TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2025

Unlocking Tremendous Power through the Language of the Holy Ghost

Author: Pastor Chris Oyakhilome DSc DSc DD

MESSAGE: PRAY EFFECTIVELY BY PRAYING IN THE SPIRIT

Prayer is the Christian’s primary communication link with God and the most powerful tool for influencing the events of this life. God’s ultimate desire is for you to have a productive and victorious life, but to achieve this, your prayer must be effective. The Apostle Paul, an undeniable master of spiritual principles, illuminates the distinction between two modes of prayer in 1 Corinthians 14:14-15:

“For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.”

This scripture establishes that the most effective way to engage with the Lord and secure genuine, powerful results is by praying with the spirit, which is the practice of praying in other tongues. This mode of prayer takes pre-eminence over praying with the understanding, as it engages the deepest part of your being and aligns you with God’s perfect will.

1. The Distinction and Pre-eminence of Praying in the Spirit

Paul clearly distinguishes between two forms of Christian prayer:

Praying with the Understanding: This is praying through your mind, using a language you understand (English, French, etc.). In this mode, your intellect guides your petition, allowing you to ask for specific, known needs.

Praying with the Spirit (in Tongues): This is when your spirit prays—a supernatural language where your human understanding is “unfruitful” because it does not grasp the words being uttered.

The Superiority of Tongues

The reason praying in the spirit takes pre-eminence is found in the spiritual mechanics of what is happening when you speak in an unknown tongue:

Direct Communication with God (1 Corinthians 14:2): “For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.” When you pray in tongues, you bypass the limitations of your human mind and speak divine secrets—mysteries—directly to God.
Perfect Alignment with God’s Will (Romans 8:26-27 AMPC): The most powerful benefit is that the Holy Spirit, who dwells within you, is the one directing the prayer. “So too the [Holy] Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance.”
- Since the Spirit searches the mind of God, when you pray in tongues, you are guaranteed to be praying according to and in harmony with God’s will. This is the ultimate form of effective prayer, ensuring that your requests are perfect, regardless of how limited your knowledge of the situation may be.

2. The Mandate and the Power Generated

The Bible makes it clear that praying in the Spirit is not an optional extra; it is a fundamental instruction for every believer seeking an effective prayer life.

The Mandate to Pray Always

Ephesians 6:18 instructs us to be “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.” This is an explicit command to incorporate prayer in the Spirit into our continuous prayer life. It is one of the sure ways to pray effectively, ensuring we are always spiritually sharp and ready for the battles of life.

The Release of Tremendous Power

James 5:16 (AMPC) states that the “earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working].”

The Identity of the Righteous Man: A righteous man is one who is born again, whose righteousness is the righteousness of Jesus Christ. That is you. Therefore, when you pray, tremendous power is made available to produce amazing results.

The Unacknowledged Key: However, many who are righteous still don’t experience this tremendous power; their prayers aren’t as effective as they should be because they don’t pray in tongues. They rely solely on the limitations of their own understanding. Praying in the Spirit is the mechanism that activates this dynamic power consistently.

3. The Transcendent Benefits of Praying in the Spirit

The practice of praying in other tongues yields benefits that go far beyond securing a needed answer; they are benefits that build up the life and spirit of the believer.

Building Up Your Faith

Jude 1:20 instructs the beloved: “But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost.”

Praying in tongues is the supernatural exercise that builds up your spiritual capacity. It strengthens your faith and brings spiritual endurance. Every time you pray in the Spirit, you are strengthening your inner man, making you less susceptible to doubt and fear.

Subduing Evil Forces

Make no mistakes about it; when you pray in tongues, it generates a lot of fire-power that subdues the works and forces of evil amongst other transcendent benefits.

This is spiritual warfare at its highest level. As you speak divine mysteries, you are deploying spiritual ordnance that destabilizes and neutralizes the enemy’s plans. The results will be evident and undeniable: in your home, in your place of work, in your city, in your country and around the world. The effectiveness of your prayer life in tongues is a key determinant in your victory over the darkness of this world.

Spiritual Refreshment

The Bible also describes praying in tongues as a form of spiritual refreshment (Isaiah 28:11-12). It is a supernatural rest for the soul, allowing the Spirit to minister deep peace and strength to your spirit, preparing you for the challenges ahead.

Conclusion

Praying in the Spirit is not an optional spiritual gift; it is the primary way for Christians to pray and pray effectively. It is the language of the Holy Ghost that bypasses human weakness and ensures perfect alignment with the Father’s will.

Embrace this powerful tool. As you consistently pray in other tongues, you are generating divine power, building up your faith, and actively subduing the forces of evil. Your life will be continuously aligned with God’s perfect will, and your results will be nothing short of amazing. Hallelujah!

PRAYER

Dear Father, thank you for the blessing of praying in the spirit. As I pray in other tongues, the forces of evil are subdued, and your will is accomplished in the earth and in the lives of people everywhere. My life is continually aligned with your perfect will, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

FURTHER STUDY

Jude 1:20: The self-edification that occurs when praying in the Holy Ghost.
1 Corinthians 14:2: The mysteries and secrets spoken directly to God in an unknown tongue.
Romans 8:26-27 AMPC: How the Holy Spirit aids us by interceding according to God’s perfect will.

1 Year Bible Reading Plan: Colossians 1:1-23 & Isaiah 44-45
2 Year Bible Reading Plan: John 4:19-29 & 1 Kings 13