Living Hope Fellowship Church

PRAY IN GOD

Training Material

by Pastor Kevin Badgley

PRAY IN GOD

Preface

(riches in Christ,  pray in the Holy Ghost)

Jude 1:20 says, “But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,”  You have to be baptized in the Holy Ghost to obey this scripture. 

Philippians 4:19 says, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”  It says ALL!  I am convinced that if you are prayed up in the Holy Ghost, it is impossible for you to starve to death, freeze to death, or otherwise die before your time, because it says God shall supply all your need!   He will supply it supernaturally.

Don’t take the Lord for granted.  Use that which God has given you.  A born again Christian, who is baptized in the Holy Ghost of God, can get into a realm this world can’t imagine!

Pray in tongues as God gives you the utterance. 

PRAY IN GOD

 by Pastor Kevin Badgley

          Jude 1:20-21 says, “But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”

          Acts 3:16 says, “And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.”  FAITH IN THE NAME OF JESUS healed this crippled man, but this miracle happened because somebody yielded over to God. 

          God wants us to walk in the riches of his glory.  Jude 1:20 says, “But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,”  Obviously, you have to be baptized in the Holy Ghost to obey this particular scripture. 

          Ephesians 6:18 says, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;”  The word “Spirit” is capitalized, because that refers to the Holy Ghost. 

          Our point is to make contact with God and to get into a deeper place with Him.  Ephesians 3:16 says, “That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;” 

For years the church taught that if you got the Holy Ghost, you had it all.  Therefore, you just sat back and relaxed, and you could just coast right on into glory.  Nothing is further from the truth!  Some Christians get down and depressed, even though they are filled with the Holy Ghost, and they quit praying. 

As you pray in the Spirit of God, you begin to be a partaker of God’s riches from glory!  The Holy Ghost is one of His mighty riches to us, but you can draw on God’s treasures even more.  It is the difference between having a drink of water, and being totally saturated by His Spirit.  When you walk by somebody they notice you as just a brother or sister in the assembly, or when you walk by them they can FEEL GOD. 

The more of God you have, the more power over the devil you have.  The more victory you have, the greater witness you are to the world.  When you are all prayed up, you bring faith to the rest of the assembly.  Somebody who is on fire for God always thrills the soul of another saint.  People will come to watch you burn!

Ephesians 6:10 says, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.”  You can’t obey this scripture fully without being prayed up!  As you pray and seek God, you will be strengthened in power of His might.  It is no longer you living, but God living in you, so you get stronger and stronger. 

After prayer, you can run into what normally would have thrown you or would have given you difficulty in your Christian walk, but suddenly it doesn’t matter at all!  It just rolls off like water on a duck’s back.  That is because you had the power of the Lord on you so strong!  You may not even have had to address the thing, because it ran from you, or perhaps it just didn’t have any influence on you.  It couldn’t get through that holy of holies that you have been praying down in your soul. 

If you have not received the baptism in the Holy Ghost, then get it.  If you want to survive in this realm it is necessary.  I don’t want to drag around all of my life.  If you want all of what God has for you, then the first thing that you are going to get, more than likely, is the baptism of the Holy Ghost. 

God wants us to be in prayer.  Jesus prayed all the time.  The apostles prayed all the time.  1 Thessalonians 5:17 says, “Pray without ceasing.”  That is not possible in your normal language or your own mentality.  You run out of something to say at the very most in an hour or two, and at the very least about five minutes.  When you pray in the Spirit you might name a few people or things, but you soon lose track, because you go off in the Spirit. 

As you pray in the Spirit you are edified.  It lifts you up, and you get into a position with God to where you can hear his voice better.  It fills you up in His Spirit.  Suddenly you are no longer walking in a carnal nature, but you are walking in the supernatural.  You are taking on the person of Christ more and more.

