PRAYING WITH THE SPIRIT AND WITH THE UNDERSTANDING !

PRAYING WITH THE SPIRIT AND WITH THE UNDERSTANDING: Verse 15 contains Paul's teaching: "What is it then ? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also. . ." There is a further meaning to this verse than the one we have generally accepted. First, it means we can pray both way: with the Spirit (in tongues) and with the understanding (in our own language praying the Word of God). But it also means that if we pray to be given the interpretation of what we pray in tongues, we may pray in the spirit and afterwards God may give us the interpretation. If this happens, we will understand what we have prayed. About tongues, and we can pray with our understanding in our native language, praying the premises of the Word of God. Not just speaking or saying phrases from an UN-Renewed Mind. I have prayed in this manner since 1987. In those days, I didn't have any teaching along those lines. Some even thought that once a person was filled with the spirit and spoke in tongues, it wasn't necessary for him or her to speaking, ever again ! (Sadly, many believers still do not raise above this level today.) After I was first filled with the Spirit, I would find myself praying in tongues when I was praying in my understand, and I will stop, because I wasn't sure if it was right or not. However, about a year later as I studied the Word, I saw that it was all right to pray in tongues; that this blessing is for us today. Similarly, I interpreted my prayer long before I did any interpreting in public. I know from experience the difference it makes in one's prayer life, when I pray in the spirit, (in tongues) and I pray the promises of God's Word. Some of my first experiences along this line came when I was a new believer. I was deeply in love with the Lord and would seek Him and wait on Him. While praying about my ministry and the sermons I was to preach, the spirit of the Lord would move upon me and I will interpret what I had just praying in tongues. One day while praying in the Spirit, I had a dream that night, I found out that I was praying about my mother who was in danger of being killed ! I also learned that she was trying to catch a cab getting off of a bus. I was interpretation my prayer in tongues, I will pray a few words in tongues and then pray the interpretation. At that time I was a single man of 21 and I was so wrapped up in spiritual things that I didn't have time for natural worldly things. Of course I was incarcerated at that time ! My thirst and hunger for a deeper relationship with God increased some of the other inmates thought that I was just being religious in my endeavors to know the Lord. That's when the desire to be a outside trustee came upon me. I began to pray (Mark 11:22- 23), and the Holy Spirit said put in your request form which is and I-60. It came back denied. I pray the same Scripture and versus, telling God what he said ! Again the Holy Spirit says put in your request form which is and I-60. It came back denied again. I went to God the third time, telling him what (Mark 11:22-23) says, again the Holy Spirit said put in your request form. This time it came back granted !