When I was young in my faith and needed encouragement, I would look for it in others. I can remember hoping that someone would call me or indicate that they were praying for me. As I have grown in the Lord, I have learned that God expects me to encourage myself. Scripture says it like this, “But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit” (Jude 20).
What does it mean to build ourselves up in our faith? One of the best ways to build your faith is by increasing your prayer life. Now, many people pray, but do they pray according to the Bible? What does Jude mean when he says pray in the Spirit? For many of us, our prayers are merely a wish list. So is this what Jude has in mind when he says, “Pray in the Spirit?” Absolutely not!
To pray in the Spirit means that you pray in the atmosphere of the Holy Spirit. It means you welcome His guidance, influence, and His anointing for empowerment. In other words, who is doing the praying, you or the Holy Spirit within you? Ask the Holy Spirit to be more active in helping you pray, and this will build you up in your most holy faith. “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words” (Romans 8:26).