According to the riches of His glory we are strengthened by His Spirit in the inner man.  Philippians 4:19 says, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”  It says ALL!  I am convinced that if you are prayed up in the Holy Ghost, it is impossible for you to starve to death.  It is impossible for you to freeze to death.  It is impossible for you to die before your time, because it says here that my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.  God will supply us supernaturally.  He fed Elijah by ravens, and Elijah didn’t even have the power of the Holy Ghost. 

Colossians 1:26-27 says, “Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:”

First He said that He would supply all your need according to His riches in glory, and then He tells you what His riches are:  “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” 

John the Revelator was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day.  The man had prayed, and prayed, and prayed.  Sure, his mind had wandered on this and that, but he kept on praying, and pretty soon he began to focus totally on the Lord.  What happens when the body, soul, mind, and spirit are all centered on the Lord?  You go out in the Spirit! 

Many times when you are praying, your mind is doing things and the flesh is fighting.  The Bible says that the flesh fights the Spirit.  If you don’t think so, get down and try praying for a little while, and see if you don’t want to get up really fast!  Don’t blame that on the devil!  That is your flesh, your old nature.  It can give you a thousand reasons why you need to get up and go do this or that.  You may have a busy day lined up even on the day you die, so you might as well take time out to pray.

Tomorrow isn’t going to be better to pray, and later on today probably won’t be better.  The only way some people get into prayer time is the first thing early in the morning.  It takes discipline to pray, whenever you do it.  If you get up an hour early and pray that hour, I guarantee you that your day will be different

When you pray in the Spirit, there is no distance with God, and you can go out into the Spirit and see Jesus!  You can see the resurrected Christ who saved you.  This is Bible.  This is possible to all saints, but we have to crucify the flesh, because flesh will not enter into the Kingdom of God or His presence. 

          If we could grab the depth of this thing, we would probably all shout, and run, and get out in the Spirit within the week!  2 Corinthians 8:9 says, “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.” 

John 16:7 says, “. . . It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.”

The angels desire to look into the Holy Ghost, 1 Peter 1:12 says!  In Acts, Chapter 2, the angels were astonished when they saw the Holy Ghost come down into believers who accepted Christ.  It filled them to overflowing, and they began to talk in heavenly tongues that the angels had heard up in glory!  God filled mere mortals with the baptism of the Holy Ghost. 

God looks at believers and sees that they accept His Son.  The blood of Jesus is applied, so God passes over them concerning curses and condemnation.  When they seek Him in Jesus’ name, God sends His Spirit and power into the believer.

You can have the Holy Ghost and power, but you have to yield over your body a living sacrifice to God.  You have to throw off the things of your old nature and your old way.  Then you will take on the power of God more and more.  As you die to the flesh, God’s Spirit takes over that portion.  You are dying to self, because you have faith in the Scriptures that this is what you should do.  As you obey, God’s Spirit fills that part.  Keep yielding over to God. 

Paul said in Galatians 2:20, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”  He fasted, and he prayed, and he crucified his old nature.  He died daily and took up Jesus.  That is what this is all about. 

We want to see signs, wonders, and miracles.  We want revival, but people have to come in agreement, and believe God, and walk in the Spirit.  Jesus let us know that at this appointed time all things will be possible to him that believes.  It is not unattainable.  Just get down and start praying.  The work involved is giving it all to Jesus.  He will start running things in front of you, and tell you to get rid of them so He can bless you.

Galatians 3:27 tells us to, “. . . put on Christ.”  Walk in faith in Christ Jesus.  That is when difficulty and wrestling come.  However, as you yield over, you will find that you can walk in the Spirit, and all things are possible.  Jesus said at that point and time, you can talk to the mountain, and it will MOVE. 

          1 Corinthians 1:5-7 says, “That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:  So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:”  

           Through His poverty, we are made rich.  In John 14:20 Jesus said, “At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.”  The testimony in Christ is confirmed by the talking in tongues.  This is the manifestation of the power of God.  (Read John 14:15-21.)

As ministers, witnesses, and saints, we are poor examples many times, yet we are still used of the Lord. 

