Knowing the importance of faith,

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for,
the evidence of things not seen.
--- Heb. 11:1

And that ...

... without faith it is impossible to please Him,
for he who comes to God must believe that He is,
and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
--- Heb. 11:6

And as we have also learnt,

For with God nothing will be impossible.
--- Luke 1:37

So for things to happen in our lives,
... the things that God can and wants to do in our lives,
we need that special connection with God,
... that relationship, in faith, with God!

The question is,
... how did God plan for us to be able to make that connection with Him,
... that connection in which we get to know His will,
in which we can hear His voice and in which we can build our faith!

Well, Jude the brother of James (probably also a half brother of Jesus')
... told us exactly how to do that,

But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith,
praying in the Holy Spirit,
--- Jude 20

Sounds good,
but how did Jude see us doing that?

What does praying in the Holy Spirit mean,
... and what does it do for us?

Before we answer the question of what praying in the Holy Spirit means,
... we need to look at what the Ministry of the Holy Spirit is,
... what He does in our lives in specific situations or circumstances.
And,
... we need to know what the Work of the Holy Spirit on earth is,
... what God sent Him to do in the world!

How did God plan for this to work in our lives?

Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away;
for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you;
but if I depart, I will send Him to you.
And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin,
and of righteousness, and of judgment:
of sin, because they do not believe in Me;
of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more;
of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
"I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come,
He will guide you into all truth;
for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak;
and He will tell you things to come.
He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.
All things that the Father has are Mine.
Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.
--- John 16:7-15

The work of the Holy Spirit is to touch the lives of people in the world,
... and to do in the world, what we cannot do,
... as we can see from John 16:7-12

The Holy Spirit also works through the Church in the lives of others,
... as we can see from the Gifts of the Holy Spirit,
... described in 1 Corinthians 12, 13 & 14.

The Holy Spirit also gives the believer utterance in other tongues,
... Mark 16, Acts 2.

However we will look at these works of the Holy Spirit as part of a future study.

Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away;
for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you;
but if I depart, I will send Him to you.
--- John 16:7

Why do we need a helper?
What is the Holy Spirit's task or ministry in our lives?

The ministry of the Holy Spirit is ...
To be God's personal connection - in our lives!
To release all Jesus prepared for us - in our lives!
To manifest all that God is - His grace and power - in our lives!

Therefore, as Jesus said,
... it is to our advantage that He goes to the Father!
However,
... unless we know what God wants the Holy Spirit to do in our lives,
... and allow Him to do that in our lives,
we will not benefit from God's promises & purposes as we should!

So, let's find out ... What and How!

However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come,
He will guide you into all truth;
for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak;
and He will tell you things to come.
He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.
All things that the Father has are Mine.
Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.
--- John 16:13-15
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name,
He will teach you all things,
and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
--- John 14:26

This is great to know, but as we have already found out,
... the Holy Spirit's ministry to us and in our lives,
... is not automatic.
There is more to the Holy Spirit ministering to us,
... than just believing that God has sent Him!

How does the Holy Spirit minister to us?
How does He get to help us?
How do we get to hear Him?

Let's look at how the Holy Spirit ministered to Jesus,
... and what Jesus told His disciples,

Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you,
the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do;
for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.
--- John 5:19
I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous,
because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.
--- John 5:19

How did Jesus hear the Father?
How did Jesus know what the Father was doing?
Through the Ministry of the Holy Spirit in His life!

At the beginning of Jesus' ministry, after He was baptised by John,
... as John testified when Jesus was baptised in or with the Holy Spirit,

And John bore witness, saying,
"I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him.
I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me,
'Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him,
this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.'
--- John 1:32-33

What was the first thing that Jesus did after His baptism?

Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan
and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
--- Luke 4:1

It was during this time that the Holy Spirit prepared Jesus for His ministry,
... a time in which Jesus was shown the plans and purposes of the Father,
and thisis the way the Holy Spirit continued ministering to Jesus while He was on the earth.

So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.
--- Luke 5:16

And if one looks at most miracles Jesus performed,
... feeding 4000 & 5000 people, walking on water, etc.,
before all of these events, Jesus was in communication with the Father.

The Holy Spirit helped Jesus to communicate with the Father,
... so Jesus could hear and see those things He described in John 5.
For the same reason, we are also urged to do likewise ...

But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith,
praying in the Holy Spirit,
--- Jude 20

Most will tell you that this is simply praying in tongues,
... but the Bible says it is praying in the Holy Spirit!
... which means that the Holy Spirit must be ministering to us!
Therefore it is not about what we are saying,
... but about getting into a position of receiving
... that our praying in the Holy Spirit puts us in!

What is of importance, and what will build us up,
... is what God will be saying to us,
... as He did when Jesus went to Him in prayer in the Holy Spirit,
when He showed Jesus those things that are recorded in John 5

Praying in the Holy Spirit may sound as if what we are saying is important,
... but what is important, as Jude says, is what is building us up.
In other words,
... what we're receiving is more important than what we're saying!

This is in fact the key to our relationship with God,
... with the Father, with Jesus and with the Holy Spirit.
Remember, praying is not always just about what you say or ask,
... in fact the Bible tells us God knows beforehand anyway!
But most importantly,
... it is about what God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit are saying to us,

Therefore, the purpose of praying in the Holy Spirit,
... in a heavenly language, is primarily to switch off our thinking!
So that,
... when our mouths are not keeping our minds busy,
... then, the way is open for our minds to hear what God says,
and so to build us up in our most holy faith!

So how does this work?
Well I asked God that same question, and this is what He told me ...

Take a toddler, who is learning to speak,
... when that child speaks to you,
... you have no idea what that child is saying,
... but the child knows exactly what he or she is saying!

Praying in the Holy Spirit is exactly the opposite,
... when you are praying in a heavenly (unknown) language,
... you have no idea what you are saying,
BUT God knows exactly what you are saying,
... and therefore He can tell you what you need to know!

So, the secret to praying in the Holy Spirit is,

... whilst your soul is in spiritual mode,
... you are receptive to spiritual input,
Therefore,
... as your mind cannot understand what your mouth is saying,
... your mind ignores that, and is open to hear God,
your mind is in an unobstructed mode (not considering or planning)
... and much more receptive and able to hear!
All you need do is expect to receive, so that you will!

It is about putting yourself in that position where,
... you expect God to speak to you,
... and where God has the opportunity to get through to you!
That open and real connection, and relationship with God is,
... what will connect you to God,
... and what will build you up in your most Holy Faith!

So if you are not too sure about all of this tongues talking,
... simply start by wanting to hear from God,
... and let the Holy Spirit do what He wants,
If your mouth is busy with things you don't understand,
... your mind is free to connect and hear the Father,
and to hear the things you need to understand!

Built up on your most Holy Faith (in the Holy Spirit!)