“But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.” Jude 1:20
Praying in the Holy Spirit or praying in the spirit are terms used to describe a phenomenon where the Holy Spirit helps us to pray beyond our understanding by enabling us to speak words we have not known before. The Bible says these words are either an unlearned language of man or of angels. It’s also called praying in tongues. Our words and our prayers are very powerful because of the authority we have on the earth. When we pray out God’s will with the help of the Holy Spirit, we bypass the limits of our own understanding, and the Holy Spirit empowers us to pray or speak from our spirit rather than from our mind.
I Corinthians 14:14 “For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful.”
I Corinthians 14:15 “What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding…”
The Bible says that when we pray in the spirit, or in tongues, we are speaking to God. We are speaking out what is a mystery to us, but understood by God.
I Corinthians 14:2 “For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries.”
Praying in the spirit is a wonder meant for every Christian; it is aid from the Holy Spirit to help us pray effectively. Praying in the spirit is a personal use of tongues. There is a personal use, available for every believer, and a public use, which is referred to as a gift of the spirit, or more accurately, a manifestation of the spirit. The public use of tongues is only given when there is a message from God that the Holy Spirit provides interpretation for, and it is given through one person that the Holy Spirit chooses to use for that message at that time.
So pray in the spirit. You are speaking to God. You are praying out God’s will. You are making yourself available to serve the Lord in a way that goes beyond your own understanding and ability. Yield to the grace of God to pray out mysteries, and watch what God does through you!
Application: Praying in the spirit is a spiritual thing. Don’t wrestle with it or try to make it happen. Focus on your heart, your spirit, and yield to God.