Jude 1:20 But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit.
The dictionary definition of faith is “complete trust or confidence in someone or something”. Faith is an unshakable trust in the nature of God, His Word and in the causes and effects of living by it. The foundation of faith is built on the rudimentary principles of God’s Word, the Bible. Jude’s succinct advice to a group of growing believers was to build-up their ‘most holy faith’. This counsel can be better understood as a building project.
Faith comes to us as building materials; bricks, cement, stones, wood, planks, screws, nuts and bolt. When we put our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the structure of our spirit-man is designed, shaped and fashioned. For our faith to be built, we must have a daily communion and communication with the Lord. The faith of many is like half finished buildings with no roof, no windows or no flooring. If a building project is left unfinished it would be ruined when there is a storm or strong winds. Likewise, those who take no effort to build up their most holy faith will be shaken and will question the existence of God when they are battered by the storms of life. The construction of the faith-project progresses when we pray in the Holy Spirit.
Prayers from the mind/emotions/soul will be from our feelings but prayer from the spirit will be based on the Word and the promises of God. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). Emotions help us express our affection but when feelings direct our prayers, we will be praying from the flesh. The first step to ‘praying in the spirit’ is to surrender. Taking a few minutes to surrender our thoughts, apprehensions, doubts and questions will help us to connect our spirit to the Spirit of God. All attempts of praying in the spirit will fail without the help of the Holy Spirit. So, surrender, unite, and be led by the Holy Spirit.
Praying in the spirit builds our faith:
1. Connect: Any prayer without surrendering and uniting with the Holy Spirit will have no effect. Hours of prayer with flamboyant vocabulary will avail no results. Seek the help of the Holy Spirit to remove the impeding burdens, problems, physical pain or anything else that hinders or dominates your mind. Once the blockades are removed, our spirit will connect with God’s Spirit.
2. Concise: Prayers that build our faith need not be long but must be sincere. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words (Matthew 5:7). “Jesus help” is a powerful prayer that we can pray throughout the day.
3. Communicate: Prayer is conversation. For faith to grow, we must hear from God. We must lean-in to listen to His advice, counsel and direction. Communication with the Lord builds up our faith.
Praying in the spirit builds our faith.
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
Prayer: Holy Spirit, help me to pray from the spirit and build my faith. Let not my flesh or my mind direct and dominate my time of prayer. Amen
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