Thursday: The Holy Spirit’s Role

Sermon: How to Pray

In this week’s lessons, we look at what prayer is and how to pray properly.

Theme: The Holy Spirit’s Role

Second, the fact that you come to God through Christ means that you can come without guilt. One of my friends says that he believes guilt is the major culprit in keeping people from praying, and I believe he is right. People do feel guilty before God. They feel ashamed and unqualified to ask anything from Him. There are good reasons for this guilt, too, but the fact that you come through Jesus Christ means that you come as one whose guilt is removed. Yes, you are a sinner; but the sin has been dealt with and so now you stand as a righteous person before God. 

The third consequence of coming through the Lord Jesus Christ is that you can come thankfully and joyfully. You do not come as a slave to a master, begging. You come as one who has already received so much from God's hands in Christ that your uppermost thought should be one of gratitude, joy, and thanksgiving. Years ago someone pointed out to me that the word “acts," A-C-T-S, can be used as an acrostic to remind us of the important elements in praying. "A" stands for "adoration." This comes first if you are really approaching God. "C" is for "confession," for once you have praised God, you will want to confess sin in those areas where you have offended him. "T" is for "thanksgiving." We thank Him for what He has done. And then finally, "S" is for "supplications." Our supplications or requests quite naturally come last, and should include requests for the needs of others, as well as for those things which we need personally.

But prayer is one thing more. It is also something done in the Holy Spirit. This is the third great principle of prayer. Ephesians 2:18 says of the Jews and Gentiles, "For through him [that is, through Jesus Christ], we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father." In other words, prayer is Trinitarian because it involves each person of the godhead. Now this verse in Ephesians reinforces the truth we have just been considering, for it says that prayer is to be made through the Lord Jesus Christ. But it is not the only idea in the verse. It also says that prayer is to be made in the Holy Spirit. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to lead you into God's presence, to point God out to you, and thus to make God real when you pray. Perhaps I can demonstrate this by the underlying meaning of the word "access." The Greek word that lies behind our English translation is prosagoge, which literally means "an introduction." In other words, the Holy Spirit introduces you to God. So the Holy Spirit makes God real to you, teaches you about Him, tells you about Him, while at the same time instructing you as to how you should pray (Rom. 8:26, 27). 

Have you ever begun to pray and felt that God was far away and unreal? If you have, one of two things may be wrong. First, it may be that sin or disobedience to God is hindering you. The Bible records David as saying, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me" (Ps. 66:18). Since that is the case, you need to confess the sin openly. But it may also be the case that other things are filling your mind, or that worries are obscuring the sense you should have of God's presence. 

Study Questions:

1. How can guilt hinder our prayers?
2. Explain each part of the ACTS acrostic.
3. What is the Holy Spirit’s role in prayer?

Application: Have you ever felt as if God was far away when you were praying? What do you think was the cause of this for you?

Key Point: You do not come as a slave to a master, begging. You come as one who has already received so much from God's hands in Christ that your uppermost thought should be one of gratitude, joy, and thanksgiving.

For Further Study: Download for free and listen to Donald Barnhouse’s message, “How to Pray.” (Discount will be applied at checkout.)