But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
—Jude 1:20-21 (NKJV)
Praying in the Holy Spirit is essential for the needs of those for whom you pray not to overwhelm you. When you pray with your mind, you pray what you feel with your emotions. When you pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit prays for you.
We are spirit, soul (mind), and body (1 Thessalonians 5:23). Your personality—emotions—feelings—attitudes compose your mind. The Holy Spirit lives within your spirit, where you are born again. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6 (NKJV).
“The Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will” (Romans 8:26-27, NLT).
The Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness—in the area of our feelings and emotions where we perceive needs and evaluate problems. When we pray only with the mind, we cannot stop our thoughts from evaluating prayer requests because that is what the mind does. But when we pray in the Holy Spirit, the Spirit prays His perception and His will for the prayer requests that our mind releases to Him. The Holy Spirit prays from within our spirit. The “groanings of the Holy Spirit that cannot be expressed in words” is the Holy Spirit pleading His awareness of needs to God, the Father. And the Father knows the hearts of those for whom the Spirit prays. When we pray in the Spirit, we may be aware of what we are praying, but we do not carry the heavy emotional weight that can burden the mind. This does not mean we do not feel. It means that when the Spirit prays what our mind releases, we experience hope instead of feelings that drain us. Praying in the Spirit allows the Holy Spirit access to your mind, where He renews your thoughts and attitudes (Ephesians 4:23). He reveals truth to your mind that builds your faith.
When we allow the Holy Spirit to pray for us, we allow Him intimate access into our mind. The Holy Spirit uses the mind as He prays. And this access progressively changes the way we think (Romans 12:2) so that we can perceive with the mind of Christ.
“Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests,” Paul wrote. “With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people” Ephesians 6:18, NIV).
Prayer is a gift, which gives you close and fulfilling communion with God. Through you, the Holy Spirit touches the heart of God for those you love—for those for whom your heart hurts. But when you allow the Spirit to carry the weight of pain in prayer, you experience great hope amid the most horrible need.
The Holy Spirit is your teacher. Surrender your mind to Him. Ask Him to teach you how to allow Him to pray from within you. He keeps nothing from you that builds your faith.
©2020 Lynn Lacher
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