Among the shorter books of the Bible, the letter of Jude contains some remarkably weighty exhortations. Writing to Christians threatened by false teachers and spiritual compromise, Jude urges believers to “contend for the faith” (Jude 3). Yet his final instructions are strikingly pastoral and deeply practical:
“But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. ” (Jude 20–21)
For many Christians, the phrase “praying in the Holy Spirit” raises immediate questions. Does Jude refer to a special kind of prayer? Is he speaking about emotional intensity? About mystical experiences? About speaking in tongues? Or is he describing something more ordinary, and yet more profound?
For Christians from a conservative evangelical perspective (like my own), Jude’s words should neither be ignored nor sensationalised. They should instead drive us back to Scripture itself, where we discover that prayer in the Holy Spirit is not an elite spiritual technique reserved for a few unusually gifted believers. It is the ordinary privilege and calling of every Christian.
Prayer Is Trinitarian
One of the clearest ways to understand prayer in the Holy Spirit is to recognise that Christian prayer is fundamentally Trinitarian. Throughout the New Testament, believers pray:
- To the Father
- Through the Son
- By the Holy Spirit
Paul writes in Ephesians 2:18 “For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.” Likewise, Romans 8 teaches that the Spirit helps believers in weakness and intercedes for them according to the will of God.
Christian prayer, therefore, is never merely a human exercise in religious reflection. It is communion with God made possible by the saving work of Christ and enabled by the indwelling Spirit. To pray in the Holy Spirit is to pray under the influence, guidance, and power of the Spirit whom God has given to all believers.
What “Praying in the Holy Spirit” Does Not Mean
Because the phrase has sometimes been associated almost exclusively with charismatic practice, it is important to clarify what Jude is not necessarily referring to.
There is no indication in the context that Jude means speaking in tongues. Nor does he suggest that Christians should seek altered states of consciousness, ecstatic utterances, or spontaneous revelations beyond Scripture.
Indeed, Jude’s emphasis throughout the letter is strongly anchored in apostolic truth. Christians are to build themselves up “in your most holy faith”, that is, the objective faith once delivered to the saints. Prayer in the Spirit is therefore inseparable from biblical truth, not detached from it.
The Holy Spirit who inspired Scripture never leads Christians away from Scripture. Nor does praying in the Spirit simply mean praying with heightened emotion. Deep feeling in prayer can be entirely appropriate, but emotional intensity alone is not evidence of spiritual authenticity. Someone can be emotionally stirred and spiritually shallow, or outwardly restrained and profoundly sincere.
So What Does It Mean?
At its heart, praying in the Holy Spirit means praying in dependence upon the Holy Spirit, in submission to the Word of God, and in alignment with the will of God. It means that prayer is not merely ritualistic, mechanical, or self-directed. The Spirit works within believers to produce genuine faith, reverence, repentance, love for God, and confidence in Christ.
John Calvin described true prayer as arising from “the secret energy of the Spirit.” That captures the idea well. Prayer in the Spirit is prayer animated by spiritual life rather than empty religiosity. This includes several important dimensions.
1. Prayer in the Spirit Is Christ-Centred
The Holy Spirit’s ministry is always to glorify Christ (John 16:14). Therefore, Spirit-filled prayer will not become obsessed with spiritual experiences themselves. Rather, it will increasingly draw the believer toward Christ – toward his person, his work, his promises, and his kingdom.
The Spirit teaches us to pray with gospel confidence because Christ has opened the way to the Father. A Christian praying in the Spirit does not approach God on the basis of personal worthiness, but through the righteousness of Christ alone.
2. Prayer in the Spirit Is Governed by Scripture
The Spirit works through the Word he inspired. This means that mature prayer is shaped by biblical priorities rather than merely personal desires. Left to ourselves, our prayers can easily become shallow and self-focused. We instinctively pray most urgently about comfort, success, health, or relief from inconvenience.
Yet the prayers of Scripture consistently elevate greater concerns – holiness, perseverance, wisdom, gospel witness, love, obedience, spiritual growth and the advance of God’s Kingdom to name a few.
This does not mean we cannot pray about ordinary needs, we absolutely should. Jesus teaches us to pray for daily bread. But Spirit-shaped prayer gradually reorders our priorities according to God’s priorities. One practical way to grow in this is to pray through Scripture itself, especially the Psalms and the prayers of Paul.
3. Prayer in the Spirit Depends Upon God Rather Than Self
Prayer in the flesh is fundamentally self-reliant. Prayer in the Spirit is fundamentally God-reliant. The Spirit exposes our weakness and teaches us dependence. Romans 8:26 is deeply comforting here “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”
Christians sometimes imagine that mature prayer means always knowing exactly what to say. Yet Paul says the opposite. One mark of spiritual maturity is recognising our inadequacy and leaning upon the Spirit’s help. The Spirit does not merely strengthen eloquent prayers, he helps weak saints.
