The Provision of the Holy Spirit Through Prayer

1:19b this shall turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ

The Greek grammar of the verse implies that Paul is not listing two means by which deliverance shall come: through your prayers and through the Spirit. Rather, he is listing one: deliverance shall come through the provision of the Holy Spirit which comes through your prayers.

As we saw yesterday, the powerful grace of the Holy Spirit is what we need, it’s what our spouses need, it’s what our children need, it’s what our pastors need, it’s what our Christian friends need, it’s what Christ’s church needs.

How then do you go about getting the Holy Spirit (I don’t mean in the sense that every believer has the Spirit as in Rom.8:9, but in the sense of being filled with the Spirit as in Eph.5:18)? Jesus gives us the answer in Luke 11:13 “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

The answer is prayer. The Holy Spirit will be given by God to those who pray.

It makes sense, then, doesn’t it? If the Holy Spirit is the One we need to be and do what we need to be and do, then our prayers for ourselves and for each other ought to be largely to this end. This tells us how we ought to pray for ourselves. This tells us how we ought to pray for each other. This tells us how we ought to pray for our spouses and children and parents. This tells us how we ought to pray for Christ’s church. This tells us what we ought to be requesting prayer for from others.

Heavenly Father, I come to You as Your child. You know my needs much better than I do. And You are zealous to do me good, since through Christ I have found favor in Your sight. Lord, You know that the thing I need most of all is Your Holy Spirit. I need Him to strengthen my faith. I need Him to give me love that I don’t have. I need Him to give me power and hope and courage. I need Him to give me the fruits of the Spirit. I need Him to give me a sense of Your presence with me, and assure me of Your favor. I need Him to make me what I need to be. Just as Paul had need of the provision of Your Spirit, so do I. And just as the Philippians prayed for Paul, I pray for myself and my loved ones. Send forth a great measure of Your Spirit upon us, Lord! I need help, Lord; send me the Helper! And help me always to remember that He is the One I need.