Ephesians 6:18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

The Japanese is much stronger than the English in the last part of this verse. In Japanese it reads, “Always be alert, and pray for all the saints to the limits of your endurance.” If we claim to do that, then the “limits of our endurance” must be close to zero! Paul was very much a man of action, but that certainly didn’t keep him from being a man of prayer. He followed the instructions he gave the believers in Thessalonica to “pray continually.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) The way he was able to do that is mentioned in this verse, and that is to pray in the Holy Spirit. That naturally includes praying in tongues, but it certainly isn’t limited to that. As Paul tells us in Romans 8:26, the Holy Spirit helps us pray, but that isn’t limited to words that are unintelligible to us. All of our prayers should be guided and directed by the Holy Spirit, whether they are in tongues or in our native language. It is almost impossible to overstate the importance of prayer. It’s not that God doesn’t know what we need or want; Jesus said that very clearly. (Matthew 6:8) Prayer is ultimately a mystery, but somehow in God’s plan it allows us to participate in what He is doing. Rather than forcing Him to do anything, genuine prayer gets us in line with Him. Why the Creator of the universe would allow us to participate with Him in this way is beyond the power of human intellect to figure out, but it is a privilege beyond price, and we need to value it accordingly.

I have good friends who insist that tongues are always praise to God, but this verse would certainly seem to contradict that. In the area of prayer in the Spirit that was not tongues, many times I have experienced what I would call prophetic prayer, when I or others heard God speaking through the words I was praying. That’s one reason I’m sure prayer in the Spirit isn’t limited to tongues! I have the great advantage of having been raised in a home where prayer was completely natural and expected, and on top of that I now have many years of walking by faith, but that’s no reason someone with far less background couldn’t be even more involved in prayer than I am. The key is quite simply a grasp of the love of God. When we understand just how much God loves us, we will want to talk with Him all the time! Prayer is a lifetime study, but it is a joyous one indeed.

Father, thank You for the privilege of prayer. Thank You that it is indeed possible by Your Spirit to pray continually, to live in constant communication and fellowship with You. I’m not to 100% yet, as You know better than I do, but the closer I get, the sweeter it is. Help me introduce more and more people to the joys of prayer, so that Your Name may be hallowed as Your kingdom comes through Your will being done in and through us, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!