What’s the Spirit’s Role in Prayer
The Father and the Son get a lot of attention—especially when we pray. And they should. We often begin with "Our Father," as Jesus taught us, and we end "in Jesus' name," because it’s by his merit that we come to the Father. However, God isn’t just Father and Son; he is also Spirit. So what is the Spirit's role in prayer?
This morning, I was reading Michael Reeves’ great book, Delighting in the Trinity. I think he puts it really well: "Through the giving of the Spirit, God shares with us—and catches us up into—the life that is his." It is the Spirit who opens our eyes to see and savor the truth and beauty of the Father and the Son. Paul tells the Christians in first-century Corinth, "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:17-18). This tells us two amazing realities! Through the Spirit we see God rightly, and through the Spirit we become like him.
This completely changes prayer. Let’s think about this throught the four quadrants of our personhood we considered last month …
When we pray, the Spirit speaks God’s truth to our minds.
When we pray, the Spirit impresses God’s love upon our hearts.
When we pray, the Spirit brings life and meaning to our souls through God’s saving grace.
When we pray, the Spirit comforts our bodies through God’s presence.
The Holy Spirit enables us to perceive God rightly. And by his gracious power, he enables us to become like him. That’s the Spirit's role in prayer: not a footnote to the Father and the Son, but the one who catches us up into the very life they share.
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Written by Jason C. Helveston
Matthew 6:9.
John 14:13-14.
John 16:23-24.
Michael Reeves, Delighting in the Trinity: An Introduction to the Christian Faith (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2012), 94.
2 Corinthians 3:17-18 (ESV). In verse 17, Paul writes, "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."
