Prayer Life Is Our Spirit’s Breath
And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? “Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:40-41)
1. Prayer Life Is Our Spirit’s Breath
When we receive the Holy Spirit by accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior, the Holy Spirit comes into our hearts, makes our dead spirits alive again and leads our spirits to follow the truth. We used to be a man of soul, who is under the control of the forces of darkness, before we accepted Jesus Christ, while after we receive the Holy Spirit, we increasingly become a man of spirit, who follows the desires of the Holy Spirit.
But our spirits that have been made alive again cannot live without prayers. That is because prayer is our spirits’ breathing. Even though some people seem to live outwardly, they are found to be spiritually dead in the sight of God, for their spirits are yet to be revived.
Believers, however, have no choice but to surrender to the works of soul, which is under the control of the enemy devil and Satan, unless stop praying. Since their soul plays the part of the master, their spirit becomes inactive, and thus, when their spirit tries to move their heart and they endeavor to live by the truth, their lives are driven into darkness under the control of Satan who instigates their soul.
Just as life expires if we do not breathe everyday, the importance of prayer in the lives of God’s children cannot be stressed enough. That is why God commands us to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17), reminds us failing to pray is a sin (1 Samuel 12:23), and teaches us to pray that we may not enter into temptation (Matthew 26:41).
New believers who have recently accepted Jesus Christ for the first time tend to find praying difficult because they do not know how to pray. Our dead spirit is reborn when we accept Jesus Christ and receive the Holy Spirit. The spiritual condition at this time is that of an infant; it is difficult to pray.
However, if they do not give up but keep praying and making bread of God’s Word, their spirits become strengthened and their prayer becomes more potent. Just as people cannot live without breathing, they come to realize they cannot live without praying.
In my childhood, there were children who competed against one another to see who could hold their breath the longest. Two children at a time would face each other and take deep breaths. When another child says “Ready~” the two children breathe in as much as they can. When the “referee” yells “Begin!” with facial expressions filled with resolve, the two children hold their breath.
At first, holding breath is not too difficult. As time passes a little, however, the children feel choked as their faces turn scorching red. In the end, they are unable to hold their breath any longer and are forced to breathe out. No one can live if his breathing stops.
It is the same with prayer. When a spiritual person stops praying, he does not notice much of a difference at first. With the passing of time, however, his heart begins to feel disheartened and afflicted. If we could see his spirit with our eyes, that spirit may be close to being suffocated. If he realizes that all this is because he stopped praying and resumes praying, he can lead a normal life in Christ again. Yet, if he were to continue committing the sin of failing to pray, his heart will feel all the more wretched and distressed, and he will endure many aspects of his life going awry.
“Taking a break” from praying is not the will of God. Just as we gasp until our breathing returns to normal, returning to the normal prayer life of the past is more difficult and takes that much more time. The longer the “break” has been, the longer it takes to recuperate your prayer life.
People who realize that prayer is the breath of their spirits do not find praying arduous. If they have been praying habitually the way they breathe in and breathe out habitually, instead of finding praying strenuous or difficult they become more peaceful, more filled with hope, and more joyous in life than not praying. This is because they receive God’s answers and give glory to Him as much as they pray.
2. Temptation Comes upon People Who Don’t Pray
Jesus set for us an example of prayer and told His disciples to watch and pray so that they would not fall into temptation (Matthew 26:41). Conversely, this means that if we do not pray continually, we are to fall into temptation. Why, then, does temptation come across people who do not pray?
1 Peters 5:8-9 tell us, “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.” The enemy Satan and the devil, the ruler of the kingdom of the air, strive to entice believers in God to go astray and prevent His people from possessing faith every chance they get.
If someone wants to uproot a tree, he would first try shaking it. If the trunk is big and thick and the tree is rooted too deep in the ground, he will give up and try shaking another tree. When it seems that the second tree can be uprooted more easily than the first, he will become all the more determined and shake the tree even harder. By the same token, the enemy devil that seeks to entice us will be driven away if we remain firm. If we are shaken even a bit, however, the enemy devil will keep on bringing us temptations to knock us down.
However, without praying there is no way to distinguish the will of God from the will of man. In pursuit of worldly desires, people without a routine prayer life will live according to their habits of old and pursue what is right according to their self-righteousness. Thus, temptations and sufferings are inflicted as they face all kinds of difficulties.
In James 1:13-15 we read, “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.”
In other words, temptations come across people who do not pray because they fail to distinguish the will of God from the will of man, become enticed by their worldly desires, and suffer from hardships because they are unable to overcome temptations. God wants all His children to learn to be content with whatever the circumstances are, come to know what it is to be in need and what it is to have plenty, and learn the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want (Philippians 4:11-12).
