Jude 1:20-21, Praying in the Spirit

Jude 1:20-21 Praying in the Spirit

Have you ever tried to do a job and not had the right tool to complete it? The other day Shawnna and I was setting up a birthday party for the boys and we needed a to change a fitting on our air compressor to be able to fill up the balloons and decorations. We needed a couple of pair of pliers to do the job but could only find one in my truck. We tried everything we could to get the fitting off and everything we could find until finally Shawnna just broke down and went and bought another pair of pliers to keep us from having to run all the way back home to get another pair. Once we got the right tools it only took a few seconds to change the fitting and start filling up balloon but without the proper tools we were getting nowhere fast. I believe that our prayer life is a lot like having the right tool for the job, if the Holy Spirit isn’t involved and directing our path then our prayers aren’t effective. Jude tells us to build ourselves up by praying in the Holy Spirit, something that should be standard instead of a rarity.

Being Pentecostal, we believe in a prayer language where the spirit of God speaks through you in an unknown tongue as mentioned in Romans 8:26-27, 1 Corinthians 14:2, 1 Corinthians 14:14-15, and Ephesians 6:18. Outside of this prayer language we also believe that it is crucial to allow the Holy Spirit to guide your prayer life so that you are praying for the things that God wants you praying for. Instead of just reciting a generic, repetitive prayer we should be allowing the Holy Spirit to guide our hearts, minds, and lips during our prayer time. This means we pray deeply for those people, situations, and circumstances that God places on our heart. We intercede on behalf of others based upon the leading of the Holy Spirit in our own hearts. We don’t have to know all the details or circumstances we just need to be faithful in praying for the things that God has led us to pray over.