Pray in the Holy Spirit

Another way to keep ourselves in God’s love is by praying in the Holy Spirit. Jude teaches that Spirit-inspired prayer is essential for the church, but some churches today have confused length and volume with effectiveness. When James, referring to the story of Elijah in 1 Kings 18, states that the “effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (KJV), he meant simply that praying in faith according to the will of God, like Elijah did, is powerful and effective.

Unfortunately, some churches’ prayer resembles what Jesus warned against when he said, “And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words” (Matthew 6:7). Elijah taunted the pagan priests because they believed God would hear them because of the volume, duration, and desperation of their prayers.

It is not that praying loud or lengthy prayers is wrong in itself. But when we measure prayers in terms of their loudness, length, or eloquence, we have misunderstood our relationship with God. In prayer, we are speaking to our loving Father who knows our needs and is ready and able to help us. When we pray led by the Holy Spirit, we can have the confident expectation that our Father will answer in whatever way is best for us. When we pray “your will be done” as Jesus did, we align our prayers with God’s will as Elijah did.

As we pray in accordance with the Holy Spirit’s leading, we grow into spiritual maturity. It increases our faith in God, our awareness of his presence and love with us, and our tangible experience of his daily provision and protection. Regular habits of prayer help us to discern the Lord’s voice so we can pray in line with the Holy Spirit’s will. Whether we pray in tongues or in our own languages, this is what Jude had in mind for his readers, in contrast to the gospel-distorting false teachers who did not have the Holy Spirit.

Reflect

Do you have a regular pattern of daily prayer? What one step can you take this week to increase or strengthen your prayer life? Read the prayer Jesus taught his disciples in Matthew again and use it as a model to pray now.