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it shall bruise thy head

Gen 3:14-15 – And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Emerging Church

This has been invading many churches of all types over the last several years and has been popping up more and more even among those who have been historically strong bible teachers.

We have a responsibility to prove all things and try the spirits as seen in these verses:

Ezekiel 33:6 – But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.

1 Thess 5:21 – Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

1 John 4:1 – Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

Eph 5:10-11 – proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them

Following are notes I have collected so far concerning the Emerging Church.

Emerging Church


Sometimes known as the “Emergent” or “Emerging” church, it goes by many names and boasts being defined by a lack of definition and rules (a.k.a. CONFUSION)

Instead of a focus on belief and what they believe, they emphasize experience, mystical practices, spiritual disciplines, conversation, seeker sensitive, purpose driven, relational, hipster, and what they consider “being relevant and accessible”.

Emergents are characterized by not having a statement of faith or being nailed down to any one belief.

Emergents typically divert the “conversation” by saying they are protesting against regimentation, dress codes, formality, traditions, etc…

They also marginalize anyone critical of them as being “religious”, “legalistic”, “traditional”, or “archaic”.

However, orders of service and what music is used for worship is not the real issue.

The issue is that they introduce liberal theology, corrupt doctrine, doubting of scriptural authority, and mystical/new-age practices.

Emergent leaders

Brian McLaren, Phyllis Tickle, Marcus Borg, Dallas Willard, Richard Foster, Leonard Sweet, Bob Buford, Brennon Manning, Eugene Peterson, Donald Miller, Rob Bell, Erwin McManus, Tony Jones, Doug Pagitt, Jim Willis, Tony Campolo, Richard Rhor, Andy Stanley, John Ortberg, Frank Viola, Laurie Beth Jones, Ruth Haley Barton, Shane Claiborn, Dan Kimball, Shane Hipps, Spencer Burke, Peter Rollins, Steve Chalke, Rick Warren, Nadia Bolz-Weber, Jay Bakker and many others
http://bereanresearch.org/emergent-church/

Emergent Practices


Since true biblical spirituality and order is done away with and labeled too “traditional”, it is replaced with ancient mystical ritualistic disciplines.

Mystical practices and disciplines are encouraged though each gathering of emergent church adherents employ a different mix of practices including: symbolic, multi-sensory worship; centering prayer; prayer beads; icons; spiritual direction; labyrinths; and lectio divina.  

They usually start with seemingly innocent “prayer” disciplines such as “praying the psalms” or repeating phrases over and over (vain repetitions Matt 6:7) and slowly introduce more and more practices.

Breath Prayers – Similar to the Catholic Church, the Emergent Church encourages the use of a mystic practice referred to as contemplative prayer or breath prayers.  A Breath prayer is a short phrase or sentence that is repeated throughout the day.  It’s like a mantra.  While the Catholic Church encourages it’s adherents to pray the rosary every day to increase their treasury of merit, the Emergent Church encourages it’s adherents to repeat breath prayers throughout the day to create an experience for the believer.   

“Many Christians use “Breath Prayers” throughout their day. You choose a brief sentence, or a simple phrase that can be repeated to Jesus in one breath.” – Rick Warren

Meditation – Unlike Biblical meditation which engages the mind and chews on and digests scripture — the mystical meditation practiced by the Emergent Church is a form of transcendental meditation that is about disengaging the mind.   

“Get in touch with your lungs by closing your eyes. Visualize in your mind a tennis court” 8.“Hold your Bible and breathe meditatively. The breathtaking, nay, breathgiving truth of aliveness is more than Methuselean in its span: Part of your body right now was once actually, literally part of the body of Abraham, Sarah, Noah, Esther, David, Abigail, Moses, Ruth, Matthew, Mary, Like, Martha, John, Priscilla, Paul… and Jesus. 9. Keep breathing quietly while holding your Bible. You have within you not just the powers of goodness resident in the great spiritual leaders like Moses, Jesus, Muhammed, Lao Tzu You also have within you the forces of evil and destruction.” Resident in each breath you take is the body of angels like Joan of Arc and devils like Gilles de Rais, Genghis Khan, Judas Iscariot, Herod, Hitler, Stalin and all the other destructive spirits throughout history” – Leonard Sweet, Quantum Spirituality.

Lectio Divina – divine reading, a.k.a. spiritual formation, the silence, but is best known as contemplative prayer. This is a growing trend in evangelical churches. The prayer ritual stems from teaching associated with Catholic mystics such as Meister Eckhart, Ignatius of Loyola, St. John of the Cross, and St. Teresa of Avila. Contemplative prayer was reintroduced by Thomas Merton, Thomas Keating, Henri Nouwen, William Meninger, Basil Pennington and other mystics. The aim is to achieve an altered-state-of-consciousness.