However, for the worldly desires conceive and give birth to sin and the wages of sin is death, God cannot protect people who continue to sin. As much as people have sinned, the enemy devil brings them times of temptation and suffering. Some people who have fallen into temptations disappoint God by claiming that He dropped them into temptations and thrust them into suffering. However, these are acts of bearing a grudge against God and such individuals cannot overcome temptations and do not leave any room for God to work for their good.
In order to discern and destroy the enemy devil’s schemes and walk in the light by living according to God’s Word, we must wrestle in prayer and receive God-given strength and power from above. Jesus the one and only Son of God could accomplish everything according to the will of God because of the power of prayer.
Before He began His public ministry, Jesus prepared Himself by fasting forty days and forty nights, and throughout His three-year ministry He manifested amazing works of God’s power by praying habitually and continually. At the end of His public ministry, Jesus could destroy the authority of death and overcome through resurrection because He wrestled in prayer at Gethsemane.
That is why our Lord urged us to “Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving” (Colossians 4:2), and “The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.” (1 Peter 4:7). He also taught us to pray, “And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6:13). Preventing ourselves from falling into temptations is extremely important. If you fall into temptation, it means you have not overcome it, grown weary, and shrunk back in your faith – none with which God is pleased.
When we keep ourselves alert and pray, the Holy Spirit teaches us to walk on the right path and we fight against and throw away our sins. Moreover, as much as our soul prospers, our heart will resemble that of our Lord, we will do well in every affair of life, and we will receive the blessing of good health.
Prayer is a key to having everything in our lives go well and receiving the blessing of good health in body and spirit. We have been promised in 1 John 5:18, “We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him.” That’s why when we keep ourselves alert, pray, and walk in the light, we will be kept safe from the enemy devil and even if we do fall into temptation, God will show us ways to escape it and, in all things, work for the good of those of you who love Him.
For God told us to pray continually, we must become His blessed children who lead our lives in Christ by keeping ourselves alert, driving away the enemy devil, and receiving everything with which God intends to bless us.
In 1 Thessalonians 5:23 we find, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
May each of you receive the help of the Holy Spirit by keeping yourself alert and praying habitually, come to possess a blameless and spotless heart as a child of God by casting off all sinful natures within you and circumcising your heart by the Holy Spirit, enjoy the authority as His child in which your soul prospers, everything in your life is successful and you receive the blessing of good health, and give glory to God in everything you do, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ I pray!
3. Is it right to say, “The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak?”
The night before He took upon the cross, Jesus went with His disciples to a place called Gethsemane and wrestled in prayer. When He found His disciples sleeping, Jesus lamented and said, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41).
In the Bible are such terms as, “flesh,” “the things of the flesh,” and “deeds of the flesh.” On the one hand, “flesh” is contrary to “spirit” and generally refers to everything that is corrupt and changes. It refers to every creation, including man before having been transformed by the truth, plants, all animals, and the like. On the other hand, “spirit” refers to things that are everlasting, truthful, and unchanging.
Since Adam’s disobedience, all men and women are born with an inherent sinful nature, and this is the original sin. “Self-committed sins” are untruthful acts committed at the instigation of the enemy devil. Man become “flesh” when untruth has smeared his body and the body is combined with the sinful nature. This is what Romans 9:8 mentions “children of the flesh.” The Verse says, “That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendant.” And Romans 13:14 warns us, “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.”
Moreover, “the things of the flesh” are assortments of such various sinful attributes as deception, envy, jealousy, and hatred (Romans 8:5-8). They have not yet been acted out physically but may be induced into action. When these desires are put in motion, they are referred to as “the deeds of the flesh” (Galatians 5:19-21).
What did Jesus mean by “the flesh is weak”?
Was he referring to the physical condition of His disciples? As former fishermen, Peter, James, and John were men at the pinnacle of life and of robust good health. For people who had spent many nights fishing, staying awake for a few hours at night should not have been a big deal. However, even after Jesus told them to stay there and keep watch with Him, the three disciples were unable to pray but ended up falling asleep. They may have gone to Gethsemane to pray with Jesus, but this desire was only in their heart. Instead, when Jesus told them their flesh was “weak,” He meant the three of them were unable to thwart the lust of the flesh that enticed them to sleep and rest.
Peter who was one of Jesus’ beloved disciples could not pray because his flesh was weak even though his spirit was willing, and when Jesus was captured and his life was threatened, three times he denied having known Jesus. This took place prior to Jesus’ resurrection and ascension into heaven, and Peter was trapped in deep fear without having received the Holy Spirit.
