My Prayer is Better Than Yours

I came to faith in Christ my sophomore year in college. When I think of being born again, I love the old James Cleveland song, ‘Jesus is the best thing that ever happened to me.’ Indeed, Jesus turned my life around. My life went from broken to healed. 

 As a new believer, I loved going to church, worshiping, reading the Bible, and praying. Those were some of the sweetest moments in my Christian life. I felt the desperation in my heart to know more of God and encounter his power and presence. About a year after coming to Christ, I experienced teaching that told me I was lacking. If I am honest, the teaching is never that blunt, but this is the crux of the message. 

 Yes, you are a Christian, but unfortunately, you lack the filling of the Spirit. One commonly used illustration states, “you are a house, with walls and everything in it, but there is no power running to the building.” The truth is that a Christian with no power or, as this analogy would go, without the Holy Spirit, is no Chrisitan. The Scripture is clear, “For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear. Instead, you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father!” The Spirit himself testifies together with our Spirit that we are God’s children, and if children, also heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.” Romans 8:15–17. 

When we are born again, we receive the Spirit of God, we are adopted into the family of God and are now God’s children, co-heirs with Christ. This word adoption in the text is not the notion of a baby coming into a family but coming into a family as an adult son. As Warren Wiersbe writes, “We come into God’s family by birth. But the instant we are born into the family, God adopts us and gives us the position of an adult son. A baby cannot walk, speak, make decisions, or draw on the family wealth. But the believer can do all of these the instant he is born again.”

Romans 8:9 says, “You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to him.” So the born-again believer is no longer of the flesh but is instantly filled with the Spirit of God at their new birth. Now, as believers, we should daily yield to the leading and depend on the power of the Holy Spirit, essentially being continually filled with the power of the Spirit as we walk in fellowship with Christ. As one seminary professor put it, we need the Spirit of God to fill our sails daily. 

Yet, what about prayer? Does God hear then specific prayers clearer than others? Does my prayer in tongues make it to God faster than my native tongue? I think this is a fair question to ask. I recognize many godly brothers and sisters hold this position. I, too, once held this position as well and practiced what I believed too. Yet, when it comes down to the whole of the Biblical text, I do not see any support for the position praying in tounges makes prayers more powerful and effective. To say so would mean millions of Christians’ prayers are impotent. 

Praying in tounges confuses the Devil and causes him to miss your prayer?

The other day while standing in line at the dollar store, two ladies began talking about prayer. I stood waiting to check out when I overheard one of the ladies say, ‘See, that’s why I pray in tounges because I know for sure the Devil can’t understand, and God always hears.” I can’t even count the number of times I have said this and taught this to others. Yet, the Bible never mentions this when we read about spiritual warfare. Romans 826-27 says, “In the same way the Spirit also helps us in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us, with inexpressible groanings. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because he intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”

These groanings of the Spirit of God are deep within us; they are sighs resulting from deep concern. Essentially the Spirit makes intercessions for us when we don’t know what to pray. He feels our suffering, pains, heartaches. We don’t always know the will of God, yet God the Holy Spirit does. Is it any wonder the Scripture says that the Spirit is our comforter? So the question then should be asked, what if I never prayed in tounges, is my prayer life crippled? Are my prayers then not going to be answered? 

Praying in Spirit is synonymous with Praying in tounges?

In Ephesians 6:18, the Apostle Paul writes, “Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints.” What then does it mean to pray in the Spirit? Well, this is not some particular esoteric type of prayer. When we pray in the Spirit, we are praying in the Spirit’s power in the will of God. Understand when we are born again, we are filled with the Spirit. If you are not Spirit-filled, then you are not born again!

The Spirit of God makes His abode in our hearts. We become the temple of the Holy Spirit. Jude 20 says, “But you, dear friends, as you build yourselves up in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.” We have the same appeal to the believer. Yet, it is verse 19 that gives us the contrast. Jude states that in the last days, many will be scoffers, live by ungodly desires. “These people create divisions and are worldly, not having the Spirit.” The people of God are filled with the Spirit and depend on God the Holy Spirit to help them in prayer and life. So actual Spirit-filled prayer yields and is utterly dependent on God the Holy Spirit to enable and assist in our prayer life. 

There are no second-class citizens in the Kingdom of God. The Lord adopts sons and daughters into his family and welcomes all of us at his table. He hears his children who pray to him. So, whatever your native tongue, your heart language, God is pleased to hear you cry out to Him. 

As Christians, we may hold different views when it comes to this particular issue. However, once your position sets you up as exclusive with the Father, you have stepped out of biblical bounds and added something additional to the Gospel. Today, pray, go to the Lord, and seek his face. He longs to hear you and answer.