1 Corinthians 14:4a (NKJV) He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church.
Ephesians 3:16 (NKJV) That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man,
Intercessory prayer should not wear us out. If it does, it means we are using our own strength. The key to intercessory prayer is to learn to rest in God, trusting that He is working in the spiritual realm after we have prayed. It is through faith and patience that we inherit God’s promises. We need patience because it is always a process, but that does not mean the breakthrough is not coming. That is why we need to engage faith the moment we start praying, because faith believes even when we don’t see it.
Intercessory prayer engages us in praying in the Spirit and in understanding, as we alternate between praying in tongues and in a known language. We are engaging our minds to pray based on what we know and listening to the Holy Spirit in our spirit. We can stop the intercessory prayer when we have finished praying through the items according to our knowledge or when the burden in our hearts has lifted.
Praying in tongues builds up the inner man and carries out intercession in accordance with God’s will. There is grace to sustain us when we pray for someone, and we need to remember that we are partnering with God, who cares for and loves the person we are praying for, even more than we do. Also, as the Holy Spirit intercedes through us, Jesus is interceding on the right hand of the Heavenly Father.
There are two ways to build up our inner man: listening to God’s Word and praying in the Spirit. Both practices help us strengthen our faith. The opening Scriptures reveal that praying in tongues helps us to be edified and strengthened by His Spirit, like charging an electric vehicle when the battery is low. It provides us with a relief valve when we are stressed, but we need to desire it, receive it, and use it daily because the Holy Spirit is a gentleman who will not impose Himself on us if we do not welcome Him in our lives or to work among us.
One of the Holy Spirit’s roles is to help, comfort, and teach us. Yet, as Christians, we often fail to fully engage His help because we cannot see Him or understand how He works. However, this does not mean He is absent. Rather, we need to learn to cooperate with Him and receive His help. When we refuse the Holy Spirit’s help, we shortchange ourselves. We need not feel uncomfortable with the supernatural. Instead, we must come to terms with the truth that we worship a supernatural God.
Reflection: How receptive are you to the Holy Spirit’s help or to the supernatural? What hindrances need to be removed?
Sermon Series: The Holy Spirit is our best stress release valve
我们的神是一位超自然的神
哥林多前书 14:4a 说方言的是造就自己，做先知讲道的乃是造就教会。
以弗所书 3:16 求他按着他丰盛的荣耀，借着他的灵，叫你们心里的力量刚强起来，
代祷不应该使我们筋疲力尽。如果代祷让我们感到耗尽，那往往意味着我们是在倚靠自己的力量祷告。代祷的关键，是学习安息在神里面，相信我们祷告之后，祂正在属灵的领域中工作。我们是凭着信心和忍耐承受神的应许。我们需要忍耐，因为神的工作常常是一个过程；但这并不代表突破不会来到。因此，当我们开始祷告的那一刻，就需要启动信心，因为信心即使在尚未看见的时候，仍然相信神正在运行。
代祷使我们进入一种在灵里祷告、也在悟性中祷告的操练，就是在用方言祷告和用明白的语言祷告之间交替进行。我们一方面运用我们的思想，根据自己所知道的事情祷告；另一方面，我们也在灵里聆听圣灵的带领。当我们按照自己所知道的事项祷告完毕，或者心中的负担已经卸下时，就可以结束这段代祷。
用方言祷告能够造就我们的内在生命，并按照神的旨意参与代求。当我们为某个人祷告时，神会赐下足够的恩典托住我们。我们需要记得，我们是在与神同工；而爱那个人、关心那个人的神，远远超过我们的爱和关怀。同时，当圣灵透过我们代求的时候，耶稣基督也正在天父的右边为我们代求。
建立我们内在生命有两个重要途径：聆听神的话语，以及在圣灵里祷告。 这两方面都会帮助我们的信心不断被坚固。开篇的经文告诉我们，在方言中的祷告能够使我们得着造就，并借着圣灵得着力量，就像电动车在电量不足时需要充电一样。圣灵成为我们面对压力时的“减压阀”。然而，我们需要渴慕祂、领受祂，并每天使用祂所赐的恩典，因为圣灵是一位温柔的保惠师；若我们不欢迎祂进入我们的生命，也不愿意让祂在我们当中运行，祂不会强行介入。
圣灵其中一个重要的工作，就是帮助我们、安慰我们，并教导我们。然而，作为基督徒，我们常常没有完全领受并经历祂的帮助，因为我们看不见祂，也不完全明白祂如何工作。但这并不代表圣灵不存在或不在运行。相反，我们需要学习与祂同工，并领受祂的帮助。
当我们拒绝圣灵的帮助时，其实是在限制自己可以经历的丰盛。我们不需要对超自然的事情感到不安或抗拒；相反，我们需要接受一个事实：我们所敬拜的，是一位超自然的神。
默想：你对圣灵的帮助，以及神超自然的作为，有多大的敞开和接受程度？有哪些拦阻需要被除去，使你能够更深地经历圣灵的工作？
讲章系列：圣灵是我们最好的“减压阀”