After Peter received the Holy Spirit, however, he brought the dead back to life, manifested miraculous signs and wonders, and grew bold enough to be crucified upside down. Signs of Peter’s weakness were nowhere to be found as he was transformed into a bold apostle of God’s power who was not afraid of death. This is because Jesus shed His precious, spotless, and blameless blood and redeemed us from our infirmities, poverty, and weakness. If we live by faith, in obedience to the Word of God, we will enjoy good health in both body and spirit, and be able to do what is impossible for man, and anything will be possible for us.
At times, some people who commit sins, however, instead of repenting of their sins, are quick to say “The flesh is weak” and think it is natural to sin. Such people utter such words because they are not aware of the truth. Suppose a father gave his son $1,000. How ridiculous would it be if the son put the money in his pocket and said to his father, “I don’t have any money; not even a dime”? How frustrating would it be for the father if his son – still with the $1,000 in his pocket – starves himself without purchasing any food? Therefore, for those of us who have received the Holy Spirit, “The flesh is weak” is an oxymoron.
I have seen many people who used to go to bed at 10 o’clock at night, now attending “The Friday All-night Service” after praying and receiving the Holy Spirit’s help. They do not grow tired or drowsy and give every Friday night to God in the fullness of the Holy Spirit. This is because, in the fullness of the Holy Spirit, people’s spiritual eyes have become sharpened, their hearts are overflowing with joy, they do not feel fatigue, and their bodies feel lighter.
If you cease to pray, you will lose the fullness of the Holy Spirit and be disconnected with God, which leads to the extinguishing of the Holy Spirit. And if you fail to pray and lose the fullness of the Holy Spirit, you will not be able to receive the strength to overcome trials and sins from above. Finally, you will not be able to fulfill your God-given duties with thanksgiving and joy.
So, the fullness of the Holy Spirit through prayer is the original source of power in doing all the duties given by God. In addition, if you are filled with and influenced and moved by the Holy Spirit by offering fervent prayers to God, you will receive the power of God and can do the things that are impossible with the power of men. Then, the enemy devil and Satan cannot hinder you and you will receive anything you have asked for.
For we are living in the era of the Holy Spirit, we must never fail to pray or commit a sin because “the flesh is weak.” Instead, by keeping ourselves alert and praying continually, we must receive the aid of the Holy Spirit and cast off the things and the deeds of the flesh and the like, and zealously lead our lives in Christ by always living according to God’s will for us.
4. You Have to Pray to Demolish your Fleshly Thoughts and Obey God
Just as Romans 8:7 says, “The mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so,” you cannot obey the will of God with your fleshly thoughts. Your will and theories precede the will of God, and when His will does not agree with your thoughts, you will follow fleshly thoughts and seek your benefits.
Since the works of God creates something out of nothingness, you can experience His works when you obey what seems to be impossible for you to obey. If you cease to pray, you cannot obey what seems impossible to obey and sometimes fail to obey what you ought to obey and is easy for you to do. And you may do something thinking you are obeying, but your actions are found to be out of mark and against the will of God.
Therefore, you have to pray fervently and earnestly in order to demolish all kinds of fleshly thoughts and obey what seems impossible to obey saying “Amen.” When you obey in prayers, your obedience is not by force but only from the bottom of heart and in peace and joy.
Thus, God commands us to destroy speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God and to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). And He reminds us in Romans 8:6-7, “For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so,” (Romans 8:6-7).
Most of the information we have learned and stored in our minds as “right” before we meet God is found to be false in light of the truth. So, we can wholly follow the will of God when we destroy all theories and fleshly thoughts. Moreover, if we want to destroy arguments and every pretension and obey the truth, we must pray.
5. You Have to Pray to Hear the Holy Spirit and Receive His Guidance
God created the first man Adam, made him a living being, and allowed him to communicate with God who is Spirit. After Adam ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and disobeyed God, Adam’s spirit died, his communication with God was severed, and he was driven out from the Garden of Eden. As the enemy devil, the ruler of the kingdom of the air, seized control of man who could no longer communicate with God who is Spirit, man became gradually and all the more drenched in sin.
For the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), God unveiled His providence of salvation through Jesus Christ for all mankind who had been destined to death. God seals as His child anyone who accepts Jesus as his Savior, confesses he is a sinner, and repents, and as a token of assurance God gives him the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit the Counselor is God’s Spirit who convicts the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment (John 16:8), intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express (Romans 8:26), and enables us to overcome the world.
