Topic: Holy Spirit divine, quicken and inspire us not to pray amiss during this prayer season.
Texts: John 6:63; Rom. 8:26.
EXPOSITION:
For this prayer and fasting adventure to go well, ending in our cups of joy being full to the ultimate glory of God, the place of the Holy Spirit cannot and must not be undermined! This informs why it is written in John 6:63, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing…”
We need the presence of the Holy Spirit in every second of this exercise to effectively tame the flesh and keep it under subjection. What Paul writes in Galatians 5:16&17 corroborates this: “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish”.
The Spirit and the flesh are constantly waring against themselves in us, each wanting to gain our attention and to do as they deem right. Particularly during prayer and fasting season such as this, the flesh will be forceful to make us yield to its carnal promptings leading to sinful indulgencies that can mar our goal.
What do we do in this situation? There is a spiritual antidote for this, found in James 4:7 – “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” Take note of the sequence here; firstly, submit to God in humility, then the Holy Spirit empowerment will take its turn in enabling you make the next move of resisting the devil the tempter.
Beloved, remember that Jesus Himself was in similar situation, but He triumphed over Satan because the Holy was with Him. This season, the Holy Spirit will quicken us into right actions and reaction; He will inspire us to pray right and not to pray amiss in the name of Jesus. God bless you SHALOM.
