Focus: Praying in the Spirit

Text: Jude 1:20

"But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost."

Our faith in Christ is built up through Spirit-prompted and Spirit-energized prayer. Our faith is not something most ordinary; it is rather a most holy thing. Our faith feels absolutely at home in the presence of God. In the absence of God faith loses authenticity and reality.

What can faith do without God? Absolutely nothing! Faith's power belongs to God. The wonders of faith are made possible only by God. Jesus Christ says to His disciples, "Have faith in God." Real faith is rooted in God. God is faith's foundation and object. Faith ceases to be faith if God is left out.

Nothing we do outside of faith pleases God. By prayer we deepen and grow our faith in Christ, but at the same time, our prayer is meaningless and powerless without faith. God only responds to the prayer of faith.

We come to God by faith. We know or understand God by faith. We pray to and relate with God by faith. We talk and walk by faith. Our faith is not only holy, but also precious. It is the treasure of the heart. By faith we access our privileges and blessings in Christ. We resist the devil by faith. We cast out devils by faith. We overcome the world by faith. We live by faith, see by faith, hear by faith, and verify spiritual realities by the instrument of faith.

Satan is totally against your faith. He fears your faith. He is always doing everything in his power to make you lose your faith, even if it is for a second, because in that second he can make all hell break loose in your life. He wants you to constantly live in fear, doubt and unbelief. He can do anything possible to weaken your faith and render it inoperable. He makes your faith fizzle by fear. 

Your faith is Satan's biggest threat, because your faith operates by the power and authority of God's Word. Faith feeds on God's truths, not on Satan's lies.

For the above reasons and more, praying in the Spirit, therefore, becomes a fundamental necessity. We experience the reality of God's presence and power through prayer.

From the place of prayer we glow and go with the assurance of God's presence and protection. Our faith derives its potency from the practice of the divine presence. Praying in the Spirit brings us closer to God. It makes aware of what God is doing and where He is going. It increases our prophetic edge and insight. 

We glow, we grow, and go places in the might of the Spirit. From the place of prayer our faith is enlivened, strengthened, and edified. Faith delights in bending the knees before God and aligning itself with His purpose. Let's pray and keep praying in the Spirit. 

The Spirit helps us to pray as we should and as we ought to. When you pray in the Spirit and by the Spirit, it is in that moment that God inside you prays to God above you. Prayer in the Spirit works wonders. You can't ever go wrong praying in the Spirit. Spirit-prompted prayer will bring about God-prompted results. Amen!

by Bishop Moses E. Peter