I will pray with the spirit. 1 Cor. 14:15.

To pray with the Spirit means to pray from a nature inspired and moved by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit imparts new life in us. He quickens our dormant powers. Therefore we pray in newness of Spirit, not in the oldness of the letter.

Prayer often becomes cold and formal. It degenerates into mere words. Then it is an unprofitable religious exercise. Saying prayers is no more praying than a copse is a living man. Would a creature that had only seen a corpse be able to make out from it what a living man is? No more can a person, who is accustomed only to say prayers with his lips, understand the life and power of prayer that bursts forth from a spiritual heart and mind. Real prayer involves spiritual ardor. Deep emotions are expressed out of a capacity and spiritual appetite for God.

The psalmist declared: "Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name" (Ps. 103:1). David praised God with all that was within him. We are to do the same with prayer. Is our understanding within us? Then we are to pray and praise with an active, alert mind that has been fully awakened to the privilege and responsibility of prayer. Is our memory within us? Then we ought to remember all God's goodness to us, and all His promises. Is the capacity to love and adore within us? Then we ought to love God as we pray to Him. All our capacities are put on the stretch to know God.

Prayer with the Spirit employs our minds and hearts in proper balance. We must worship and pray to God in spirit and in truth. To pray without understanding can lead to fanaticism and deception. To pray with the Spirit is to have Christ come alive to us, to know that all the channels to God are open. Such prayer banishes coldness and indifference. Our lives are united with God, where His love, mercy, and grace can flow into us. We are no longer uncommitted Christians. We have reached the point of no return with God. We are totally involved. We really need Him. We enjoy Him. We come believing Him to be absolutely reliable, that we cannot live without Him. He is the One who will never let us down.