Richard Roberts
The Apostle Paul urged the Thessalonians to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). I believe Paul was talking about living constantly in an attitude or a “spirit” of prayer where we are always aware that we are in God’s presence and communication with Him.
I personally do not know of any way to pray without ceasing apart from praying in the Spirit. Toward the end of his letter to the Ephesians, Paul says that we are to put on the whole armor of God and then, once we are spiritually armed, we are to pray “always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:18).
Praying in the Spirit – or praying in tongues – is a part of every day of my life. I pray in tongues dozens of times every day…in between meetings, as I’m driving my car, as I prepare for our television programs or before services at which I have been invited to speak. I do this because I need to pray so that I might know the mind of the Lord and remain in the center of His will for my life!
You see, a part of praying in the Spirit is interpreting back to your mind. Very often as you stop praying in tongues and shift back into English – or whatever your natural language may be – the very next words that you say will be words that you otherwise might not have thought to say. They will be words that seem “inspired.” I believe the Holy Spirit is allowing you to interpret back to your mind what you have been praying in the Spirit. When you speak the interpretation back to your mind, you can receive God’s direction and guidance. You can know what it is that God wants you to do in a certain situation.
By praying in the Spirit “without ceasing,” we put ourselves into a position where we are open to hearing from the Lord at any time. We are ready in our hearts to respond to Him quickly whenever He speaks. We are in communion with Him so He can lead us and guide us.
(To learn more about this subject, call 918-495-7777 and request Richard’s booklet “A Supernatural Way to Pray.”)
