Scripture For Today:Ezra 9:1“After these things had been done, the leaders came to me and said, “The people of Israel, including the priests and the Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the neighboring peoples with their detestable practices, like those of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians and Amorites.”The Holy Spirit is Our Helper in Prayer pt 2Yesterday, we started to look at the help that the Holy Spirit provides us when we really do not know what exactly our how exactly we should be praying. This could involve specific situations in our life that are not covered in the Bible. It could cover things that are in the Bible, things Jesus and the Word have covered, but that we are not familiar with.

That is where the Holy Spirit can step in and “intercede” for us in our prayers to make them effective. Amen!

The scripture we used yesterday was from Romans 8:26 that says, “…the Holy Spirit also helps our infirmities; for we do not know what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself (Himself) makes intercession for us…”

The Greek actually makes this a little clearer in the definition that reads, “…with groanings that cannot be uttered with articulate speech.” Amen!

We used the example yesterday of something Jesus DID NOT DO. He did not tell His disciples, “Ok folks, I did all I did so you can be saved. Now figure how to live here on your own until I return.” He did not do that.

He sent us the comforter, which occurs at the new birth. We have already identified that as the INDWELLING of the Holy Spirit. And then we receive the INFILLING of the Holy Spirit when we are BAPTIZED WITH the Holy Spirit. Two separate things.

Then, we found the Holy Spirit will help us to pray effectively in areas we don’t know how or what to pray for. But that will only happen when we have been baptized with His Spirit.

How sad is it that so many Christian believers are born again, love the Lord, but the very thing they need the most is most often the very thing they are afraid of. Not because of anything THEY have done wrong, but because of the misguided teaching by some denominations and pastors that “speaking in tongues is of the devil” or “has been done away with.”

When you talk to these believers about speaking in tongues or receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit, they actually become afraid. Yet, this is the very thing they need the most in order to get their prayers answered.

I used to be that way. When I was first born again, I went and joined an Independent Baptist Church, simply because it was located close by and was convenient. I was indoctrinated into their belief system.

But I loved the Lord and wanted to study and listen to the Word being taught all of the time, not just on Sunday morning. So I started to watch Christian television and listen to Christian radio and buy Christian books – and actually read them. Amen!

And what I found was this “speaking in tongues” and the power that was available, etc. So I started to study it out. And I would ask the pastor and some others and was told, “Be careful listening to teaching like that. It’s of the devil.”

But, the thing was, the night in which the Lord came into my heart (I’ve shared my testimony before and I’m about out of time, so I won’t go through it here), I received both the INDWELLING of the Holy Spirit (the rebirth) AND the INFILLING all within about 5 minutes of each other! Two separate, but powerful experiences.

AND I was speaking, singing and praising God in tongues for about 20 minutes. Praise God!

So I know what happened to me that night. And it was not lining up with what I was being taught by this Independent Baptist group I was part of.

This continued on for about two years or so until I decided to attend a meeting one of the ministries I was following (and was sending offerings to because I wanted to partner with them and tap into that anointing – which is a teaching I could do on...