Prayer Labyrinth – used to facilitate prayer, meditation, spiritual transformation, and/or global unity. A labyrinth is a path which leads, via a circuitous route, to the center of an intricate design and back out again. A labyrinth’s route is unicursal; that is, it has only a single path. Unlike a maze, a labyrinth is designed for ease of navigation

Ignatian Examen – One of the few rules of prayer that Ignatius Loyola made for the Jesuit order was the requirement that Jesuits practice the Examen twice daily—at noon and at the end of the day. It’s a habit of self-reflection that Jesuits, and many other Christians, practice to this day.

Bono and the Emerging Church
Bono and U2 are the poster children of the Emergent Church and many think that U2 is a Christian group.

More than once I’ve heard of people who experienced and “epiphany” (in reality an initiation) during a U2 concert and saying that they consider their experience during a U2 concert as demonstrating to them what “true” worship should be.

Watch this short trailer for a documentary about Bono and what he truly believes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAXhJKlUrok

If nothing else, we need to be prepared to recognize these false teachings (Matt 10:16) so that we 1) don’t get trapped in them, and 2) can help others keep from being deceived by it.

Baptism

Part I


Jesus was baptised
Matthew 3:13-16 –
Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But
John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to
me?  And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus
it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And
Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the
heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a
dove, and lighting upon him: and lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
Baptism is part of
the Doctrine of Christ
Hebrews 6:1-2 –
Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection;
not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith
toward God, of the doctrine
of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead,
and of eternal judgment.
John 3:1-5 –
There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:  the same came to Jesus by night, and said unto
him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do
these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily,
verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom
of God.  Nicodemus saith unto him, How
can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his
mother’s womb, and be born?  Jesus
answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he
cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Baptisms in the Old Testament
1Cor 10:1-4 –
Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our
fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all
baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and did all eat the same
spiritual meat; and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of
that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
In the old testament, an
immersion in water (or mikveh) was a process of spiritual purification and
cleansing.   Immersion was required as
part of conversion to Judaism, cleansing after being “unclean”,
cleansing of utensils, and ritual immersion by for ceremonial purifications.  

The mikveh also represented the
“womb” from which the one being immersed emerged in a new birth
separating them from the world.

Baptism can seen in
Noah passing through the flood leaving the world that then was behind.  Also in the Israelites coming up out of the
land of slavery, passing through the Red Sea and leaving bondage behind.  Also in the Israelites passing through the
river Jordan and entering the Promised Land.
Baptism is for Believers – follows belief and repentance
Matthew 28:19-20 – Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Mark 16:15-16 – And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned

Acts 2:38-41 – Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.  For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.  And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

Acts 8:36-38 – See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?  And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.  And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.

Part II

Philip and the Ethiopian’s Baptism
Acts 8:26-40 – And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet.  Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.  And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.
The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: in his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?  Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.  And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?  And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.  And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.  And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.  But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Cæsarea.

Baptism is by
Immersion
Mark 1:10 – And
straightway coming up out
of the water, he saw the heavens rent asunder, and the Spirit as a dove
descending upon him

Acts 8:38b-39a –
and he baptized him.  And when they were come up out of the water
The Greek word
‘baptizo’ means to immerse, plunge, dip, or bury in water and where we get the
Bible word ‘baptism’.
Baptism Does Not
Save (or help to save) Us
Mark 1:8 – I
baptized you in water; But he shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit.

Titus 3:5 – Not by works of righteousness
which we have done, but
according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewal
of the Holy Spirit

Baptism does not wash
or regenerate us, but it instead represents
the washing and regeneration of the Holy Spirit.  It is the Holy Spirit that washes and
regenerates us.
Baptism is an outward sign of an inward change
Matthew 10:32-33 – Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. (Luke 12:8-9)

We identify with
Jesus
Acts 19:1-5 – And
it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through
the upper country came to Ephesus, and found certain disciples: and he said
unto them, Did ye receive the Holy Spirit when ye believed? And they said unto
him, Nay, we did not so much as hear whether the Holy Spirit was given. And he
said, Into what then were ye baptized? And they said, Into John’s baptism. And
Paul said, John baptized
with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people that they should
believe on him that should come after him, that is, on Jesus. And when they
heard this, they were
baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.

