Compiled By: Lisa K Gonzales
From: The Life Application Study Bible
20 “But you, dear friends, must continue to build your lives on the foundation of your holy faith. And continue to pray as you are directed by the Holy Spirit. 21 Live in such a way that GOD’s love can bless you as you wait for the eternal life that our Lord Jesus Christ in His mercy is going to give you.” ~ Jude 1:20-21
To pray as we are “directed by the Holy Spirit” means to pray in the power and strength of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit: 1) Prays for us – 26 “And the Holy Spirit helps us in our distress. For we do not even know what we should pray for, nor how we should pray. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. 27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with GOD’s own will.” – Romans 8:26-27 – As believers we are not left to our own resources to cope with problems. Even when we do not know the right words to pray, the Holy Spirit prays with and for us, and GOD answers. With GOD helping us pray, we do not need to be afraid to come before HIM. Ask the Holy Spirit to intercede for you “in harmony with GOD’s own will.” Then, when you bring your requests to GOD, trust that HE will always do what is best. 2) He opens our mind to Jesus – “But when the Father sends the Counselor as My representative – and by the Counselor I mean the Holy Spirit – He will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I Myself have told you.” – John 14:26 – Jesus promised the disciples that the Holy Spirit would help them remember what He had been teaching them. This promise ensures the validity of the New Testament. The disciples were eyewitnesses of Jesus’ life and teachings, and the Holy Spirit helped them remember without doing away with their individual perspectives. We can be confident that the Gospels are accurate records of what Jesus taught and did. The Holy Spirit can help us in the same way. As we study the Bible, we can trust Him to plant truth in our mind, convince us of GOD’s will, and remind us when we stray from it. And, 3) Teaches us about Him – “But I will send you the Counselor – the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will tell you about Me.” – John 15:26 – Once again Jesus offers hope. The Holy Spirit gives strength to endure the unreasonable hatred and evil in our world and the hostility many have toward Christ. This is especially comforting for those facing persecution. Jesus uses two names for the Holy Spirit – “Counselor” and “Spirit of truth.” The word Counselor conveys the helping, encouraging, and strengthening work of the Spirit. Spirit of truth points to the teaching, illuminating, and reminding work of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit ministers to both the head and the heart, and both dimensions are important.
Like Jude, John warned us to live close to GOD and HIS people, not listening to false teachers who would try to pull us away from HIM. – 9 “I have loved you even as the Father has loved Me. Remain in My love. 10 When you obey Me, you remain in My love, just as I obey My Father and remain in HIS love. 11 I have told you this so that you will be filled with My joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!” – John 15:9-11 – Remaining in Christ means believing that He is GOD’s Son, receiving Him as Savior and Lord, doing what GOD says, continuing to believe the Good News, and relating in love to the community of believers – Christ’s body. Joy comes from a consistent relationship with Jesus Christ. When our lives are intertwined with His, He will help us walk through adversity without sinking into debilitating lows and manage prosperity without moving into deceptive highs. The joy of living with Jesus Christ daily will keep us levelheaded, no matter how high or low our circumstances.
Father GOD, as believers we know we must continue to build our lives on the foundation of our holy faith. We understand that in order to do this we must continue to pray as we are directed by the Holy Spirit, and live in such a way that YOUR love, Father, can bless us as we wait for the eternal life that our Lord Jesus Christ in His mercy is going to give us.
Father we know that as believers we are not left to our own resources to cope with problems. Even when we do not know the right words to pray, the Holy Spirit prays with and for us, and YOU answer. With the Holy Spirit helping us pray, we do not need to be afraid to come before YOU. We ask the Holy Spirit to intercede for us in harmony with YOUR own will, Father GOD. Then, when we bring our requests to YOU, we can trust that YOU will always do what is best.
Photo: Bryce Canyon (Utah)
Photo By: Lisa K Gonzales
Click on the photo to enlarge
