Day #334 - Build Yourself Up
The Presence - A Devotional for living in Thanksgiving, Worship and Wonder
“But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.” Jude 1:20-21 NIV
Do you have a good relationship with working out?
How is your physical fitness? Do you enjoy doing cardio and strength training to improve your fitness, strength and health? I enjoy doing physical workouts. I like the discipline and the challenge. I really enjoy seeing improvement. I do struggle to stay consistent over long periods of time. Sometimes I workout for a few months but then I hit a period where my training wanes. One thing about working out is that there is no one else to blame when you fail to do it. You have to build yourself up.
At the end of this tiny book of the Bible, Jude says to build ourselves up in our most holy faith by praying in the Holy Spirit. Of course, we receive the Holy Spirit by faith as a gift as we put our trust in Jesus, but we are to apply intention and obedience to building ourselves up praying in the Spirit.
So me Christians believe that praying in the Holy Spirit here might be the gift of tongues or just praying with Holy Spirit’s help in English or your first language. But if Scripture is the best interpreter of Scripture where Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14 we pray with our understanding or in the spirit, then we should best understand this to mean praying in tongues. Tongues is a beautiful gift that allows us to pray in the Spirit, where the Holy Spirit prays through us. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14 that we speak mysteries when we pray in tongues. In Romans 8, he says we pray the perfect will of God through the Spirit. Jude says we build ourselves up.
Not all Christians speak in tongues sadly. There are various theologies but I hope beyond a debate you will see the invitation of the Scripture to have this gift operate in and through your life for your edification. Jude is clear that we have to contend for the faith and have a strong theological defense for our beliefs earlier in his letter. But at the end he reminds us we need to be refreshed and built up in our faith. We need the intellect, but we need the Spirit too.
Praying in the Spirit is a gift to build you up in the faith because it is a flow of God praying through you where you dwell in “the Presence” so easily. You have to choose to ask God for this gift, yield your tongue and then when received, you must engage with it. In my own life and the lives of many believers I have encountered or witnessed through the gift of praying in tongues: the love of God, conviction of sin, courage for witnessing, tenderness towards other, a love for Scripture, hearing God’s voice more clearly and the flow of other spiritual gifts. Building yourself up by praying in the Spirit is not a selfish act, it renews you so that you might glorify God and minster to other well from a place of refreshing.
Jesus, I honor You my Savior and Lord as the Baptizer in the Holy Spirit and fire. Fill my life and release or renew the spiritual language of tongues in my life. I want to pray in the Spirit, build up my faith and keep myself in the love of God. In Jesus name, amen. (Wait on the Lord to speak in new tongues if you have asked sincerely or ask another believer to pray with you and pray in the Spirit).
Thank you Pastor John for an astute encouragement for us to pray in the spirit in the unknown language the Holy Spirit gives us. Even though I have had this gift for more than 50 years, occasionally I feel the enemy trying to get me to doubt its veracity by inserting the doubt in my mind that I am making it up. Two things help me to rationally assure myself that what I am praying in my unknown language is real. One is that I can speed its cadence up at will and the syllables come out as fast as I can move my mouth and tongue. Another just came to me yesterday. There is a Hawaiian fish called the humuhumunukunukuapuaa. Though I have tried to say that word with my mind controlling my tongue several times since then, I am not sure I said it right yet! I certainly stuttered over it again and again. When I pray in my prayer language, I do so fluently and as fast or slow as I choose. This proves to me that it is my spirit and not my mind praying in the language the Holy Spirit gives me.
Praying in tongues is such a gift! We have been given opportunity to express what is in our innermost being through the voice of God by His Spirit. It brings such divine life to us as we continue to use it daily. I am so grateful to God for this gift. 🙏🏻♥️