I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding. (1 Corinthians 14:15)

When I pray in my understanding it directly edifies my mind. It evokes great emotion and passion. It connects me to whomever I am praying for: Lisa, my children, my friends, my staff, etc. Likewise, when I speak from my understanding to declare my Father’s greatness, I am flooded with a sense of thanksgiving and gratitude.

There are also times when I pray in the understanding according to the Spirit’s leading. This is actually another form of praying in the Spirit. But most often, I pray in the Spirit first, and then God gives me the interpretation or the understanding of what I just prayed. The words of understanding flow out of my mouth like a river.

As I write about the importance of praying in the Spirit, I am by no means belittling the need to pray in the understanding. I am instead hoping to communicate that a healthy prayer life includes both prayer in the Spirit and prayer from the understanding. Both are vital to our lives in God.

Our Life Source

Proverbs 20:27 says, “The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly” (KJV). The wonders of God’s Spirit are illuminated and initially revealed in our spirits, not in our minds. This is why, when we pray in the Spirit, we should also believe and ask for the interpretation. The revelation that the Holy Spirit gives to our spirits will then be released and rise to the surface of our understanding.

Proverbs 20:5 states, “Counsel [advice, wisdom, direction, purpose] in the heart of a man is like deep water, but a man [or woman] of understanding will draw it out.” Through the power of the cross, God has given us a new heart (see Ezekiel 36:26). We are now able to draw out counsel (the Holy Spirit is called the Counselor) from the depths of our renewed hearts. Jesus’ words in John 7:38-39 confirm this:

Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, “Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.” (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.) (NLT)

This verse also brings to mind Isaiah 12:3:

With joy you will drink deeply from the fountain of salvation [living water]! (NLT)

John clearly stated that the “living water” Jesus said will flow from our hearts is “the Spirit.” Why does Jesus liken the Spirit to water? Water conveys life and vitality; without it, life on earth would cease. By referring to the Spirit as “living water,” Jesus is saying the Spirit is the very essence of life.