Going Deep with God #5: Praying in the Spirit
Submitted by John T ReaganI 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
Welcome to the web site of John T. Reagan. John was raised on a small farm in the mountains of Southern Idaho. After graduating high school he obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics and went on to teach in the secondary public schools. He and his wife, Ruth, raised (and homeschooled) two awesome sons. Besides teaching school, John pastored two small rural churches in the Pacific Northwest, later attempting to plant a new church in Butte, Montana. He recently has focused his efforts on writing. You are invited to read his blog posts and purchase his books, Understanding the Prophetic Nature (2013) and The Gift of Tongues: A Tool in the Hand of God (2020). A third book, God Revealed: Finding God in the Marriage Relationship, is scheduled for publication in late 2021. Come back often, post your thoughts about the book on the blog, comment on Pastor John's posts and be sure to follow this site on your favorite social media. (Or, if you aren't fond of social media sites, click the RSS feed so you won't miss Pastor John's latest posts.)
Do you know people who seem to be gifted in the prophetic ministry? What makes them tick? Why do they sometimes misbehave in the church? Especially concerning, is that they sometimes conflict with pastors. Somehow, two ministries that God intended to complement each other are instead at odds. That is not a good thing. Understanding the Prophetic Nature takes a look at the spiritual foundations from which the prophetically gifted person operates, explores the prophet's basic nature, delves into his special relationship with God, and seeks to bridge the divide that far too often stands between the pastor and the prophet. Giving glory to God throughout the text, using creative examples, endearing stories and relevant scriptures, the author connects the various themes of the book, creating an unforgettable read.
The gift of tongues – It's such a bizarre and strange gift! Why would anyone want to speak in a language they never learned and don't comprehend? It's not hard to understand why God would give the gift of healing to His people, but why the gift of tongues? What purpose does it serve? This book discusses those questions and more by showing us not only why God gives this gift, but by also helping us see the many great benefits it brings to those who choose to name the name of Christ.
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
In my last post I challenged you to consider the question, how badly do you want God? One cannot answer that question quickly so keep pondering on it for a while. Sometimes I wonder if it might take a lifetime to find the real answer. Here are some other topics I want to cover before we finish this series. I have already mentioned the concept of praying in the spirit along with a promise to cover that topic. The concept of praying in the spirit is very connected with the idea contained in Paul’s command to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess 5:17). Look that reference up, check o
You will call to Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you…
Jeremiah 29:12-14
Most Christians, when we find ourselves seeking to go deeper with God, think first about the practice of fasting. It’s almost a knee-jerk kind of thinking, but we go that direction because that’s what we see modeled for us by the heroes of the Bible. Those guys knew.........
Every Christian, every person who has chosen to follow Christ and call himself or herself by His name, comes, in the course of life, to times that demand that they go deep into God. For instance, a time of deep, unmet material needs can force us to seek Him. Perhaps a battle with sickness, either in one's own body or in someone close and important to us, can become an imperative that forces us to go deep into our relationship with the Lord as we seek resolution. Then there are times when we find ourselves attacked by our enemy the devil. When we are under spiritual attack, victory can o
Author's Note: We moved to Butte, Montana in 2007 with the dual purpose of caring for Ruth's elderly mother, and planting a church. That church plant was eventually unsuccessful, but through that process, the light still managed to shine and dispel the darkness of that city. When we first started taking concrete steps towards establishing the church, we expected that God would be bringing others to us who would grasp the vision and join us in the work. Butte is/was very dark, in a spiritual sense, and I knew that anyone joining us would need help as they entered into th
I found it deeply disheartening last January when Joe Biden took office and moved into the White House. America has fallen, once again, to the rule of those opposed to Christ, to those opposed to all that is good. Most serious Christians are deeply disappointed in the outcome of the elections and in the man who now sits in the White House. Since then it has been especially difficult to watch the President and the Democrats in Congress systematically destroy freedom in America, establish unrighteous laws and policies, and squander our taxes. They seem to be especially zealous in their di
Author's Note: My mother passed away several years ago, but I still have, mixed in with other papers, stories, and other writings penned by her. She actually did quite a lot of writing and was sometimes published in a few, small magazines. Always her words are insightful. I ran across this piece a few days ago and thought I'd share it here. The original is typewritten (Mother did most of her writing before computers were prevalent) so I scanned it and ran it through an OCR engine. Surprisingly, the OCR scan required very little correcting and what you see below is mostly just as she typed it. Enjoy the read.
THE UNHAPPY SHEEP
by Roselee Reagan
Once upon a time there was an unhappy sheep. Life had not been good to this sheep. The farmer who owned her always beat her. The other sheep were always kicking Unhappy away. Sometimes......
I suppose that when most people pull up an article titled How to Study the Bible, they are expecting instruction on lots of methods and techniques. This series wasn’t like that. To be sure, I did suggest that my readers try out a few methods like just reading it without worrying about how deep you are going with your understanding. The understanding will come, but sometimes quantity is better than quality. I also suggested repeatedly speed-reading a chosen section, thus giving the Holy Spirit a chance, through repetition, to open up the truths contained in His word. I may have mentione
When the Apostle Paul was talking to the intellectual VIP’s in Athens, he told them that “...in Him (speaking of God) we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28)” What a super-profound statement. Everything we do, everything we say, everything we think is in Him......