Through the work and help of the Holy Spirit, we must not only cut off the intrusion of the lust of the flesh and the eyes by driving out forces of darkness but also get rid of every form evil and sin. Then, you will come forth as a man of spirit whose soul prospers – whose spirit plays the role of the master and whose soul and body obey the spirit.
Prior to becoming sanctified and resembling our Lord, we have to discover and cast off sinful nature hidden within us. But this business is not easy for us to do by ourselves.
When you heard the word of God and realized what kind of sins are within you, it was it possible for you to cast them off instantly? When you made up your mind to cast them off, could you succeed in throwing them away at once?
This is a seriously hard work to most of people even though there is a difference depending on the kind of heart fields and inner hearts. Only through fervent prayers, can you receive the grace and strength of God and the help of the Holy Spirit and cast off all kinds of sinful desires and deeds and become a man of spirit. Without prayers, you cannot discover and throw away sins hidden within you.
In order to be filled with the Holy Spirit and receive His guidance, prayer is absolutely necessary. Only when we pray will the Holy Spirit speak to us, move our hearts and minds, warn us of impending temptations, tell us of ways to avoid such temptations, and help us overcome temptations even if they come our way.
God said in Jeremiah 33:3, “Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” When we cry out to God in prayer, we can receive answers of God and gain the understandings of great and unsearchable depths of the spiritual realm through the communication with God.
Fathers of faith had deep fellowship with God through prayers to God, by which they saw visions, received revelations and were told what would happen in the future. When Daniel fasted and prayed to God, God sent the angel to him and let him know what would happen in the future, and when the apostle John at all times prayed to God on the island named Patmos, he received many revelations from our Lord.
Thus, only through deep prayers, can we have close fellowship with God and hear the voice of the Holy Spirit and receive His guidance as the children of God. They can hear the Holy Spirit as clearly as they have cultivated their hearts into truth and spirit. Moreover, they can hear His voice it more clearly and grasp His guidance in more detail when their hearts are filled with the Holy Spirit through fervent prayers.
But for you to hear His voice does not mean that you can always be controlled and guided by the Holy Spirit. When you obey the voice of the Holy Spirit heard and practice it, you can follow His guidance. If you do not obey what the Holy Spirit told you by moving your heart, you fail to receive His guidance and be successful in everything you do.
For this, you must always watch and be filled with the Holy Spirit in order to hear His voice and follow His guidance. You can obey His direction and guidance more easily when you are full of the Holy Spirit.
6. You Have to Pray to Receive All Your Needs from Above
Philippians 4:6 tells us, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” He who has committed everything to God has nothing to worry about but instead he petitions to God with thanksgiving.
Just as Jesus said in Mark 11:24, “Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you,” when whatever you prayed and asked you must believe that you have received it, you don’t have to worry about anything but give thanks for the answers of God.
Those who do not recognize God in everything are found untrustworthy, so they tend to endeavor for themselves, follow their own thoughts and knowledge rather than to commit everything to God and rely on Him by prayers.
But if you really believe that God is the Creator of the universe and everything therein and the Governor of life, death, blessing and curses of mankind, you can leave everything to God.
Only the blessing that you have received from God by leaving every affair to Him and praying and petitioning to Him will not disappear. No matter how many possessions people have built up on earth through their efforts, they have nothing to do with God and will disappear when disasters and hardship come. Still less, they will all turn into nothing if the masters will draw their last.
The blessings you have received from God through prayers to and faith in God will not only perish but also turn into eternal rewards in the kingdom of heaven. That’s why only the blessings you receive from God are true ones.
In conclusion, the one who possesses true faith and recognizes God in everything is sure to pray to God so that he can receive all his needs from above alone.
Those who have faith and love God seek and pray for the kingdom and righteousness of God prior to asking for themselves. Jesus urges us in Matthew 6:33, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” When we seek first the kingdom and righteousness of God, He has promised us to give us all our needs.
During His public ministry, Jesus always prayed to God and supplicated for many souls and the expansion of the kingdom of God. The reason He became flesh, came down to the earth and was crucified was because of the salvation of mankind. So, we, who have been saved through the blood of Jesus Christ, have to seek for guiding as many souls path to salvation and enlarging the kingdom of God.
The work of accomplishing the kingdom of God belongs to the spiritual realm, so it cannot be done by human abilities, knowledge or experiences but only by the help of the Holy Spirit and the grace and strength of God coming from above. In brief, for us to accomplish the righteousness of God and expand His kingdom is made possible only by prayers.
No matter how faith you have been, if you do not pray, you cannot yield fruits of the things of spirit. Since our enemy the devil and Satan do their best to hinder the kingdom of God from expanding the kingdom of God, you must be given spiritual strength to overcome the devil and Satan through prayers.