Praying in the Spirit

(Continued from the last post)

“Carefully build yourselves up in this most holy faith by praying in the Holy Spirit, staying right at the center of God’s love.” (Jude 1:20 MSG)

We often presume that our human objectives are divinely inspired. Here is a personal example: This morning, a thought came to me that I should suggest something to my son that seemed beneficial. And, since I was praying when the thought occurred to me, I figured it may be divinely inspired. Yet, I  knew that this was also in alignment with my natural instincts, my worldly objectives, my rational self. This gave me pause. I prayed that the Holy Spirit would directly influence my son in this matter according to God’s will.

Shifting our trust from our physical instincts to our spiritual instincts requires us to submit to the guidance and influence of the Holy Spirit. Instead of being influenced by our gut-level desires, we start praying from a higher level. As we surrender our human objectives, we get closer to the center of God’s will.