Galatians 3:26-27
– For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of
you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

Matthew 28:19 – Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. 

Baptism represents
the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus
Romans 6:3-5 – Know
ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized
into his death?  Therefore we are buried
with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead
by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.  For if we have been planted together in the
likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:

I Peter 3:21 –
The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting
away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward
God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:

Colossians 2:10-15
– And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:  in whom also ye are circumcised with the
circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the
flesh by the circumcision of Christ:  buried with him in baptism,
wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God,
who hath raised him from the dead.  And you, being dead in your sins and the
uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having
forgiven you all trespasses;  blotting
out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to
us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; and having spoiled
principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them
in it.
Represents
being made part of the Body of Christ
1 Corinthians
12:13 – For in one Spirit were we all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks,
whether bond or free; and were all made to drink of one Spirit.
Ephesians 4:3-5 –
endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.  There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye
are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
Any believer can
administer Baptism
Acts 8:38 – And
he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they both went down into the
water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.

The authority of baptism is in Jesus Christ, so any believer can baptise in His name.  It is not dependent upon a special person or priest.

Don’t put off
baptism
2Cor 6:2 – For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation


Acts 8:36 – See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?

Acts 22:16 – And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on his name.

Commentary
The wages of sin is death.  We are unable to satisfy payment for our sins.  When Jesus died on the
cross, He, who had no sin, paid the death penalty for our sins. Through baptism
we are united with Christ in paying the death penalty for sin. We are baptized
into His death, into the death penalty for sin. 


We are unable to return from
death on our own because of sin.  Because
Jesus is sinless and victorious over death, we join Him in Resurrection
through uniting with Him in Resurrection. 

We are saved by grace
through faith.  Through the baptismal act of faith God gives us a way to act on our belief in our participation in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (an event
which occurred 2000 years ago).

Baptism is about
leaving our old sinful, worldly ways behind and taking on the
yoke of Christ. It is about lifestyle change and dying to ourselves and doing
God’s will instead of ours. Our reason and purpose for living changes after
baptism. Afterward is a new way of life. Baptism is about faith, total commitment
of the heart, surrender, self-denial, death, resurrection, repentance, and
seeking God’s mercy through Jesus Christ and the work He completed on the cross.
Order of Service
Baptism is an expression of our faith that we share in the
death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus (Rom 6:4).  It is an outward sign of an inward change of heart and
our opportunity to confess our faith in Jesus before men (Matt 10:32).
Q: Why are you here?
A: To be baptised
Q: What do you believe?
A: I believe that Jesus is the Son of God, He died for my
sins, He rose again from the dead, and He is my Savior.

__(name)______, be baptized in the name of Jesus, in whom is the fullness of
the Godhead: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38; Acts 8:16; Acts
19:5; Matt 29:19; Col 2:9)

shekinah

I hear this word used a lot.  You hear many people speak of the “shekinah glory”, often in ignorant “parroting” of something they heard somewhere.

The word “shakan” which means abiding, dwelling, or habitation is in the hebrew text 128 times (Strong’s 7931).

The hebrew word “shekinah” is not in the Hebrew biblical text and is a “feminine” form.

It is found in rabbinic literature and comes from the jewish mystical tradition, or kabbalah (a form of Babylonian mystery religion) and in this religion shekinah refers to the “divine feminine” or a feminine aspect of God.

The traditions of men is what Jesus rebuked the elders of Israel for in Matthew 15:1-20, Mark 7:1-4, Luke 11:37-41

The heretical concept of the “divine feminine” is a common theme in most esoteric traditions and can be traced back to the Osiris, Semiramis, and Tammuz mythos.

Note how it has influenced these famous paintings where we see the “red headed girlfriend of God” making an appearance…

Whereas the verb shakan and terms from the root (shkn) occur in the Hebrew Scriptures, and while the term shekinah/shekinta is extremely common in rabbinic literature and the targums, no occurrence of it is attested in pre-rabbinic literature.
McNamara, Martin (2010). McNamara, Martin, ed. argum and Testament Revisited: Aramaic Paraphrases of the Hebrew Bible: A Light on the New Testament (Second ed.). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. ISBN 9780802862754.
The term “shekhinah” is not found in the Bible, and it was formulated in talmudic literature from the biblical verb designating the residence (shkn) of God in the temple in Jerusalem and among the Jewish people. “Shekhinah” is used in rabbinic literature as one of the many abstract titles or references to God.
Dan, Joseph (2006). Kabbalah: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press. p. 46. ISBN 9780195300345.
See also
Dictionary of Comparative Religion (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons 1970), p. 573: “Shekinah”.