As we yield to God, the Spirit works in us.  Sometimes as I minister, suddenly it is like I am not talking anymore; it is like somebody is talking out of me.  Others have had this happen.  I have marveled at the presence talking through me.  It is the Spirit of God ministering through me.  It was actually Him doing the talking, teaching, exhortation, and preaching.  Can you imagine walking in that continually?  It is possible.  Galatians 5:16 says, “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.” 

Job 32:18-20 says, “For I am full of matter, the spirit within me constraineth me.  Behold, my belly is as wine which hath no vent; it is ready to burst like new bottles.  I will speak, that I may be refreshed: I will open my lips and answer.”

I can’t imagine a bottle that is filled with new wine that has no vent.  You have the new wine, the Holy Ghost, in you, but you are going to have to have a vent! 

When the Holy Ghost came down in power, the people mocked and said the men were drunk with new wine (see Acts 2:13).  Have you seen the Holy Ghost manifest in the shaking, the falling out in the Spirit, the talking in tongues, the laugh, or the dance?  Have you seen actual drunks act odd? 

I have prayed for people, and I knew they were being touched by the Spirit of God, because their legs were shaking, but they locked them up!  Some people won’t yield to God for anything!  A new bottle filled with new wine without a vent, means something has to give! 

Job 13:19 says, “Who is he that will plead with me? for now, if I hold my tongue, I shall give up the ghost.”  When you get filled with the Holy Ghost, you have to have a vent.  If you don’t vent, you will lose the power. 

That is exactly the opposite of how this realm works.  In the natural when you pour out and pour out, you get emptier, but in the supernatural God desires us to stay fresh and anointed.  John 7:38 says, “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”

When you give praises and prayer, you will find God.  Walking in His Spirit fills you up more and more.  God’s blessing keeps coming down.  Many times after a service I am drained.  When I preach or teach I usually give one hundred percent, so I have to go pray back up. 

If you walk in the Spirit of God, the anointing is perpetual.  God, through his people who are filled with His Spirit, can touch other people that they might feel his blessed power and presence!  When you are filled with the Spirit, it is like He is walking in and out, and up and down in your vessel!  There is just nothing like it! 

You can keep that first love in Jesus that you got when you got saved.  In the days that follow, many cool down.  If you keep prayed up it will never cool down!  It will get hotter!  I encourage people as soon as they get the Holy Ghost to keep on praying and seeking the Lord.

I received the Holy Ghost at work.  When I got home I was tired, but I still got down on my knees and prayed for almost an hour to make sure I could hold on to it!  I was scared to go to sleep, because I didn’t want to lose what I got! 

You have to pray into it.  Many times the Lord will allow to us dig a little bit.  Don’t take the Lord for granted.  Use that which God has given you.  Covet earnestly the best gifts.  If you don’t keep prayed up in the Holy Ghost, the other gifts won’t come to you.  They might manifest occasionally, but you can actually operate in them as you stay prayed up. 

We are talking about the baptism of the Holy Ghost and praying in the Spirit.  Jeremiah talks about when the power of God is really on somebody.  Jeremiah 20:9 says, “Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.”  In other words, he couldn’t stay put; he couldn’t stop.  He had to dance, shout, or do something.  He was under a mighty, holy unction from God.  That is what happens when the power of God hits somebody. 

Some people sing in tongues (see 1 Corinthians 14:15).  Now, I’m not talking about somebody that just rattles and disrupts the service.  If a person is rejoicing in the Spirit that is different.  Luke 10:21 says, “In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit. . . .”  I am convinced that He spoke in tongues. 

Jeremiah didn’t have the baptism of the Holy Ghost, but he had the free move of the Spirit in his life, because he was a prophet.  He spoke about a burning fire.  We understand that the baptism of the Holy Ghost gives us fire and power. 

Jeremiah said it was as a burning fire shut up in his bones!  When you accept Jesus as Savior and Lord, His blood washes you clean!  Then He sends His Spirit into your bones.  If the Holy Ghost is dwelling in your bones, as you pray and walk in the Spirit, and intercede, sinners will feel conviction and a great draw to accept Jesus.  It is a spiritual thing. 

