Ephesians 6:18 - Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints

Jude 1:20 - But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit

There are two ways to pray effectively in the Spirit.

1. Praying in our own known language.

This is a realm of prayer that takes us a step beyond praying with our own understanding. When we pray in the Spirit in our known language we become more conscious of God and spiritual things than of our natural surroundings. It is possible while we pray in the Spirit in our own known language to speak things out in prayer that we would not even thought about and planed in praying for.

2. Praying in other tongues.

1 Corinthians 14:2 - For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries.

1 Corinthians 14:14-15 - For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding.

Paul said: "I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding". If praying in tongues is not for the Church today, then we would be extremely limited in "praying in the Spirit". We clearly see that Paul is saying that there are "two ways of praying".

Mental praying

This is praying with our understanding. In other words praying out of our minds. This will be praying with our known language.

We do not always know what to pray, but we have a helper who knows how to pray.

Romans 8:26 - Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

In times when we do not know what to pray it will be impossible to pray with our understanding and get results.

Spiritual praying

This is when we need to pray in the Spirit, out of our spirit in the Spirit-given utterances. Again these utterances can be in our known language, in an unknown language (or tongues) or sometimes in groanings. We may not always know or understand what we pray for, but the Holy Spirit does know. This is why we should allow the Holy Spirit to lead us in prayer. As Spirit-filled believers we can expect the Holy Spirit to help us pray and we then can expect answers to our prayers which sometimes would not have happened as our prayers would not be effective.

There are benefits when we pray in the Spirit in other tongues.
1. Praying in Tongues to Magnify God. Acts 10:46 - For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God.
2. Praying in Tongues to Edify ourselves. Jude 1:20 - But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.
3. Praying in Tongues to Rest. Isaiah 28:11-12 - For with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people, to whom He said, "This is the rest with which you may cause the weary to rest.

Praying in tongues is an experience which we can not really explain in words. It helps us to worship God and enrich our lives spiritually. It brings new meaning into our prayer lives and our fellowship with God becomes a live style which is not comparable with anything else. When we pray in tongues our spirit is in direct contact with the Father through the Holy Spirit. It is our spirit praying the words and the Holy Spirit gives the utterance. While praying in tongues our minds grow quite and we become more conscious of the Holy Spirit and the things of the Spirit. We get over into the faith realm and into the Spirit realm.

I pray that each one of you reading this teaching on "praying in the Spirit" will experience the sweet fellowship with the Holy Spirit which comes through praying in tongues. Amen.