JUNE 25, 2024
Jude 1:20-21
“But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.”
God responds to the prayers of his people. In the Bible we read of God's response, to
the desire of Adam for a helpmate with Eve, the prayer of Abraham in saving Lot
and his family, the prayer of Moses in the salvation of his people, the prayer
of Elijah in sending down fire upon an altar, and the cry for a Savior in
sending his only son, Jesus. And through Jesus we have received the Holy Spirit, the promise of the Father as our Helper. Our Helper not only longs
to guide us, as we noted yesterday, but the Holy Spirit also wants to help us pray and, listen to this, will pray for us.
Jude 1:20-21 says, “But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.” The Holy Spirit who searches the deep things of God desires to help us pray. Revealing God’s desires for us in the middle of our circumstances, relationships, and opportunities and longs to help us pray in line with God’s will. The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 2 writes the following:
"... these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.
The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. 14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 15 The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, 16 for,
“Who has known the mind of the Lord
so as to instruct him?”
But we have the mind of Christ.
Matthew 21:22 says, “And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” And Romans 10:17 teaches us, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” Scripture tells us to pray in faith that God will give us what we ask for because faith's foundation is always the word of God. God will always fulfill his promises. We complicate prayer sometimes when prayer is meant to be as simple as asking God to fill us with the knowledge of his desire and then praying in harmony with that desire.
What’s more, and I find this overwhelming, when we don’t know what to pray we can trust in and lean on the "groanings" of the Spirit. Romans 8:26 says, “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.” Did you know that the Holy Spirit prays for you? That is an amazing thought isn't it? The Holy Spirit asks God to help us. God's great desire for us is to walk in abundant life that he gives us his Spirit as our guide, helper and interceder.
But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.”
J
ude 1:20-21 ESV
God loves to respond to the prayers of his people. We see him respond to the desire of Adam for a helpmate with Eve, the prayer of Abraham in saving Lot and his family, the prayer of Moses in the salvation of his people, the prayer of Elijah in sending down fire upon an altar, and the cry for a Savior in sending his only son, Jesus. And through the death of Jesus we’ve been filled with the Holy Spirit, God himself sent as our Helper. Our Helper not only longs to guide us and empower us, but also to help us pray and to pray for us.
Jude 1:20-21 says, “But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.” We’ve been given the incredible gift of praying with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit who searches the deep things of God desires to help us pray. He desires to reveal God’s desires to us in the midst of our circumstances, relationships, and opportunities and longs to help us pray in line with God’s will. When we pray in the Spirit we are praying along with the will of God himself. When we pray in the Spirit we are asking God to do the very thing he desires to do. It’s crucially important that we as children of God learn how to discern the will of our Father through the Holy Spirit and pray according to that will.
Matthew 21:22 says, “And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” And Romans 10:17 teaches us, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” Scripture tells us to pray in full faith that God will give us what we ask for because faith is always meant to begin with the word of God. Prayer is meant to be as simple as asking God to fill us with the knowledge of his desire and then praying in accordance with that desire in full faith because God will always fulfill his promises.
What’s more, when we don’t know what to pray we can trust in and lean on the groanings of the Spirit. Romans 8:26 says, “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.” Did you know that the Holy Spirit prays for you? Did you know that he intercedes on your behalf? So great is his love for you that he asks God to help you. So great is his desire for you to walk in abundant life that he intercedes on your behalf when you don’t know how to pray.
Aren’t you thankful for the grace of God? In his grace he’s blessed you with the Holy Spirit to help you pray and intercedes for you, all because he loves you. You’ve been given an incredible, powerful gift in praying with the Holy Spirit. Take time today to listen to your Helper as you enter into a time of prayer.
PRAYER
1. Meditate on the Spirit’s desire to help you pray and to intercede for you.
2. Ask the Spirit to fill you with the knowledge of God’s will for whatever it is you desire to pray about. Before you speak, listen.
3. Pray in line with what the Spirit has revealed to you. Ask God, in faith, to bless you with whatever you feel he has shown you. Pray along with Scripture! Rest in the assurance that God will provide you with any and every thing that is in his perfect will for you when you ask him to.
“And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” Matthew 21:22
“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” Romans 10:17
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