Why Your Prayers Feel Powerless: How to Pray with Holy Spirit Power!

To pray in the flesh is to pray from the outer shells of soul and body.

Some seek God with emotion, thinking they can feel their way into God’s presence. You cannot make up for with emotion what you lack in faith. Some seek God with ritual, thinking they can perform their way into God’s presence through the right posture, the right words, or praying at the right time of day. When you try to connect with God from this realm, it’s religion.

True prayer is an act inspired by the Holy Spirit.

But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life (Jude 1:20-21 ESV).

To pray in the Spirit is to desire in agreement with Heaven, to speak aloud those petitions which originate in the will of the Father. True prayer in the Spirit begins in union with God. Praying in the Holy Spirit is praying in harmony with the will of the Holy Spirit, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Without the Holy Spirit, we simply cannot truly pray.

He Reminds

But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you (John 14:26 NLT).

The Holy Spirit reminds us of what Jesus taught. Jesus taught us to pray. Therefore, the Holy Spirit reminds us to pray. This is why we must learn to slow the pace of not just our lives but also our minds and hearts. Inner rushing is just as distracting, if not more distracting, than the outer rush of everyday living. Daily, the Holy Spirit presents to us the reminder to pray, to go away and seek God’s face. On any given day, wherein you experience the stress of many tasks in mind, you may feel an inner nudge in the direction of your prayer room. This is a reminder from the Holy Spirit to be prayerful. I don’t mean that God can only be found in a special physical place or setting. I mean that you may feel a pull into the posture of prayer.

In the moment, you may not recognize the reminder for what it is. When looking back on certain days, you may dismay to realize that the Holy Spirit had been calling for your attention and that you did not slow down to consider His instruction. It’s not possible to live a life led by the Holy Spirit and also live in a hurry. A fast-paced life cannot be a Spirit-led one.

Scheduled and Spontaneous

Considering the Holy Spirit’s invitations, one might wonder, Must I go away to a secluded place? Is there really need of a prayer room? Why can’t I just pray in my mind instead of stopping my day to pray? Isn’t God with me at all times anyway? Prayer is both scheduled and spontaneous. Scheduled prayer is dedicated time for God alone, a time of limited distraction. Spontaneous prayer is daily, moment-by-moment awareness of God that inspires God-ward thoughts and prayers.

First, I must stress the importance of scheduled prayer. It’s time the Church rediscovers the ceremony of prayer. Jesus taught that we should go away privately to pray.

But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you (Matthew 6:6 NLT).

Of course, there, Jesus was addressing the motivation behind one’s prayer life. He was saying that we should pray privately, as to not seek out the praise of man. Context considered, we still must note Jesus’ general instruction to find solitude for the sake of prayer. In fact, He modeled this very practice for us.

But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed (Luke 5:16 NIV).

Jesus made a habit of secluding Himself for the purpose of prayer. We should be in the habit of scheduling dedicated prayer time—a moment set aside to be totally focused on God and nothing else. We should carve time out of each day to pray. We should stubbornly refuse to go a day without dedicated prayer time. We can accomplish more in a prayer-filled day than we can in a prayer-less year. The Holy Spirit can accomplish more in a moment than man can accomplish in a century. Scheduled prayer is a humble acknowledgment of one’s need for God. It is an act of dependency upon God.

The going away for private prayer is vital, but so is the practice of spontaneous continual prayer.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ESV).

We are told to pray without ceasing—to pray continually, to make it a lifestyle, to make a constant practice of it. This manner of living is what many so often refer to as the practice of the presence of God. It is the commitment to keep God foremost on the mind, no matter the circumstance. This is to choose God in your thoughts and intents. This is to, moment by moment, walk in the awareness of the nearness of God. When one lives aware of God, every room can be a prayer room.

Every spiritual practice will challenge some part of you. Every command of God will confront something in your humanity. Those who are disciplined and structured often find the idea of spontaneous prayer to be silly or strange. Those who are more casual and free often find the idea of scheduled prayer to be dry or unnecessary. We need both. Prayer is both a lifestyle and a ceremony, an intense conversation and a walk hand in hand. Spontaneous continual prayer brings forth longevity. Scheduled secluded prayer brings forth depth. Spontaneous prayer keeps you aware of God. Scheduled prayer keeps you dependent upon God. Spontaneous prayer is the devotion of thought. Scheduled prayer is the devotion of time.

Looking to marriage as an analogy, spontaneous prayer can be likened unto running errands together, and scheduled prayer is like having dinner together. The Holy Spirit helps with both. He keeps God and His goodness on your mind as you progress through the day, and He draws you into the quiet times before the Lord. He reminds you to pray both spontaneously and on schedule.

He Gives Desire

Not only does the Holy Spirit give you the reminder to pray, He gives you the desire to pray.

