What It Means to be Filled with the Holy Spirit # 52

The Natural Man Receiveth Not the Things of the Spirit (continued)

And, in 1 Samuel 2:1-10, we find the Holy Spirit sharing one of Hannah's prayers, a prayer which is the fruit of her long travail "in the Spirit." Hannah's prayer is a psalm of the Spirit, it is a psalm of praise, worship, devotion, instruction and warfare. It is a priestly prayer "in the Spirit" that delivers God's people out of the power of darkness, and transfers them into their full inheritance - "The Lord maketh ... them inherit the throne of Glory" (1 Samuel 2:7, 8). It is a prophetic prayer "in the Spirit" that proclaims the true King of kings, and Lord of lords - "And He shall give strength unto His King" (1 Samuel 2:10). It is a kingly prayer "in the Spirit" that exalts the Omnipotent Power of Christ, and declares His defeat of His enemies:

"The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; 
Against them will He thunder in Heaven.
The Lord will judge [all peoples] to the ends of the earth;
And He will give strength to His King,
And exalt the power of His anointed -
His Christ" (1 Samuel 2:10).

Dear ones, the prayers of Hannah, the prayers of this lowly handmaiden of the Lord, had in them the ministry of the Psalmist, the Prophet, the Priest, and the King. We do not have to be a Samuel, or a David, or an apostle like John, in order to serve the Lord in these ministries. No, we only have to be like Hannah. We have to be those who will not expend our prayers upon our own natural desires, but who will intercede "in the Spirit" until the Lord is satisfied.

Hannah's prayers were prayers "in the Spirit"; for Hannah, like the Apostle John in Revelation 1:9 and 10, was "in the Spirit" in the Lord's Day. Hannah was "in the Spirit" and it was the Sovereign Imperial Day of the Lord, fr God was working all things after the counsel of His Own Will. And we need to realize that Hannah's praying "in the Spirit" did as much to defeat Goliath as David did. For when David ran to meet Goliath, he cried through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit: "The Battle is the Lord's and He will give you into our hands" (1 Samuel 17:47). Notice, h said "into our hands!" Yes, David was moving in the good of Hannah's prayers, for Hannah's prayers were breaking down, and making a way through, the unseen forces of evil long before David met Goliath, the uncircumcised Philistine.

Beloved, we need the uncompromising Samuels and the courageous Davids today, but in order to have them, we must first of all have the Hannahs. We must have men and women who will not expend their prayers on their own natural desires, but who will pray, travail, intercede, and persevere "in the Spirit" on all occasions, in all seasons, until God has His End through His Way.

~T. Austin-Sparks~

(continued with # 53 -"The Victory of the Cross of Christ")