We already known that the end result we're moving towards with the people we are praying for is that they would be free from the pain and trauma of their past. But there will be many time that you sense that you should be praying for more. You won’t feel the relief or release in your prayer, and you won’t have specific knowledge of how you should pray, but you will know somehow that there is something urgently important going on. In these moments, you will only experience breakthrough when you begin praying in the Spirit.

When your gut feelings turn to groans deep down in your belly, in your spirit, there is something taking place in an unseen realm, and if you had human knowledge of what it was, you still would not understand. You can bypass your brain-knowledge and tap into your spirit-man knowledge by opening your mouth and allowing your spirit to pray through you. In John chapter 4, this is referred to as allowing a spring of living water to flow from deep down in your belly.

In other times, Holy Spirit will speak to you in your spirit, or perhaps in a dream and reveal something mysterious to you for your specific prayers. As I have said before, I am wary of speaking about personal experiences as though they are a set template for how God works all the time. There are certain principles in the word of God that apply across all of us equally. But God also deals personally with us in all different ways, and while His principles are Kingdom principles that apply to every citizen of His Kingdom, it may also be true that He has spoken to you in a way that is different than His ways with me.

So in my personal adventure of seeking Him and intercessory prayer, several times Holy Spirit has revealed things to me with dreams and impressions that He was leading me in how to pray for my loved one. For example, in a dream in early 2018, Holy Spirit spoke the word “in-patient treatment center”. I thought that was some kind of mental health treatment facility, but I did not fully understand. That same morning, I was reading a devotional that told a story about a woman being dropped off at a rehabilitation center. But it still did not click in my mind. Later that day, in passing I asked a friend if he knew anything about in-patient treatment centers, and he informed me that it was another name for “rehab”. Now in my spirit I became alert. Finally, on the same day, I sensed Holy Spirit telling me that I needed to watch the 700 Club when it came on later that afternoon, so I made a mental note and tuned in when it was time for the program to air. In that particular episode, a woman shared her testimony about growing up in all kinds of abuse and neglect, becoming addicted to drugs, and eventually being admitted to a rehab center. As if that were not enough, her story and background and even her mannerisms were identical to the person I had been praying for. So, I immediately began praying for God to open the way for this person to check herself into a rehab center.

Months later, it still had not happened. And the temptation was to become impatient with God, or doubt that you were ever hearing from Him in the first place. So let me just say, keep on praying how He told you to pray! Pray until you have peace about it and believe for Him to do what He said! His timing is not our timing so don’t give up! Follow His direction and that will lead you to more direction.