Activity 1
Follow The Maze – EPHESIANS 6:18
I have found great value and increased understanding from considering various Bible translations and versions when studying. I wanted to dig a little deeper into what the Apostle Paul was telling us about prayer in Ephesians 6:18. So, I looked at Ephesians 6:18 from three (3) different Bible translations/versions:
- The New International Versions (NIV),
- The New King James Version (NKJV),
- and the 1599 Geneva Bible.
If the picture is too small to read for each version, click the highlighted version name in each of the three sections and it will open up Ephesians 6:18 for that version only for you.
(Ephesians 6:18) The New International Version
When preparing to research and dig into what the Apostle Paul said about prayer in the NIV, and how we should “pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayer and requests,” there were some things that I wanted to know more about.
For example, I asked these questions:
How do you pray “In the spirit”?
What does that mean?
What does that look like?
How you would answer those questions?
I have heard it said that this means to speak in tongues, in unknown tongues, or in your prayer language.
Is this confirmed by God’s Word?
I decided to look and see. My curiosity about what God’s Word says about what it means to “pray in the Spirit” took me to Romans 8:26-27.
(Highlights below are mine.)
Romans 8:26-27 New International Version
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
So, while there is a tongue that is spoken, it was not ours. The Holy Spirit himself prays for us, the people of God, but there were no words used at all. Instead, there were groans. This made me think of how one would react if they had really bad stomach pains and how they would lay in bed, maybe rocking back and forth, and groaning under the pressure of the pain. There would be no words, just groans.
But I wanted to know more, this time about the Spirit who was helping us. Why? Because in Ephesians 6:18 we are told to “pray in the Spirit”.
In answer to the questions in my heart, the next reference took me to Romans 8:14-16
Romans 8:14-16 New International Version
14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
So, the first thing that we are told in verse 14 is that “those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.” Verse 15 tells us that we received our “adoption to sonship” when we received the Holy Spirit (Read John 3:1-8) and that “by him, we cry, “Abba, Father.” Verse 16 says that the Spirit himself testifies (speaks confirmation) with our spirit that we are God’s children.
As I consider this, I realize that what we are being shown is a relationship that is more than simply worshipping God. It is the relationship between a child and his/her parent. When we are “in the Spirit” it is then that we are, by the Spirit able to “cry” out to our DADDY, our PAPA. This is an intimacy that only comes through the Spirit who has borne witness with our spirit that we are God’s children.
To share an example of this, (I might have used this example in another area of this course), I think of a parent who takes their child to the park to play. The child runs, plays, and screams out in laughter as all children do at the park. The parent watches over their child and may even, at times, call out to the child to “be careful” and not run. But most children playing at a park do not listen to their parents. I imagine the park being full of children playing. But that doesn’t matter when it comes to a parent and their child because the child knows the voice of their parent, and the parent knows the cry of their child. So, if the child was to fall and scrape their knees, causing them to scream out, while this scream will get the attention of all who are at the park, it is only the parent of the child who will respond.
Crying is not a type of prayer. But it is a manner, or way, in which one prays. According to Romans 8:14-16, we are only able to “cry” to our ABBA, Father (which means DADDY, or as some affectionately say PAPA) by the Spirit who bears witness with our spirit that we are God’s children.
This might seem very simple and of no real importance, but consider this:
Have you ever had anyone call you, telling you of the various issues that they were facing, and then asking you to pray “for” them?
Next time you experience that, draw the individual out by asking them questions. Ask them if they prayed. They might tell you yes.
Ask them if they believe that God heard their prayer. If they tell you yes, then inquire why they feel they need to pray again if they believe that their prayer was heard. You see, if you draw a person out and get them to share what is on their heart, you might just find that the individual is not confident in their own ability to pray or talk to their Heavenly Father. Why?
Sometimes we need to be reminded of parent-child relationships. We need to be reminded that just like we would respond if our child called out to us so will our Heavenly Father respond to us. Sometimes we need to be reminded that not every request that our child makes will receive a response of yes. Sometimes you have to tell your child no. A no response does not mean that the child is not loved.
So, why would someone call you and ask you to pray for them when they can boldly enter the throne room in the name of Jesus Christ for themselves?
- This could be an indication that they do not have a relationship of regularly communicating with their Heavenly Father.
- This could also be an indication that something hinders their relationship and that hindrance needs to be exposed and removed.
This reminds me of what we are told in 2 Thessalonians 3:2 that faith is not a possession of all people. This is also an excellent reminder that we do not need to take for granted the relationship that we do have and the freedom that we feel in our spirit to do to our Heavenly Father in prayer about anything and everything.
All prayer is what we are told to pray, at ALL times.
We also do not want to miss the opportunity to help one whom we consider family or friend, one whom we call a brother or sister, to reconnect with their Heavenly Father themselves. We want to be ready to help those who come to us to be reconciled to their Heavenly Father so that they can run into the presence of God whenever they feel the need to. We need to not forget that it is by the Spirit that you are able to call your Heavenly Father, ABBA Father, which means DADDY.
Before moving on to the next translation, I do want to acknowledge that the New International Version also tells us to pray “on all occasions, with all kinds of prayer”. We understand that we are being told when to pray – “on all occasions.” Yet, normally, when this is preached, the emphasis is placed on it being “with all kinds of prayer”. This led me to look up the word “kinds“.
The Oxford dictionary provides the following definition for the word “kinds”
- a group of people or things having similar characteristics.
Synonyms for the word kind are: sort, type, variety, style, form, class, category, genre,
From this, we begin to categorize “types” of prayer (thanksgiving, intercession, prophetic, etc.) but we miss the intimacy of prayer by making prayers “in the Spirit” become about a babble of language that we don’t understand the interpretation of. That is, we didn’t until now.
So the study of the New International Version provides us with How, When, and What.
Let’s proceed to the next version, the New King James Version, which is discussed in Module 8 Activity #2.
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