Day 175
Jude 20
“But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost”
Praying in the Holy Ghost, or praying in other tongues, as the Holy Spirit gives the utterance, charges us up. It strengthens our spirits and helps us resist temptation. It produces boldness and enables us to do things that will amaze us.
Speaking in other tongues, according to some former Satan worshipers, is terrifying to the enemy. The devil fights against the manifestation of being baptized with the Holy Spirit, because it confuses him, and he hates what it does for us. When in communist countries where they have tolerated churches to a small extent, those who spoke with other tongues were absolutely forbidden. Even the godless knew that the Christians who were baptized with the Holy Spirit were more powerful than those who were not. They knew what Jesus prophesied in Acts 1:8, “Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you”.
When we receive the ability to pray in a heavenly language, Satan fights to stop us from using it. He finds candidates who will try to convince us that the whole business is crazy, or those who will degrade it in some other way. Just because someone is filled with the Holy Spirit and speaks with tongues does not make them perfect. It is up to each of us to take advantage of, and use properly, everything God gives us. Speaking with tongues is one of many things God has made available to us to help us win in the game of life. When used in conjunction with other things, such as walking in eh fruit of the spirit, regular praying in the spirit can make us powerful and effective ambassadors of Christ. Among other benefits, it increases our ability to hear from God accurately.
Let us stir up the gift within us and begin now, this moment, to pray in the spirit. Jude tells that we build up ourselves on our faith. It takes faith to pray in a language we have not learned. We must lift up our voices and trust the Holy Spirit for each word. This is a way we exercise our faith. Exercising faith is good, because it is practicing dependence on God.
I will stir up the gift in me and pray in other tongues more, I will build myself up on my faith, praying with the Holy Spirit’s help.