So will not we go back from thee: quicken us, and we will call upon thy name (Psalm 80:18 KJV).

Before you can call upon the Lord, you must be quickened by the Holy Spirit. Of course, you can approach the Lord whenever you desire, but whenever you desire, that desire came from the Holy Spirit. You see, without the Holy Spirit, not only could you not be spiritual; you couldn’t even desire to be spiritual. The Holy Spirit within you gives you a desire to pray. Whenever you want to pray, it’s because the Holy Spirit gave you the “want.” The desire to pray is itself an invitation to prayer.

So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses (Galatians 5:16-18 NLT).

We become people of prayer not through striving but surrender. Your flesh doesn’t want to pray. Your spirit does.

Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:40-41 NIV).

Your flesh wants to scroll through social media feeds, binge a series, or pursue distraction and entertainment. Your spirit wants to devote thought and time to God. The Holy Spirit gives you the desire to pray. You must make the decision to pray. The Holy Spirit gives desire; you must choose discipline. If you want to pray more, choose to pray, more. If you want to pray consistently, choose to pray, consistently. Don’t worry about the how. Don’t worry about having it all figured out, because the Holy Spirit will give you not just the desire to pray but also the words to pray.

He Gives You the Words

Did you know the Holy Spirit prays for you?

And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will (Romans 8:26-27 NLT).

The Holy Spirit, who knows you better than anyone else can know you, prays for you like no one else can pray for you. He knows your thoughts and secrets. He knows your every action. He knows your motives and your mind. He knows your past and your potential. Knowing all this, He prays for you. His prayers are perfectly tailored with you in mind. His desires on your behalf are precisely what you need. When you don’t know what to pray, remember that the Holy Spirit is praying for you. He prays with such zeal that His prayers become groans that cannot be expressed in words. He prays with passion and intensity, fierce love, and pure desire. He groans on your behalf before the throne. Think of how a parent might pray for a wayward child, how a grandparent might intercede for a struggling grandchild. The Holy Spirit’s prayers are mightier. He prays for you with more love than a parent would pray for a child, with more compassion than a grandparent would pray for a grandchild. And the Father hears the Spirit. He knows what the Spirit is saying. The Holy Spirit pleads for us in harmony with God’s will. His prayers pull you into alignment with God’s will and ways. His prayers set you on a proper path.

You may not know what to pray, but the Holy Spirit does. As you surrender to the Spirit, His prayers become your prayers. As you slow your mind, these loving passionate words that He prays on your behalf begin to come forth from your own mouth. As you yield to His gentle guidance, as you allow His desires to become your desires, you begin to pray powerfully effective prayers over yourself and on the behalf of others. Trust Him to give you the words to pray.

He Gives You the Faith

There are many reasons God’s people neglect prayer. Some are distracted by the cares of the world. Some are living such fast-paced lives that, though they intend to pray, they procrastinate until their strength is exhausted—then they commit to pray “tomorrow” only to repeat the cycle. Others simply don’t see enough value in prayer because they have allowed the enemy to deceive them. Yet I don’t think any of these are the most common reason for the neglect of prayer. I would venture to say that, for most believers, the neglect of prayer stems from an improper view of the nature of prayer itself.

Far too many Christians view prayer as a negotiation with God for His attention. They imagine that God is reluctant, annoyed even, by their desperate approach. Perhaps some even picture God with His arms folded, as He glares down at them with a cold and disinterested countenance. However, God does not hear you with reservation or hesitation. God is not displeased when we approach Him; He’s displeased when we don’t approach Him. Consider all He did just to reconcile you to Himself.

For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him (John 3:16-17 NLT).

Does someone sacrifice their only son for someone they don’t care for? Would the Word leave the glory of Heaven, experience the struggle of earth-bound living, and then suffer upon a cross to connect with someone He doesn’t love? If God didn’t want to be connected with you, why would He go through so much trouble to connect with you?

Some Christians think that God only welcomes them to pray when they’re having a good week. Then when they don’t perform so well, they think God becomes unwelcoming toward them. They view their devotion to prayer as a climb up a ladder. Every day of consecutive prayer brings them higher, while every day of missed prayer brings them lower. Especially if they missed multiple days of prayer, they think they’re going to have a tough time regaining what they had with God. After missing a day of prayer, they think God might say something like, “Look who decided to finally show up to pray!” Should they break a spiritual streak of devotion, they theorize that God will punish them by withholding Himself. No, that’s not how our Heavenly Father reacts at all. He welcomes you, even when you haven’t been the most consistent.

No wonder so many avoid prayer. Who wants to talk with someone they think doesn’t want to talk with them? Who wants to be around someone who they believe is annoyed by their presence? Many need to correct the way they think about prayer.