"in the Spirit"

[Aquila]

I'll share my thoughts. Essentially the same as Bro. Blume's. I just word it a little different.

Praying in the Spirit is praying as the Spirit leads you to pray, be it in tongues or your native language.

To be "in the Spirit" means to be in present and conscious awareness of the abiding presence of the Spirit within you. Having the Spirit we realize that Christ is in the Father, the Father in Christ, and Christ in us... through the Spirit. This abiding in us is more than merely the Spirit dwelling within us, it is the Spirit's presence and permeation of our spiritual being, our inner man. Through this abiding reality we become one spirit with the Lord (I Corinthians 6:17) and branches of the vine, Jesus Christ (John 15:5). These realities being so, we realize that we are living extensions of Christ Himself. Being in present conscious awareness of this spiritual reality is being "in the Spirit".

And "walking in the Spirit" is allowing the abiding presence of the Spirit to lead and guide you in your thoughts, actions, and decisions. It is the opposite of living in accordance to the law, as Bro. Blume stated. It is the daily, moment by moment, willingness to follow the Spirit's will and leading in all things as opposed to any codified list of laws, standards, or regulations.

[mizpeh]

Originally Posted by Aquila

I'll share my thoughts. Essentially the same as Bro. Blume's. I just word it a little different.

Praying in the Spirit is praying as the Spirit leads you to pray, be it in tongues or your native language.

To be "in the Spirit" means to be in present and conscious awareness of the abiding presence of the Spirit within you. Having the Spirit we realize that Christ is in the Father, the Father in Christ, and Christ in us... through the Spirit. This abiding in us is more than merely the Spirit dwelling within us, it is the Spirit's presence and permeation of our spiritual being, our inner man. Through this abiding reality we become one spirit with the Lord (I Corinthians 6:17) and branches of the vine, Jesus Christ (John 15:5). These realities being so, we realize that we are living extensions of Christ Himself. Being in present conscious awareness of this spiritual reality is being "in the Spirit".

And "walking in the Spirit" is allowing the abiding presence of the Spirit to lead and guide you in your thoughts, actions, and decisions. It is the opposite of living in accordance to the law, as Bro. Blume stated. It is the daily, moment by moment, willingness to follow the Spirit's will and leading in all things as opposed to any codified list of laws, standards, or regulations.

Well said.

[mfblume]

1 Corinthians 14:14-15 For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful. (15) 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.

The context above shows praying in tongues to be something in which our understanding is unfruitful. IOW, praying WITH understanding is not praying in tongues. We cannot even understand what we are praying, ourselves, when we pray in tongues.

Notice he said HIS SPIRIT is praying when he prayed in tongues. That is what must be carried over into the next verse when we read about [praying in the spirit. He said that was contrasted from his understanding. So, if he prayed in tongues and his spirit prayed and his understanding was unfruitful, then the next verse speaking about praying in the SPIRIT is praying in tongues! And praying with the understanding is contrasted from praying in tongues, and refers to praying with understanding which means praying in our native language. We can understand our own native language. We see that by contrasting praying with understanding from praying in spirit. So, praying in the spirit cannot refer to praying in our native language. Context disallows that in these two verses.