Adam male and female?

 

Some say that Adam was created as a hermaphrodite. Is this supported in scripture? If true, does that mean God is the same since Adam was created in His image?

 

 

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.  And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

Gen 1:26-28

In Genesis 1:26-28 we see a brief overview describing the creation of the first man and woman who were the parents of mankind.

God announces His plan that mankind (the first “them” in v26) have dominion over all the earth.

In manifesting this plan, first God creates man (Adam) — “created He him” — in His own image, emphasizing that God created man first and the man was in God’s image.  Note that the pronoun “him” (referring to Adam) is singular.

Then scripture reveals that the plural “male and female created He them” emphasizes that God created the male and the female as individuals.

God first created the “him”, female did not exists until the “him” (single individual) became a “them” (two individuals).

Genesis chapter 2 expands on the introductory summary of day six in chapter 1.

In verse 2:7 we see a more detailed account of how God created man:

Genesis 2:7 – And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Later in Genesis 2:21-24 we see a more detailed account of how the first woman, Eve, was created

Genesis 2:21-24 – And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; and the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.  And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh

The rib taken out of Man (Adam) consisted of bone and flesh and was used to make the first woman, Eve.

Notice there is no indication or allusion to taking out a “feminine” nature or anything of the sort out of Adam — unless you read into it from a source outside scripture…

God is not the author of confusion
There is a false teaching floating around that God first created Adam as both male and female.   Many people “parrot” and repeat this teaching because they do not know the God’s words and think it sounds very intellectual.

Consider that since Adam was created in God’s image (Gen 1:27), then if Adam was a mixture of male/female it would mean that God was both male and female.

Jesus was the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Col 1:19) and the second Adam (1 Cor 15:47).  Does this mean that Jesus was both male and female too?

According to God’s own law (Deut 22:5), if Adam were a confusion of male and female he would be an abomination.   This confusion does not come from the Bible.  Instead it has to be “read into” the bible from an outside source…  

The heresy of God having both a masculine and feminine nature comes from mysticism known as the “tradition” or Kabbalah  (note this is mystical kabbalah which differs from Judaism that follows the Tanakh).

In Kabbalah this gender confusion is known as the “divine feminine” and various other terms.

This is not how God has revealed Himself in scripture.  When we add to or take away from God’s nature as He has revealed Himself, we create our own false god and idol out of our vain imaginations.

The false “gods” of these pagan religions often have both male and female parts.  If you look up “baphomet” you will see a depiction of this false god which is an abominable mixture of male/female, animal/mankind/angelic, mammal/reptile/bird/fish (Deut 4:16-18).

There is no Biblical support for this false doctrine.  One has to wrest the scriptures in Genesis to try and suggest any kind of legitimacy.  There are no supporting witnesses in the rest of scripture.  There is no dependency relationship with other biblical doctrines. This teaching is in contradiction to other very clear scriptures.  This teaching also disparages, blasphemes, and confuses the nature of both God and Jesus in contradiction to how He has revealed Himself in scripture.

The teaching that Adam was created as male and female is not from the Bible.  It comes from the traditions of men.

Matt 15:3 – But he [Jesus] answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?

Notes:
– it can be said that the genetic information for all of mankind (both male and female) was in Adam
– the focus of this article is that there is no support for Adam being both masculine and feminine either in nature, sexuality, gender, etc…
– God is Spirit and not flesh and bone (Luke 24:39) if sex is solely an attribute of the flesh, then perhaps it could be said gender does not apply to God — however, God has represented Himself in scripture as male in nature, presents Himself as Father and with masculine pronouns so to try and represent Him any other way is creating a false god
– when the Word took on flesh and bone, He, Jesus, took on the male sex and was the Son of God
– the role and importance of women is supported throughout scripture and is in no way diminished — to the contrary the significance of the woman is magnified by a proper understanding of Genesis 1 and 2

doctrine

For something to be established as a doctrine it must be affirmed by:
1. Support of at least 2 to 3 clear scriptural witnesses (cannot “wrest” or twist the scriptures to try and conjure up a witness)
2. Being in harmony with all other scripture (not contradict any other scripture)
3. Being essential to and dependent on other scriptural doctrines
4. Glorifies God

praying in the Holy Ghost

John 4:24 – God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Acts 2:4 – And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Rom 8:26-27 – Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.  And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

1 Corinthians 14:2 – For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.

1 Corinthians 14:4 – He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church.

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

Eph 6:18 – Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Jude 1:20 – But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,