God’s Spirit can only live inside a person who is saved. But, Jesus said that the Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, would convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. (John 16:8) And, while not everyone will believe, you will be certain to have victory when you study and use His word correctly, as we’ve discussed. Because, God promises that His word will never return void. (Isaiah 55:11)
God’s word will bring victory not only when it’s used to protect you from sin and to tell others about Him, it will bring victory in prayer.
Abraham didn’t have his prayer answered for Sodom to be saved, because God couldn’t find even ten righteous people in that horrible city. But, Abraham started that prayer asking if Sodom could be saved if there were fifty righteous. (Gen. 18:24-33) God was willing to let Abraham pray so far to show His great love and mercy; Sodom was a city filled with all kinds of evil people. Abraham was controlled by the Spirit. That’s what “filled with the Spirit” means when Paul says we should be filled with it. We have Him in us already, but it’s like light. You have light in a room, but then you open a curtain, and it just totally floods the room.
Abraham, in this example, prayed using God’s attributes. Others have done the same thing, crying out to God mentioning His mercy, grace, and so on. Now that the Bible us here, we can also use His Word. For instance, in praying for the unsaved, we can use 2 Peter 3:9, where the Lord says He wants all to come to repentance. Study the Bible – especially the New Testament and Psalms – and see the many awesome promises God gives us. We can use those in prayer as we fight our spiritual battles, because He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8)
