because you ask not and when you ask, you ask amiss, to spend it on your own passions.”

James is saying you don’t pray, then when you do, it’s not according to the will of God. You don’t have the mind of the Spirit in your praying, thus when you pray with your own mind, often it is turned inward and it becomes a shopping list.

Let’s read Romans 8:26 “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do notknow how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words.”  (or with utterance we are unable to express in our own words).

Now Paul, in the above scripture, makes it clear that the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness of not being able to know how to pray as we ought. Then Paul says in 1Corinthians 14:15,16 “What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit and I will also sing with the understanding. 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?”

We’ve just seen that Paul says he will pray with (or in) the Spirit AND with the

understanding.

Understanding what?

We’ve just ascertained in the scripture that WE don’t have the understanding. We don’t know how to pray for what we ought. Is Paul going to tell you to pray for something contrary to the will of God? Are there things there for us NOT to experience? If that’s so, why does he tell us to experience them?

Let me give you some confirming scriptures:

 “…that you might be filled with the knowledge of Him in all wisdom and

spiritual understanding.”Colossians 1:9

“Don’t be like the horse and mule who have no understanding.”Psalm 32:9

 “Brethren, do not be children in understanding…” 1Corinthians 14:20
 

 “…understand what the will of the Lord is.” Ephesians 5:17

I often picture our prayer groups as people standing with huge question marks over their heads and flies buzzing them like many of the cartoons we’ve seen.

If God doesn’t want us to be without understanding, then there must be some way that we can have understanding.

Paul’s emphasis in this passage (1Corinthians 14:13-20) is that this is NOT THE NORM. Yet, we accept ignorance as the norm. Paul says that your speaking in tongues is not a completed experience because you haven’t interpreted, AND your praying in tongues is not a completed experience because you haven’t interpreted what you’ve prayed.

D. Get Understanding

Your spirit prays but you have no understanding. God means the Gifts of the Holy Spirit to be the first steps in getting some understanding so we can know the will of God – thenwe could DO the will of God and PRAY the will of God.

This first step is elementary but DEEP. It is a necessary step to get on into depths of the spirituals, but never abandon the first steps.

 “What is it then? I will pray with the spirit and I will also pray with the understanding….” 1Corinthians 14:15

I will pray with the Spirit = Tongues

I will pray with the understanding = Interpretation

Question: Where did Paul do most of his “praying in tongues more than ye all?”

Answer: In his private devotions. This is how Paul got understanding. As he listened to the prayer of interpretation he had understanding of the will of God. He was praying all the time.

Tip: When you awake in the morning, most likely you are waking up with a chorus, a song, a verse, etc. Pay attention to this. It is God speaking and if you will make note of it, it will form a pattern in your life, give you direction for your daily walk, etc.

If you sing in the spirit in the shower, pay attention to the thoughts or words you begin to sing after you’ve sung in the spirit. It is the interpretation of what you’ve just sung.

Bombshell: “He that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaks to God.” 
1Corinthians 14:2

Why is it then that the interpretation is always to people and not to God?
Paul makes it clear that the primary thrust of tongues is toward God – a gift
to enhance your praying, your singing, your thanksgiving – to bless the Lord.

Singing in the scripture was largely to the Lord.

Blessing – David says “Bless the Lord, O my soul."

Thanksgiving – To God

In 1Corinthians 14:5 Paul makes room for interpreting to the church but the primary thrust of speaking in tongues is PRAYER.

Question: How do I know it is from God?

Answer: “Prove all things; hold fast what is good.” 1Thessalonians 5:21

E. Practice What You Preach

This is a practical application for your prayer group, your class or your family.

1. Turn to someone and hold hands but ask no questions.

2. Take at least 60 second and pray in tongues together.

3. After you’ve prayed, ask God for the interpretation - pray for the interpretation.

4. Step out in faith and begin to interpret what you’ve just prayed, then ask the

person you’ve prayed for if this had any relevance to their life, if it is meaningful
at all. If it doesn’t – just say NO.

What are you doing? You are learning. You are practicing. “You may ALL prophesy one by one that ALL may learn. What better place to learn that where people won’t ridicule, where they are also learning.

You may miss a few. The only thing you have to lose is pride. If it only works on a few that’s more than you’ve had before.

As you begin to step out in the Spirit, this will lead on into the other Gifts of the Spirit – on into the power gifts.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, I open my heart and my own spirit to you. Fill me full of Jesus and I ask for your gifts to operate in my life. I pray for strength to follow you and obey your divine ‘nudging.’ Thank you Father for Jesus and thank you Jesus for giving me the Gift of the Holy Spirit.

This Bible teaching is my adapted and edited version of the teaching of Ralph Mahoney (my brother). You may copy and use it (without charge) for free distribution.

 

Copyrighted by Ruth Swaim to protect it from commercial or other non-approved use.