Praying with the Holy Spirit

Holy Spirit, Pentecost, Evangelize, Red

Jesus was clear that without the Holy Spirit we would not be able to pray with the power we need to do the will of the Father and defeat evil.  St. Paul told us:

1 Corinthians 4:20 “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.”

Where do we get this power?  Let’s reflect on what Jesus told His disciples and us when He was ready to ascend into heaven.  He gathered the Apostles and gave last minute instructions:

Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

The Paraclete

One of the most important lessons for each of us as missionary disciples is to truly learn about the Holy Spirit.  He is our Comforter, the Paraclete or Advocate.  When we submit our will to His, He will lead us to all truth and teach us how to pray and live our lives.

John 16:13 “But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth.  He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming.”

The Holy Spirit is our teacher and guide to the light of Christ and away from the devil and evil.

John 16:7-8 “But I tell you the truth it is better for you that I go.  For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you.  But if I go, I will send him to you.  And when he does come he will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and condemnation.”

The Holy Spirit will allow us to see clearly for the first time.  We have to surrender and allow the Holy Spirit to open our eyes.

2 Corinthians 3:16-18 “But whenever a person turns to the Lord the veil is removed.  Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  All of us, gazing with unveiled face on the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

Faith that Moves Mountains

Let those words take over your heart and soul.  Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit, will transform us into mighty warriors for Christ who will guide us to all truth. The Holy Spirit will allow us to fulfill our purpose.  It is the Holy Spirit who empowers us to pray with faith that moves mountains, if only our faith is as big as a mustard seed.

Matthew 17:20 “Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move.  Nothing will be impossible for you.”

It is faith that moves mountains.  It is faith that leads to miracles and many different types of healings. Praying through the Holy Spirit changes every aspect of our lives.  We see every incredible work of God when we pray in faith and forgive those who have hurt us.

Jesus taught us that if we lack faith, when we pray, we will not be rewarded.  One of my favorite teachings on this principle comes from Matthew’s gospel:

Matthew 9:27-29 “And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed [him], crying out, ‘Son of David, have pity on us!’  When he entered the house, the blind men approached him and Jesus said to them, ‘Do you believe that I can do this?’ ‘Yes, Lord,’ they said to him.  Then he touched their eyes and said, ‘Let it be done for you according to your faith.’”

A Faith Healing

This is an extremely powerful lesson that we have to remember in our prayer lives.  When we pray in faith, everything changes.  What seemingly is impossible leads to great miracles.  Over the past forty-plus years I have seen this truth over and over become reality.

One of the faith lessons I remember so well was during one of our visits to the Holy Land.  A woman came on the trip having dislocated her shoulder only a few days before we left.  It was sad to see her struggle and in pain. She could barely lift her arm above her waist.  On the second day of the trip we were about to enter into a holy church and the Lord, through the power of the Holy Spirit, had me stop her and ask this question, “Do you believe that Jesus can heal your shoulder?”

I will never forget her answer.  She paused for a few seconds and looked deeply into my eyes and said emphatically, “I believe.”  I then said, “To the extent that you believe is the extent that you are healed.” She looked at me and her eyes widened dramatically.  She then lifted her arm and shoulder that had been separated and thrust it into the air and pumped her arm and fist over her head and said over and over again, “Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.”  With tears in both of our eyes we continued to praise God, His mercy and love for us!  Her shoulder had been completely and instantly healed!

We Must Ask

When you pray in the power of the Holy Spirit you truly see more clearly how much God loves us.  Why doesn’t this happen to all of us?  It is because we don’t ask and or we ask for the wrong reasons.

James 4:2-3 “You do not possess because you do not ask.  You ask but do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.”

We read, pray and contemplate the 11th chapter of Luke and learn an important lesson about asking for the Holy Spirit to lead us.

Luke 11:9-13 “And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

It is illogical that if we have received the Holy Spirit that we don’t depict the power of the Holy Spirit when we pray.  It is prayer that releases the power of the Holy Spirit, but we must want it and ask for it.  It is the desire that makes the difference. The hunger, the seeking and the asking makes our faith turn into reality.

Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.”

Where is the Holy Spirit?

Another favorite faith lesson occurred several years ago at the Southern California Renewal Convention.  On the Saturday of the convention, my wife Mary Anne and I prayed over about 150 children for the Holy Spirit to empower them.  On Sunday, the next day, I was walking across the arena, headed ironically to give my talk “Empowered by the Spirit,” when a mother and a seven-year-old girl tracked me down.

They were breathless and had been running to catch up to me.  The mother exclaimed, still somewhat out of breath, “Deacon, did you pray over my daughter yesterday?”  I said yes.  She then went on to tell me that her daughter was so excited she could barely sleep.  The little girl then looked up at me with excitement in her voice and on her face and she asked me, “Did I receive the Holy Spirit when I was baptized?”  I looked at her, impressed by the question, and answered her with an emphatic yes.

