… and praying in the Holy Spirit …
In Jude’s closing comments he provides some encouragement and advice for his readers. The goal he encourages us towards is eternal life. The way we get there is by believing in Jesus. We need to keep our relationship with Jesus strong by being strong in faith.
The key to successful relationships is good communication. One way we communicate with God and Jesus is by listening to Him speak through His Word and Spirit. Another way is by speaking to Him in prayer.
The verb, “to pray” is one of those words that is a bit obscure. It is more than simply asking for something. It is not the same as begging (supplication). Prayer is a word that combines asking or thanks with a sense of closeness. Perhaps a familial closeness such as seen in a healthy parent/child relationship. Prayer also connotes something else. The root words in Greek suggest that prayers might also include a wish or a longing of the heart.
In the Old Testament, prayers were offered at the Temple. Typically they were a rather formal affair officiated by the priests. The exception might be David. He had a close relationship with God from childhood. That closeness stayed with him throughout his life. His prayers often are expressed in psalms and by reading those psalms we can get a peek into the prayer life of David.
In New Testament times we are under a different kind of covenant. Jesus calls us “brothers and sisters” (John 20:17; Luke 8:21; Mark 3:35; Matthew 28:10; Matthew 12:49). In the new covenant, we do not approach God as a distant deity. Instead, we approach God as family.
Prayer, then, is an intimate form of communication with God. But what about praying in the Holy Spirit? How do we do that?
Well as it turns out, Jesus promised that he would send his Spirit to live in us. In John 15: 26-27 (among many other verses) Jesus says:
“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.”
To be in God’s Spirit is to have God’s Spirit in you. This cannot happen unless we humble ourselves before our Lord and ask Him into our life. We cannot stand in our pride before God. We have nothing to stand on. But if we humble ourselves before God, affirm Jesus as our Lord, and ask to be forgiven an amazing thing happens.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (John 1:9)
Once we have been cleansed, when we come before God in Jesus’ righteousness, we can be in God’s Holy Spirit. In a very real sense, our innermost being is joined to our Creator, our Maker. Prayer in the Holy Spirit is like whispering in God’s ear.
Application: Pray in the Holy Spirit.
Food for Thought: How are praying in the Spirit and building yourself up in faith related?
The Spirit is really the One that builds us up. We do not grow in the faith through our own resources. We allow the holy Spirit to work and submit to His leading. Zechariah 4: 6.
Rich,
Thanks for point out that it is God, not are own efforts, that really ‘builds’ us up. Referring to yesterday’s post, maybe letting go of the bad data is the better part of what we contribute to the process.
Agree Rich, John 16:8 He will convict sin., John 16:13,He guides into all truth., John 14:26, He will teach and remind.
I remember the day I prayed for increased sensitivity so I could hear His righteous guiding and teaching and reduce the painful convicting. Life is so much better in Gods classroom than behind His woodshed.
Ron
You crack me up! Life is better in the classroom than the woodshed! 🙂
👍🏻 Classroom for sure!