The book, True Praying in the Holy Spirit, by G. H. C. Macgregor gives us great insight on the help of the Holy Spirit to the prayers of the believers. As we know, prayer is so vital to our Christian life. It is through prayer we draw near to God. It is through prayer we commune with God. It is through prayer we offer our thanksgiving and present our request to God. Prayer deepens our Christian life. And God works through prayer!

In his book, G. H. C. Macgregor says, "As the new-born child cries, and by crying gives proof that it is physically alive, so the new-born Christian prays, and by praying gives proof that he is spiritually alive. So important a factor is prayer in Christian experience, that the history of a man’s progress in the Divine life is just the history of his progress in the knowledge and in the use of prayer. Prayer is such an infallible index of a man’s spiritual condition that it might almost be said, ‘As a man prays, so he is.’" (Macgregor, True Praying In The Holy Spirit, p. 10)

Prayer is such an important factor in our Christian walk and the spiritual condition of the church. "The greatest need of the Church of Christ today is the need of prayer… If our faith is to be perfected, if our spiritual life is to be deepened, if our service is to be made more fruitful, God must do it, and God must do it in answer to prayer. But to the work of prayer none of us is equal. Here, if we are to prevail, we must have the mighty assistance of God, the Holy Spirit." (p. 7)

"… As prayer forms such an important part of our spiritual experience, we may be prepared to find that the Holy Spirit has quite a peculiar function to discharge in connection with prayer. What that function is, it is our desire now to discover. We are to inquire what, according to the Scriptures, is the relation of the Holy Spirit to the prayers of believers. To what extent may we rely on the help of the Holy Spirit as we draw near to God in prayer, and in what manner may we expect His power to be put forth? The subject is of immerse importance. If we only know what it is habitually and unceasingly to pray in the Holy Spirit, how much closer our communion with God, and how much greater our power with men, will be!" (p. 10-11)

We will present a detailed discussion by G. H. C. Macgregor on the subject of "praying in the Holy Spirit" chapter by chapter on this Web page. Please keep watching for it in the following weeks (The first chapter will be presented to you in two days, which is Thursday, January 13, 2000).

May the Lord use this book to deepen our prayer life, to teach us to pray in the Holy Spirit.