The apostle Paul instructed, “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints” (Ephesians 6:18).[1] It is necessary for us to grasp how important it is for us to exercise our prayer life in the Spirit in the heavenly realms. You can pray at any time and in any place. But it is wise to open our hearts to the teaching in the Scriptures that direct us to pray in the Spirit. You first enter into this realm of spirit and then in that place you pray. I believe that is what Paul was trying to direct here in Ephesians.

In Corinthians Paul addresses the idea of praying in tongues by his spirit: “For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful” (1 Corinthians 14:14). When you pray in tongues, you are praying in another language. Paul said, “My mind is unfruitful, but my spirit is built up.” So in Corinthians Paul is not talking about a place of prayer; he is talking about a way of prayer: to pray in an unknown tongue. That is why sometimes people confuse the terminology in Ephesians and say, “Well, when Paul says to pray in the Spirit at all times, he is talking about praying in tongues all the time.” No, Paul is talking about being in the realm of spirit. So I want to make sure you can differentiate between the two. There is a place of prayer that I believe the Lord has directed—and that place of prayer is in the Holy Spirit. That is why He baptized us and filled us with His Spirit to enable us to enter into the world of spirit. We must get this clear and learn how to do it.

How do you enter into the world of spirit and function there in prayer? Yeshua (Jesus) taught us, “When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full” (Matthew 6:5). Christ is saying that praying in the natural world so that people can see and hear you is what hypocrites do. They specifically pray from a natural world where people can observe them praying. They are functioning on a natural level and are being observed and heard in a material world—that is their reward. But God is not listening to them.

Then Yeshua instructed, “But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you” (Matthew 6:6). In using this idea of secret, Christ is contrasting it to the previous verse. If you are praying out in the open where people can observe you, you are just staying in a natural realm. Instead, go into the unseen world of spirit where the Father is. That is why Yeshua told the disciples, “Go into your inner room.” He is saying, “Learn to go into this unseen world in the heavenly places where the Father is. Enter into the world of spirit, into the heavenly realms to pray.” Separate yourself and your thoughts from this natural world and go into the realm where the Father is. Go into His very presence to pray. 

[1] All Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995).