Prayer does the Body Good! Jude 20-21 (Part 2)
But you, beloved,
building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy
Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in
the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to
eternal life.
THE STUDY:
Last week we
looked at the first part of this passage: building
yourselves up in your most holy faith. This was focused on the community
and the believers building each other up. The next thing Jude mentions along
with and as a means of building themselves up in their faith is to be praying in the Holy Spirit. Pray
is in the present tense, indicating that prayer needs to be a constant activity
of Christians.
Prayer
in the Holy Spirit takes place in the control of as well as under the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Prayer in the Holy Spirit is not in a special
prayer language. Regardless of how believers pray, their prayers should be
continual and they should be offered in submission to and in dependence on the
Holy Spirit. Romans 8:26–27 gives us this understanding, 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. 27 And
he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit
intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. It was undoubtedly
Christ’s prayer in the Holy Spirit
that enabled him to pray to the Father, “Yet
not as I will, but as you will” (Matt 26:39).[1]
WHAT WE CAN WALK AWAY
WITH ….
- We walk away this morning with the understanding that prayer should be continual, submissive, and dependent on the Holy Spirit. But is should never be “just about you.” Jesus showed us that prayers and supplications should be for the body of believers as well.
CONCLUSION:
A close friend of mine at one of the churches
I pastored lived close to the main roads in town. He had a 12 year old son who
had stepped out into the road and was hit by a car. I remember visiting the ICU
over the next month and praying for my friend and his son.
My friend developed new friends who
had children and/or family members in the ICU as well. They started to bond together
as a group and the next thing I knew, my friend was praying for them as well. I
remember one of the last conversations I had with my friend before His son and he
walked out of that hospital. He said, “The first few weeks my prayers were all
about my son. But as I got to know the others who were in similar situations in
the ICU I started praying more for them and less for my son. It was at that
time my son started getting better, faster.”
I am not saying, pray for others
and your personal prayers will happen faster. What I believe we need to
remember is to not just pray for our own situations and request but include
others as well. Remember, Prayer does the body good! Yours as well as the body
of believers.
Blessings my friends
Pastor Rod
[1]
Powers, D. G. (2010). 1 & 2
Peter/Jude: A Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition. New Beacon Bible
Commentary (293). Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press.
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