My brothers and sisters, she then asked me the most important question I have heard in my entire forty years of ministry.  Looking at me with great excitement, raising her eyes, she asked, “If I received the Holy Spirit at Baptism, why is He hiding?”  Wow!

We Must Want to See

Does that say it all?  We received the Holy Spirit at Baptism, and we are sealed by the Spirit at Confirmation, then why do we not see it manifested with power in our lives?

Mostly it is because we don’t want to see it.  We are afraid of what it would do to change our lives.  Other reasons are that we don’t believe we have the Spirit within us or that the Spirit can provide us the gifts and powers to build the kingdom of God.

When we ask for the release of the Holy Spirit, everything changes.  One of the most important reasons to ask for the Holy Spirit is found in John:

John 14:12 “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father.”

Please think about, reflect upon, and pray this Scripture.  Put your name in place of the word “whoever.”  When Deacon Steve believes in me, he will do the works that Jesus did and greater ones than he did.  How?  Why?  Because Jesus is the one who does the works through us when we pray in the power of the Spirit.

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11 thoughts on “Praying with the Holy Spirit”

  1. Jim. You made my day. Quite a book, quite a man. I have more from Fr. Randall. I pulled a piece of his from New Covenant mag in the early 80s. What’s you email, and I’ll send it. Mine is theofile@fairpoint.net. Veni Sancte Spiritus

  2. I thank Walt Gartner for referencing the book “No Spirit, No Church”. I ordered a copy and am half-way through it. It mirrors our experiences at St. Patrick’s Church in Owego, NY during the 70’s & 80’s. We have recently started up a small Prayer Group there and I intend to order about five more copies to distribute to our attendees.

  3. Here is AZ we may be small but the Holy Spirit is alive. There are over 20 prayer groups in the Diocese of PHX. Granted right now it’s been quiet. We are meeting on ZOOM prayer meetings, some in the home and now some churches have been opened. New people are coming and we have prayed for 4 people in the last month for the release of the Holy Spirit. There are pockets. We will have a new Pentecost, so be ready.

  4. Pingback: SVNDAY EDITION – Big Pulpit

  5. EPHESIANs 1:18-23 – “Paul’s Prayer” (v. 19 – “and how very great is His power at work in us who believe. This power working in us is the same as the mighty strength which He (Father God- “Abba”) raised Christ fromd eath and seated Him at His right side in the heavenly world.)……” – Reference: Good News Bible GNT

  6. Yes. For sure. Where would I go? In 1993, a nun introduced me to True Life in God, the mystical work being written thru Vassula Ryden. It taught me, among other things, the obedience of faith. The work is full of the Holy Spirit. Here is a message by Him: https://ww3.tlig.org/en/messages/975/.

    “come to Me without delay and I will make you rich, through your poverty; strong, through your weakness; zealous and faithful, through your wretchedness; a living Altar for Our Trinitarian Holiness, through your nothingness; come to Me in fear and trembling and I will make you a fearless warrior of your times, to join Saint Michael and his army and fight in the great battle of your times;

    – I am an unceasing prayer in you and where you lack, I fill, always accessible to the poor and the simple; come and seize Me …. come and possess Me and I will mould you into My Holiness offering you My Inestimable gifts, making you part of Us and one in Us to go and rebuild the ruins of Our Sanctuary;”

    Veni Sancte Spiritus

    Walt

  7. I’ve been very much involved in Catholic charismatic renewal since 1974 and must concur with the little girl in Deacon’s article. The renewal in the US is pretty much dead, due to the pathetic grasping onto power by so-called “pioneers” who happened to serve in leadership years ago and conveniently forgot to train the ones who were to succeed them. Because they grieved the Holy Spirit by their proud resistance and sad neglect of young would-be leaders by ignoring their obvious gifts, He is “hiding,” not nearly as powerfully present as He wishes to be in the Body of Christ. May God save the Church!

  8. Why were the Gifts-of-the-Spirit listed in 1COR12: 4-11 not referenced as sources of the POWER of praying in the Holy Spirit? These are the powerful ministering gifts of the Spirit “for the Common Good” and the most ignored by the Church.

    1. I agree that the gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12 are very important. The purpose of the article is to get everyone to say “yes” to the release of the Holy Spirit in their lives. When that happens, the Holy Spirit will give us the desire to want His fruit and gifts.

  9. Yes, the Holy Spirit is missing. The institutional Church doesn’t really want Him. Have you read No Spirit, No Church by Fr. John Randall of fond memory? https://cfpholyangels.com/no-spirit-no-church/. It’s a powerful testimony about what has happened to the Renewal, a sad testimony. We desperately need the Holy Spirit! So we pray Veni Sancte Spiritus.

    1. I often tell people to remember three important things: don’t give up, don’t give up, don’t give up! The renewal has not progressed in the way most of us desired. However, I believe we are going to have a “New Pentecost.” Wait and watch the miracles!

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