Panorama.

A man in the crowd answered, "Teacher, I brought You my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech." (Mark 9:17, New International Version)

When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, He rebuked the impure spirit. "You deaf and mute spirit," He said, "I command you, come out of him and never enter him again." (Mark 9:25, New International Version)

In this past Sunday's sermon, Pastor Richard pointed out that the father in this narrative had a partial understanding of his son's problem: My son is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. However, when Jesus addressed the spirit, He addressed it with a complete understanding of the problem. Jesus's name for the spirit? Deaf and mute.

In prayer, we often seek to name our difficulties. We can't afford groceries. I have to go to court today. My boss is a tyrant. Our requests often center around what we can see with our physical eyes. Our requests often center around what we consider to be immediate, urgent issues. Our requests are often spoken out a partial understanding, because we have not taken time to seek God's perspective on the issues we face.

As Pastor Richard shared, this is why we are so in need of being submitted to the Holy Spirit of God. Spirit-led prayer is the only way in which we can pray with complete understanding. Why? Because in Spirit-led prayer it is God, not us, who sets the prayer agenda. Our pastor said that we might be earnestly praying for a new home or for healing in our body, while God is urging us by His Spirit to pray for forgiveness in relationships or for obedience to His will.

For a few minutes in Sunday's second service we were able to see a practical application of Spirit-led prayer through another pastor. As Pastor Althea stood and addressed specific problems and difficulties by name, she made it clear that no human being had spoken to her. She simply was in a process of saying aloud what the Holy Spirit had said to her heart. Prophetic prayer is not reserved for pastors: it is God's desire that all His people pray with accuracy and complete understanding. This is a prayer stance that is impossible to achieve apart from the indwelling presence of God's Spirit in us.

In Mark 9:14-29 we have a narrative that shows how ineffective ministry becomes when it is engaged without a full understanding of the issues at hand. Perhaps this is why Jesus, as noted in Acts 1:4-5, directed His disciples to do no ministry until they were empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Is our ministry empowered by the Holy Spirit in us, who knows all things, or are we simply operating out of our own, partial, limited understanding?