Mark 9:25-29

Mark 9:25-29 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the evil spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up. After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.”

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 6:18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.

Sometimes in our spirits, we complain that God is not answering our prayers, especially the way we want. When this spirit of complaint overtakes us, our hearts start to become cold, indifferent to God. We begin to spend less time with him in extended prayer. Yes, we will still throw a prayer his way when we feel inspired to do so, usually when people ask us to pray for them, but our prayers lack the power and earnestness to move mountains. In the above passage, Jesus tells the disciples that demons don't move if you have not spent some time with God. The demons perceive your lack of faith. Without faith, knowing who God is and believing that He changes things, demons will not budge--they will not vacate their host. Jesus is telling the disciples emphatically that there is no substitute for extended periods of prayer. Faith, courage, and power come from prayer and fasting. Today, for many reasons, that kind of prayer is often absent from our lives. Yes, most of us have a general, conscious conversation with God all day, but we don't have that sit-down, extended, earnest prayer time with him. We find ourselves living spiritually, but not really living with power and authority. But, Jesus encourages us to pray if we desire power, if we desire to see mountains move and situations change.

Paul says that we should pray continually, and he also reminds us to pray in the Spirit. When we don't know how to pray or when we are frustrated with our prayers, we should pray in the Spirit. We Christians know that the Spirit is real inside us, and we know He prays for us. He is known as the Comforter. He can inspire us to pray his will through our conscious mind, and He can also pray through us with words we don't understand, otherwise tongues. Notice in Ephesians 6:18, Paul says that he prays IN THE SPIRIT. Now how can one do that consciously unless you know the mind of God. The Holy Spirit is a spiritual enity, just as you and I are spiritual entities. No one can pray in my spirit. However, if you were in me, you could use my lips, tongue, voice to pray if I were willing, but outside of me, you can't. Paul says, we need to pray with our conscious minds, but we also need to pray in the Spirit. Otherwise, let the Spirit pray through us: take over our lips, our tongue, our voice to pray as He desires. This kind of prayer demands time with him. This kind of prayer is powerful. This kind of prayer restores our joy and drives away our complaints. When we fail to pray in the Spirit, it is as if we are carrying a giant spiritual dynamo within us but failing to plug into it and take advantage of this source of power in our lives. However, regardless of how we feel, we should always pray earnestly and often. We should try to find some time during the day when we can pray for an extended amount of time with our complete focus upon God and his perfect will. That kind of prayer refreshes the soul, moves mountains, and sets captives free.