The Danger of Mechanical Prayer
One of the great dangers for evangelical Christians, especially those who rightly value doctrine and order, is that prayer can quietly become formal yet lifeless. We may preserve theological precision while losing spiritual vitality.
It is possible to pray orthodox words while the heart remains disengaged. Jesus warned against honouring God with lips while the heart is far from him. Praying in the Holy Spirit calls us beyond mere routine. Not beyond structure, certainly, but beyond coldness.
The Puritans understood this well. They deeply valued both theological substance and heartfelt devotion. For them, prayer involved holy reverence, self-examination, confession, thanksgiving, adoration, and earnest dependence upon God. Warm spirituality and doctrinal seriousness are not enemies.
The Importance of Persistence in Prayer
Another important aspect of biblical prayer is perseverance. Paul exhorts believers to pray “at all times in the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:18). Jesus repeatedly taught persistence through parables about continual asking, seeking, and knocking.
Many Christians struggle here because prayer often feels difficult. We become distracted. We grow weary. We wonder whether prayer accomplishes anything. Yet Scripture consistently portrays faithful prayer not as effortless spontaneity but as spiritual labour. Paul speaks of “struggling” in prayer. Jesus himself prayed with intense earnestness in Gethsemane.
Prayer is not always emotionally uplifting. Sometimes it is an act of obedience sustained by faith rather than feeling. And often the very act of continuing to pray becomes part of how God strengthens us.
Practical Ways to Grow in Prayer
Christians frequently ask, “How can I improve my prayer life?” The answer is not found in discovering secret techniques but in cultivating ordinary faithfulness. Here are several practical helps.
1. Pray Regularly Rather Than Sporadically
A weak prayer life rarely improves accidentally. Set aside regular time for prayer. For many Christians, mornings are especially helpful because the mind is less cluttered and prayer shapes the day ahead. But the exact time matters less than consistency.
Daniel prayed regularly. Jesus withdrew regularly. The early church devoted themselves to prayer. Without intentional habits, prayer easily disappears beneath busyness.
2. Use Scripture to Guide Prayer
One of the best remedies for repetitive or shallow prayer is praying through Scripture. Pray through a Psalm slowly. Turn Paul’s prayers into your own prayers. Use passages of Scripture to fuel praise, confession, thanksgiving, and petition. This both enriches prayer and guards it from becoming self-centred.
3. Pray Both Privately and Corporately
Private prayer is essential. Jesus himself emphasised private prayer before the Father. Yet corporate prayer also matters profoundly. The New Testament church prayed together constantly. Public prayer teaches believers how to pray and reminds us that Christianity is not individualistic.
Church prayer meetings may seem unimpressive by worldly standards, but they are among the most spiritually significant gatherings in the life of a congregation.
4. Be Honest Before God
Some Christians mistakenly think mature prayer requires polished language. But the Psalms are remarkably honest. Believers cry out in grief, confusion, fear, joy, repentance, frustration, and hope. Reverence does not exclude honesty. God already knows our hearts completely. Prayer is not about informing him but communing with him truthfully.
5. Remember That Prayer Is Relationship, Not Performance
Many Christians become discouraged because they evaluate prayer primarily by subjective feelings. But prayer is not validated by emotional intensity or rhetorical beauty. A faltering prayer offered in faith pleases God because believers come through Christ. The Father delights in the prayers of his children, not because those prayers are impressive, but because they are offered through his Son.
Prayer and Spiritual Warfare
In Jude’s context, prayer is directly connected to spiritual perseverance amid false teaching and moral compromise. Prayer is therefore not peripheral to the Christian life, it is one of God’s appointed means of preserving his people.
The Christian who neglects prayer will gradually become spiritually vulnerable. Prayerlessness expresses practical self-sufficiency. On the other hand, prayer reminds us continually that we are dependent creatures living by grace. Satan loves a distracted, prayerless church.
A Final Encouragement
Many believers feel discouraged about prayer. They know they pray too little. Their minds wander. Their hearts feel dull. Their prayers seem weak. Yet the encouragement of Scripture is not that only unusually spiritual Christians may draw near to God. Rather, all believers have access to the Father through Christ by the Spirit.
The same Spirit who commands us to pray also helps us to pray. That means Christians need not wait until they feel spiritually impressive before coming to God. We come because Christ is sufficient, because the Father is merciful, and because the Spirit helps weak saints.
Jude’s exhortation remains urgently relevant today “But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God.”
In an age of distraction, superficiality, and spiritual confusion, Christians must recover serious, Scripture-shaped, Spirit-dependent prayer. Not theatrical prayer. Not mystical speculation. Not cold formalism.
But humble, biblical, Christ-centred communion with the living God.
Chalmers' Blog 