John 20:23 says, “Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.”  In other words, if you don’t pray for them, they aren’t coming in!  God relies on those who are yielded over to Him to pray for them, and then He acts upon that prayer. 

2 Peter 3:9 says, “. . . The Lord is not . . . willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”  Therefore, Jesus went up with the Father, and He sent forth the promise of the Spirit to believers.  He filled us with power so we can pray for the whole world! 

The devil does not want a believer to pray.  That is why he will hound somebody that is filled with the Holy Ghost so much.  He wants to get you down where you won’t pray, but seek God anyway, and watch Him work!

You can be a partaker of the glory of Christ as you pray to God.  Look at Nehemiah, the 4^th chapter.  God’s people had been in bondage for years and years, away from the true light and presence of God.  Now, they were rebuilding the wall in the burnt out area in Jerusalem. 

There is a similitude in Jude 1:20 with Nehemiah 4:17-18 which says, “They which builded on the wall, and they that bare burdens, with those that laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon.  For the builders, every one had his sword girded by his side, and so builded. And he that sounded the trumpet was by me.” 

          They which builded on the wall are like those now who walk in the holiness God has called His church to.  Those who bare burdens had a burden for lost souls.  Those who were laded were the ones who were praying, and seeking God, and fasting. 

It says that every one worked with one of his hands, and with the other hand he held a weapon!  2 Corinthians 10:4-5 says, “(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)  Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;”

Praying in the Spirit is a weapon of your warfare.  Real warfare in the Spirit is fasting and praying and not quitting until you get something from Jesus concerning what you are praying for.  That is pulling down the devil.

The book of Daniel talks about his prayer time, his vision, and his interpretation of other people’s dreams and visions.  He didn’t have the baptism of the Holy Ghost which you can have.  It is amazing what he accomplished just by faith.  The potential for you is greater than that for Daniel or any of the Old Testament men of God.  A born again Christian, who is baptized in the Holy Ghost of God, can get into a realm this world can’t imagine. 

Look at Nehemiah 4:18 again:  “For the builders, every one had his sword girded by his side, and so builded.  And he that sounded the trumpet was by me.”

You have the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, the Bible.  When you come against Satan in prayer, and use the Scriptures against him, you are using that sword.  It cuts him deep, wide, and continuously.  Many times when I quote Scripture in accordance to God’s meaning, the person I am praying for gets something, but when you pray in the Spirit, Jesus - the WORD of God -will manifest Himself in power in your words!  They won’t be just your words, but it will be your words influenced by God, manifested in power. 

The more you pray, the more the Holy Ghost is manifest, and Jesus will be near.  If you open your eyes to the Spirit realm, you will see Jesus standing right there.  You can go out in the Spirit in the supernatural while you are praying and see visions. 

Let me give you an example.  One night we were in the church praying, and I saw this church from the outside.  I saw a ball of fire over it, and then the fire began to come down into the building.  Then the fire was beginning to lick up the outside of all the windows, yet it was not consumed! 

In the Bible, the burning bush Moses saw was not consumed.  The fire of God is a cleansing, healing, delivering, devil casting out FIRE!  God showed me this vision for a purpose!  He showed me the potential of this little church called Living Hope Fellowship! 

Each Christian needs to become a burning bush.  I pray that God will touch every heart that reads these words, and that they will walk in the ways of the Lord!

CONTACT INFORMATION:

PASTOR KEVIN BADGLEY

LIVING HOPE FELLOWSHIP, P. O. BOX 111, GRAND CHAIN, IL  62941

CHURCH / FAX (618) 634-2541

E-mail  livinghope@hughes.net

www.livinghopefellowshipchurch.org

These condensed Bible studies have been published to help new Christians in their new walk with the Lord.  Kevin Badgley, the author, is the pastor of Living Hope Fellowship Church.

This is a Living Hope Fellowship publication.