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)
When you pray in the Holy Spirit, you build up your faith to believe who you are in Christ and to believe the promises God has given you. You are immersed in an awareness of God’s love that goes beyond human reasoning. And when you pray in the Spirit, you build your faith to believe what is impossible to believe with the natural mind.
Praying in the Spirit is not you praying what your mind reasons. It is the Holy Spirit within you praying the petitions that He knows. When you pray for someone with your reasoning, it is sometimes difficult to keep personal judgments and opinions and thoughts and feelings out of your prayers. The Holy Spirit knows what the will of God is. When you pray in the Holy Spirit, you pray in agreement with the will of God.
“And 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, NKJV).
When you pray in the Spirit, it can’t be expressed in words that you understand but God knows what the Spirit is saying. And when you pray in harmony with God’s own will, you are encouraged in your most holy faith in 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).
Praying in the Spirit gives close intimacy with God. Through you, the Holy Spirit reaches God for those you pray. And when you allow the Spirit to pray for them, God knows what the Holy Spirit is praying and He moves in response because what the Spirit asks is in according to His will.
“For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is the conclusion then?” Paul asked. “I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding” (1 Corinthians 14:14-15, NKJV).
When you pray in the Holy Spirit, you pray as the Holy Spirit directs. God takes you to a level of surrender and intimacy human reasoning cannot express. But for your understanding to be fruitful, you need an understanding of what the Spirit prays. He will reveal what you have prayed for in the Spirit making the prayers you pray with your mind in agreement with God’s will.
When you surrender and allow the Holy Spirit to pray, you are strengthened in your inner man. Your confidence and compassion grow. You believe without a doubt that God hears whatever the Spirit has asked, and you know that the petitions you have asked of Him have already been answered (1 John 5:14-15).
Praying in the Holy Spirit builds your faith. You receive the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God. Your understanding is enlightened, and you know the hope of His calling and the riches of your inheritance in Him (Ephesians 1:17-19, NKJV).
Do you long for your faith to be stronger and live in the fullness of the grace Jesus has given? Do you wish to believe the Word without any doubt—trusting in God’s promises for others and for yourself? Do you want to stand strong in your spiritual armor and your identity in Christ? Pray in the Holy Spirit.
© 2021 Lynn Lacher
www.lynnlacher.com/2021/11/pray-in-the-holy-spirit.html
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