Jude v. 20: "Pray in the Holy Spirit"

Post by **_TK** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 3:53 pm

Jude v. 20: But you, beloved, build yourselves up on your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit." (RSV)

What do you take this to mean, namely the part about praying in the Holy Spirit?

thx, TK

Post by **_Paidion** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 4:39 pm

The Spirit of the Father and the Son indwells every true disciple of Christ.
Jesus said to His disciples, "The Father and I will make our dwelling with you." John 14:23 .He also said, "The Spirit is now with you, but will be in you." John 14:7

After that special day of Pentecost, all disciples had the Spirit dwelling within them, for "If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, does not belong to Him" Rom 8:9.

The Spirit is always in the disciple, but when the disciple is in the Spirit, he is acting from the influence and power of the Spirit.

If the apostle John had not been in the Spirit while he was banished to the isle of Patmos, he would never have seen the vision of the future that the angel had given him.

Revelation 1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lordly day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet

As for praying, a person can simply pray about anything that comes to his mind, or he can pray in the Spirit. If he is in the Spirit when he prays, his prayer will be powerful and fervent, and will pray in accordance with the mind of Christ.

Post by **_TK** » Fri Feb 16, 2007 8:45 am

thanks paidion.

as a practical matter, wouldnt it always be preferable to pray in the spirit, as opposed to not praying in the spirit? if so, how can one be sure he praying in the spirit?

i recently heard a sermon where the speaker suggested that when Jude said "praying in the spirit" he meant "praying in tongues." do you see any support for this notion?

TK

Post by **_21centpilgrim** » Fri Feb 16, 2007 11:16 am

TK,

Hey man when I was growing up and surrounded by pentecostals and charasmatics, praying in the spirit and praying in toungues were simply interchangable and synominous.

I tend to agree with Paidion here on this one and I don't think I could you could say that someone that doesn't speak in tongues cannot pray in the Spirit.

Great question I was thinking about calling in and asking Steve about this the last week but maybe he will respond here.

Grace and peace

Post by **_TK** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 9:55 am

come on guys/gals, i'm not letting you off the hook on this one.

what do the rest of you think that Jude is talking about here?

TK

Post by **_anothersteve** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 7:46 pm

I simply think of it as praying in conjunction with the spirit, just like you:

"walk in the spirit" in Gal 5.
"worship in the spirit" in John 4
"live by the spirit" in Rom 8
"are taught by the spirit" in 1 Cor 2

etc....

Notice how the verse before talks about people who are "devoid of the spirit"

I was taught at one time that it meant to pray in tongues but I don't think it does.

Post by **_anothersteve** » Tue Feb 20, 2007 7:45 am

I was taught at one time that it meant to pray in tongues but I don't think it does.

I should qualify my statement. What I was taught was that it only meant praying in tongues. That’s what I disagree with. Praying in the spirit could include praying in tongues.

Post by **_Homer** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 10:22 pm

Since the key to effective prayer is to ask according to His will, 1 John 5:15, would not this be the same as praying in the spirit? It would seem that praying in the Spirit would be being led by the Spirit in prayer.

But we have a long list of prayer needs at church that I bring home every week. Many are various health needs. Additionally we are part of a prayer chain, often receiving requests for someone seriously ill or injured. We pray for the people but how would one discern God's will in such a case?

Paidion wrote:

As for praying, a person can simply pray about anything that comes to his mind, or he can pray in the Spirit. If he is in the Spirit when he prays, his prayer will be powerful and fervent, and will pray in accordance with the mind of Christ.

How do we determine that what comes to mind is not prompted by the Spirit, but is just our own thought? When we pray in the Spirit, do we somehow pray about things that come into our mind in some special way? Any relevant scriptures?

When you say "powerful", what do you mean? Effective? Loud? Please explain. By "fervent" do you mean emotional, alert, or something else?

Good to have you back, Paidion!

Post by **_TK** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 6:43 am

homer wrote:

How do we determine that what comes to mind is not prompted by the Spirit, but is just our own thought? When we pray in the Spirit, do we somehow pray about things that come into our mind in some special way? Any relevant scriptures?

When you say "powerful", what do you mean? Effective? Loud? Please explain. By "fervent" do you mean emotional, alert, or something else?

excellent questions- i look forward to some responses.

TK

Post by **_schoel** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 10:22 am

Homer wrote: How do we determine that what comes to mind is not prompted by the Spirit, but is just our own thought? When we pray in the Spirit, do we somehow pray about things that come into our mind in some special way? Any relevant scriptures?

Are we concerned that it is sin if we happen to pray for something that isn't the will of God? Doesn't our overarching commitment to His purposes cover these momentary lapses?

I guess I wonder if we over think these things.
Perhaps we are to simply trust the Spirit to guide us, despite our weaknesses.

I think Steve describes the lifestyle of the Spirit:

anothersteve wrote:I simply think of it as praying in conjunction with the spirit, just like you:

"walk in the spirit" in Gal 5.
"worship in the spirit" in John 4
"live by the spirit" in Rom 8
"are taught by the spirit" in 1 Cor 2

I think those who are are charismatic may sometimes read more specific things (i.e. speaking in tongues, prophesying, etc.) into these passages when they are a way of describing that seeking the will of God through the Spirit should be our first action in whatever we do.

Dave