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On the Spirit of Grace and Prayer

On the Spirit of Grace and Prayer

On the Spirit of Grace and Prayer.

THE HOLY SPIRIT: The eternal life-giving Third Person of the Holy Trinity; the intimate bond of divine love and truth shared by God the Father and God the Son; the dynamic power of God offered to every human being on earth; the supernatural Presence in the Community of God who is personal without being material; the invisible creative force with divine intelligence who truly knows the mind of God from the inside; the Spirit of God who thus has all knowledge and is present everywhere in the universe; the sacred energy streaming forth from the Father and the Son, pouring love into our hearts (Romans 5:5), producing virtuous qualities in us (Galatians 5:22-23), and gradually transforming each believer into the image of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18).

God’s eternal Spirit was present at creation, of course, “brooding like a bird over the watery abyss.” (Gen. 1:1, MSG). No surprise there. All three Persons of God existed together eternally before creation began, and they will be intimate spiritual companions forever after the world’s recreation as well. At creation, the Spirit was like a mother bird hatching an egg, bringing beauty and order out of nothingness and chaos, waiting to take us under His wing.

Because the Triune God is united and inseparable, the Father and the Son is everywhere the Spirit us. If the Spirit dwells in us and alongside us, so does the Father and the Son. If the Father and the Son have promised to make a home in us, the Spirit is right there as well, arm-in-arm in their Trinitarian Presence, establishing a dwelling place in us. Since we are welcomed inside the relationship of the Trinity, the Spirit helps make that happen. Since we are adopted into God’s family as His children, we can be sure the Spirit was a part of that process. We can be assured the Spirit will work to sustain us in the Trinitarian circle and fellowship.

St. Paul’s Trinitarian blessing that closes his second letter to the Corinthians contains an interesting observation concerning the Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 13:14). After praying for them to be blessed in the grace of Jesus Christ and the love of God, Paul completes the blessing by praying that they would experience the “koinonia” of the Holy Spirit. Koinonia is another rich Greek biblical term, meaning communion, participation in, companionship, intimate partnership with, deep fellowship with. We are not only joined into the community of the Trinity through the Spirit, but we are plugged into a profound fellowship with other believers as well. There would be no communion with other people were it not for the source of all communion, the intimate unity of the triune God. We are one with other believers only because of our oneness with the Trinity. Believers are welcomed into the relationship of the Trinity, and through that spiritual source of oneness we have the possibility of intimate fellowship with fellow believers. The Holy Spirit dwells within us, along with the Father and the Son, and thus we are able to live inside the Trinity while the Trinity lives within us and we live within the community of believers. The Holy Spirit, our true Companion, our intimate Friend “who sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24).

“And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of Grace and Prayer; then they will look on me who they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem.”  (Zechariah 2:10).

This beautiful verse from Zechariah travels in time and space as it foretells Pentecost and then Jesus on the Cross. Could there be a better description of the grief felt by those believers watching the horrific crucifixion of Jesus, their friend and Savior? Indeed, the Lord was literally pierced (John 19:34), and the witnesses were crushed with grief, just as described in this passage.

Pour. When it comes to His Holy Spirit, the Lord Yahweh loves to pour it on lavishly and abundantly. Only in this case, God is pouring “Him” on, not “it,” since the Spirit is a Person not a thing. In His divine extravagance, God isn’t content to dribble the Spirit out, drop by drop, in dribs and drabs. No. In fact, God loves to pour the Spirit onto us till we are overflowing with Him. When the Spirit is given, He is poured, not dripped. Look at confirmations of this love of pouring in the Hebrew Bible:

  • “...till the Spirit is poured upon us from on high.” (Isaiah 32:15);
  • “Exalted to the right hand of God He has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.‘ (Acts 2:33);
  • “They were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles.” (Acts 10:45);
  • “God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.” (Romans 5:5);
  • “He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior.” (Titus 3:5-6);
  • “Then, I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophecy. Your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions. In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on servants – men and women alike.” (Joel 2:28-29).

What an amazing promise by our Lord! He has promised that He would pour out on us the Spirit of Grace and the Spirit of Prayer! When we accept and follow Christ, the gift of the Holy Spirit will include these two sister blessings… Grace and Prayer. These are two kindred qualities that are related and serve to reinforce each other in our lives as the Spirit dwells in us and we live into Him.

The Spirit of Grace. The Hebrew word here is “chen,” and it means undeserved favor, unmerited love, grace, being accepted through the sheer mercy and lovingkindness of our God. But also implied in chen is protection of life and the restoration of our brokenness. So, grace here in Zechariah can be described as our protection and restoration by means of God’s grace and favor being accepted by us, unearned and freely offered by Him. The Spirit we receive from God is intended to protect our lives, restore them in His love, and wake us up to realize what depths of grace is being offered to us. The Spirit of Grace opens up our eyes to acknowledge God’s gracious favor upon us. And of course, God’s grace doesn’t stop there, squandered by us in our private faith. The Spirit of Grace also empowers us to demonstrate His grace to others. We receive the Spirit of Grace in super abundance, and we in turn live into that Grace in such a way as to multiply it outward, as we make a lifestyle of lavishly offering God’s grace to everyone we meet.

The Spirit of Prayer. Isn’t it wonderful that the Hebrew word for prayer here in Zechariah has the root word for grace tucked into the middle of it? That’s right, chen has a root chanan, which is hidden away ready to be discovered in “wetahanunim,” the word for earnest prayer, intense supplication, to plead for grace. So the effect of the Spirit of Grace being poured onto us is that we are then strengthened to pray earnestly for more of the favor we have already received, more grace for us and for others through us! The Holy Spirit is portrayed as quite the prayer warrior in Scripture, and what a comfort to know that the Spirit dwelling in us is always ready to intercede for us to God in heaven… “In the same way, the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.” (Romans 8:26). Who better than the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, can read our hearts and understand us at the deepest levels? There is no one better than the Spirit to lift us up in prayer to the Father and to Jesus. The Spirit of Prayer is also right there inside us, encouraging us to “pray in the Spirit” Ephesians 6:18: “Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayers and supplications.” And Jude says much the same thing… “Build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Spirit.” (verse 20). Remember that praying “in” the Spirit means to pray by means of, with the help of, in spiritual connection to. So praying in the Spirit could be done by praying Scripture, praying in line with God’s will and character, praying for that which is consistent with gospel values, praying in intercession for others, and living our lives prayerfully in the power of the Spirit. To pray in the Spirit is to receive His Spirit of Prayer in such a way as to pray according to the Spirit’s leading.

One sure sign that the Holy Spirit is moving is that the Spirit of Grace and the Spirit of Prayer will certainly sweep powerfully through our individual lives and our lives at home and at our church. There will be an acute awareness of our brokenness, for God’s grace and our need for it, and the deep desire to show grace to others. And there will be a wave of the ardent desire to pray for others, for oneself, for the needs of the world. The Spirit of Intercession will roll through our own hearts and to our place of worship and our family life at home. God loves to demonstrate unearned favor on us, and He loves when we pray in the Spirit to Him. Building each other up in the most holy faith, then let us help each other as we flesh out the Spirit of Grace and the Spirit of Prayer in our lives together.

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