By Pastor Jomo Cousins, PhD
Jude 1:20, Amplified Bible (AMP)
But you, beloved, build yourselves up [founded] on your most holy faith [make progress, rise like an edifice higher and higher], praying in the Holy Spirit.
Our prayer life is built on the foundation of our faith, which is in Jesus Christ. Building a foundation requires consistent action being applied to meet the goal. Anything worth having will be a sacrifice of your time, talent and the things that you may treasure. If you look back on your life, I am certain that you will agree that the most significant accomplishments required a great sacrifice. Jude tells us that building a foundation to a victorious life is through a committed prayer life with God.
The key point I see here is the statement “yourself,” meaning no one can build up your prayer life for you. You have a vested interest in this project and will be the main benefactor. This verse tells us that prayer has the ability to lift us higher. Prayer can lift us out of our situations and circumstances and draw us closer to God. Jude tells us that there is no shortcut to a dynamic prayer life.
What does it mean to be “praying in the Holy Spirit”? The Greek word translated as “pray in” can have several different meanings. It can mean “by means of,” “with the help of,” “in the sphere of” and “in connection to.” It is praying for things the Spirit leads us to pray for.
Romans 8:26 tells us, “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.”
Except from: Prayer Life: The Conversation, Page 311.
