“The effectiveness of your prayer life depends on the degree of confidence you place in the Holy Spirit. He is God’s Power Arm. He’s the One who’s going to guarantee that the work gets done.” –Kenneth Copeland
How’s your prayer life? Do you know what to pray when your back is up against a wall or you’re in a desperate situation? Do you know how to pray for the everyday issues of life?
The Holy Spirit, who lives inside of every born-again believer, is there to help you—regardless of anything you are facing right now. You can be walking through the direst of circumstances, and He’s there waiting to explode onto the scene. He is the breathtaking, dynamic power of God tasked with giving you victory!
But there’s something you need to know…you can’t just sit around, twiddle your thumbs and expect that kind of power to show up. You need to trust that He is within you and purposefully connect with Him in prayer. That’s when you’ll get results.
If you’re ready to plug into your Power Source for supernatural results in your life, here are four ways to harness the power of the Holy Spirit in prayer:
1. Know His Power Is Working When You Pray
“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.” –Ephesians 3:20 (NKJV)
If you’re a born-again believer and facing a seemingly impossible problem, there’s hope. Whether it’s a failing marriage or the diagnosis of a disease, nothing is too big for God in your life because His power is coursing through your spirit. When you harness that power through prayer, your earnest prayers have great power and produce wonderful results (James 5:16)!
As you petition God for the desires of your heart, it’s imperative that you know His power is working in you according to Ephesians 3:20. You have His Word—He is able to do exceedingly and abundantly above all that you ask or think according to that Power. The same power that raised Christ from the dead is working to bring your victory to pass!
2. Meditate the Answer When You Pray
“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” –John 15:7 (NKJV)
What have you been thinking about—the problem or the answer? When we become believers, we stop thinking like the world and start thinking according to what the victorious Word of the Lord says. When we renew our minds to God’s truth, we will know His will for us, which is always good, pleasing and perfect (Romans 12:2). John 15:7 (NKJV) tells us how to do it—We abide (live and rest) in the Word. So, if you are facing a problem, spend some time abiding in the Word. Find out what it says about your problem. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you to a specific scripture. Meditate on that scripture and choose to believe it. Apply it to your situation until your thoughts align with God’s Word.
3. Speak the Desired Outcome When You Pray
“So Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, “Be removed and be cast into the sea,” and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.’” –Mark 11:22-24 (NKJV)
Do you believe you will receive what you ask of God? Or do you feel like your prayers sound great going up, but maybe fall onto a deserted island?
God’s Word promises us that whatever we ask when we pray, we will receive—if we believe and do not doubt. But notice how many times Jesus mentions the word says in Mark 11:22-24. Three times! Prayer naturally involves speaking and communicating our requests to God, but we must say our desired outcome, and this verse promises we will have what we say.
You see, the Holy Spirit is not activated to perform the Word until you speak it. Kenneth Copeland likes to give this example from Genesis 1:1-3: the Holy Spirit was hovering, waiting on God’s Word.
“The simple fact of His presence didn’t accomplish anything. It was when God spoke and said, ‘Let there be light!’ that the Holy Spirit exploded into action,” says Brother Copeland.
When you speak the answer and not the problem (see Point 2 above), the Holy Spirit is activated to perform the Word of God spoken out of your mouth. Throughout Scripture, God calls things that didn’t exist as though they did (Romans 4:16-18), and Jesus says that you should as well. This is a powerful way to harness the power of the Holy Spirit when you pray!
4. Speak In Tongues When You Pray
“But you, beloved, build yourselves up [founded] on your most holy faith [make progress, rise like an edifice higher and higher], praying in the Holy Spirit.” –Jude 20 (AMPC)
One sure way to harness the power of the Holy Spirit is to pray in tongues. Romans 8:26 says that we don’t know what we should pray for, but the Holy Spirit makes intercessions for us. That means the Spirit of Power that helped create the earth and raise Jesus from the dead starts to intercede for us when we pray in tongues. Praise God!
As you yield to the Holy Spirit in prayer, it builds you up and releases His dynamic and explosive power to go to work on your behalf. You will see issues evaporate and answers revealed.
As Brother Copeland’s mother, Vinita, used to say when others were facing problems, “Hit it in tongues, honey; hit it in tongues!”
When you follow these four steps to harness the power of the Holy Spirit in prayer, you will see God begin to work in your life in powerful ways. Unleash this power in prayer in all areas of your life—your marriage, ministry, finances, health and career. God guarantees your success!