Romans 12: 12 “continuing instant in prayer.” (“to be earnest towards, persevere, be constantly diligent, to attend assiduously all the exercises, to adhere closely to (as a servitor).” Strong’s Concordance G4342
1 Thessalonians 5: 17 “Pray without ceasing.”
Ephesians 6: 17 “And take…the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance…”
Why pray without ceasing? Because there is a lot of work that needs to be done in the earth, and God has ordained to choose human vessels through which He speaks and performs His works. Just like God spoke in creation and things happened out of nothing, now we are vessels through which He speaks for the creation of righteousness, right things, in the earth today. Therefore, we are to give ourself to remaining in the attitude of prayer and praying without ceasing. We can do it by prayers with our understanding, and by prayers with the Spirit, praying in tongues.
God has ordained that we be supernaturally fruitful, and to accomplish that, we do it through prayer, by trusting God, by relegating the work to God. In this way we become instruments through which God works. It starts with God praying through us by the Spirit that dwells in us. Romans 8: 26-27; 1 John 3: 24b
Two functions of prayer are that it is both fellowship with God, and it is fulfilling the finished work of Jesus (Colossians 1: 24). The Spirit can speak through us as we yield to the groanings (sighs) of the Spirit. When we pray according to the Spirit, we are releasing that which Jesus has already accomplished to be demonstrated in the earth today. So, prayer is both a means of fellowship with God and a means of fulfilling our responsibility to accomplish God’s work on the earth. Romans 8: 26-27
A third function of prayer is worship. When you just cannot express yourself in known words, then God gives words of the Spirit in unknown tongues, by which to express ourself in worship and praise and thanksgiving. We can “give thanks well” in our known language, and “give thanks well” in our unknown tongues language. 1 Corinthians 14: 17
A fourth function of prayer is for revelation. Paul said when you come together some will have a psalm, some a doctrine (a teaching), a tongue, a revelation, and an interpretation (1 Corinthians 14: 26). Praying in the Spirit, under the inspiration and direction of the Spirit, is a means of receiving revelation from God.
Testimony About Tongues and Revelation
When I was about 22 years old, I was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues. I later came under spiritual attack, and stumbled in my walk with the Lord. In time I started turning back to the Lord. I would walk up and down the street late at night praying and seeking the mind of the Lord. One night I began wondering if I could still speak in tongues like I had once experienced. I opened my mouth and gave it breath and behold! There it was! It was there all the time.
So, I began praying in tongues in my prayer time. Then I came under attack in my mind with thoughts coming to me that tongues were of the devil, this was stupid, and I was wasting my time and energy praying in tongues. I went to the Word and saw for sure that it was in the Word. So, for nights to come I resumed praying in tongues.
Then, the attack on my mind was even more vicious. This time I said, “Ok. I’m going to study this thing out.” I did a Genesis to Revelation study on the power of words and the power of the tongue. I saw how there is great power in words spoken. I related all that I saw about the power of words to the use of tongues. I came to the conclusion that the devil is scared spitless of people getting the revelation of the power of praying in tongues. He will pull all kinds of tricks to keep people from praying in tongues.
Bolstered with the revelation of what the Word says about the power of tongues, I gave myself to praying in tongues without ceasing. I trained myself to be praying in tongues from the time I got up in the morning to the time I went to bed at night. If in a conversation, when the other person was speaking, I was praying in tongues inwardly, undetected. When alone, I prayed out loud as in normal conversation.
I would get revelation of the Word and of the finished work of Jesus Christ. I would record it on a microcassette tape recorder as I walked and prayed. Then I would go to the house and transcribe it word-for-word. This lifestyle of prayer went on for years. To this day, ninety percent of my praying is with the Spirit in my tongue’s language. I have found that we can literally “pray without ceasing” and “pray always” at will by use of praying with our understanding and praying with our spirit using our tongues prayer language (1 Corinthians 14: 15). And, I have noticed, the more I pray in tongues, the more revelation I receive of the Lord Jesus Christ with a focus on His finished work. Getting the heavenly perspective comes by the Holy Spirit, not just by mental study and information. Such communion with the Lord, by praying without ceasing, helps keep the focus on the Lord Jesus Christ and the Father and abiding in Him.
