Spirit-filled Day 4: What Spiritual Prayer Should Be, part 1

We are not simply saved so we could go to heaven any more than the bones in Ezekiel’s Valley were completed after they were clothed with sinews, flesh and skin. They were to have the spirit of life breathed into them.

⁷ So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. ⁸And when I be-held, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them. ⁹ Then said He unto me, “Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind: ‘Thus saith the Lord GOD, “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe up-on these slain, that they may live.”’”

Jesus came that we might have life and might have it abundantly (John 10:10). He said that out of our inner most being would flow rivers of life (John 7:38). John the Baptist, his father and mother, Zacharias and Elizabeth, Peter, the apostle Paul, the disciples in Acts chapter 2 and in chapter 13, even Jesus are reported to have been filled with the Holy Spirit. Strong’s Concordance defines filling as:

to make full, to fill up, i.e. to fill to the full; to cause to abound, to furnish or supply liberally; abound, liberally supplied; to render full, i.e. to complete; to fill to the top: so that nothing shall be wanting to full measure, fill to the brim; to consummate: a number; to make complete in every particular, to render perfect; to carry through to the end, to accomplish, carry out, (some undertaking); to carry into effect, bring to realization, realize; of matters of duty: to perform, execute; of sayings, promises, prophecies, to bring to pass, ratify, accomplish; to fulfill, i.e. to cause God's will (as made known in the law) to be obeyed as it should be, and God's promises (given through the prophets) to receive fulfillment

1. A SPIRIT-FILLED LIFE FLOWS OVER WITH GOD’S SPIRIT:  Notice that to be filled with the Spirit does not mean to be saved or to have a burst of spiritual ecstasy, but rather to be completely saturated with and controlled by the Holy Spirit. You will not be completely satisfied until you are filled with the Spirit.

While it is not a formula, it is significant that the filling of the disciples in the upper room in Acts came about while they were praying. You must lose yourself into the control of God in prayer before you can truly be filled with the Spirit.

2. A SPIRIT-FILLED LIFE IS A SPIRIT THAT FITS WITH OUR SPIRIT:  Second, notice also that the bones were not filled with breath for no reason. They were filled upon these slain so that they may live. God has a purpose for you when He fills you with His Spirit. Even in Exodus 31:3, God filled people with the Holy Spirit for a purpose. “And I have filled him (Bezalel) with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship to design artistic works, to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of workmanship.”

That same workmanship is what God created you for. He has a purpose in your salvation. “For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, so that no one would be able to boast. We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God has preordained that we should walk in them.” But notice how Ephesians 2 starts off: “And you He made alive (quickened), who were dead in trespasses and sins;” and again down in verse 5, “Even when we were dead in sins, He quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) and He raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”

You are God’s craftsmanship, poema in the Greek, not just a work of art but a work of an artist, painted together with just the right blends of colors and textures and brightness and darkness to accomplish His will. God saves us to fill us to equip us to serve Him.

 3. A SPIRIT-FILLED LIFE IS FATAL TO A WORLDLY SPIRIT: Third, notice what the bones had to do before they were to be filled with the prophetic breath…they had to be slain. They had to die. Paul wrote about this repeatedly, but look how closely the passage we read in Ephesians is paralleled in Colossians 3:1-5, but with a slightly different slant. “If you are now risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For you are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, appears, then you shall also appear with Him in glory. Put to death therefore your members which are earthly; that is, fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil actions, and covetousness, all of which are idolatry."

All that to say this: When you pray, overflow with God and be wholeheartedly in tune with Him. Don't try to pray or be like someone else, God made you to be you. But also don't be like the world. You are dead and your new life is with Christ. 

4. A SPIRIT-FILLED PRAYER LIFE IS WITH A FIGHTING SPIRIT:

Paul said we do not wrestle with flesh and blood, but against powers, principalities. Don’t think that becoming a Christian is the end. It is the beginning. And being filled with the Spirit is not so we can lift our hands, close our eyes, and praise God, then trot off to bed. It is to be prepared for battle. Look again at Ezekiel 37. ¹⁰ So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.

The bones came back with flesh, muscle and spirit-filled life for one reason: to go to war. Again, Paul talks about Spirit-filled prayer in Ephesians 6:18. “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.” Do you want to be filled with the Spirit? Paul said, “Here’s the battle field. It’s prayer. It’s prayer in the Spirit. It’s watching. It’s perseverance. It’s supplication for the saints

Then right in the very next verse, Paul says, and “Pray for me.”

Paul calls us to battle in Ephesians 6 and gives us the armor and the battlefield is in prayer.

Look back at Ezekiel, what did the army do when they were filled? They stood on their feet. God doesn’t want you to cower, He doesn’t want you to lie down, and He doesn’t want us to be spiritual couch potatoes. He wants us to stand faithfully in prayer, as if we are in a battlefield, because we are!

Lord God Almighty, align my spirit with Your Spirit so that I may pray with the power of Your Holy Spirit. Help me die to the world and be alive to You. Amen.