Jude 20 But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit

A believer is first and foremost a disciple. Having accepted the Lord Jesus as Savior you have set out to be his disciple, i.e. to become disciplined in the things that he taught which are now recorded in the Bible. It follows then that if you do not spend time studying his Word and putting into practice what he says, you cannot claim to be following him.

These days there are teachers, tapes, seminars and books and they are all helpful, but until you sit down and study the Word for yourself, you will never know whether what you are being taught is true. To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31 – 32)

Then there is the relationship with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is Counselor, Comforter and Teacher. He is also the one who brings conviction of sin, righteousness and judgment. (Read John 16: 5-15). You have to have a relationship with him in order to pray in the Holy Spirit as Jude encourages us to do.

It was the Holy Spirit that convicted you of sin and made you to understand the magnitude of the Father’s love for you that he would sacrifice his Son Jesus to bring you back into relationship with himself. It is the Holy Spirit that continually speaks to you about what God’s will is for you to do daily. Pray to the Father to fill you with the Holy Spirit in such a way that you can pray and worship in the Spirit, i.e. in a language that is heaven sent. That will allow you to have discernment, to know the Father more deeply and to take authority over the enemy when you encounter him. Please do not misunderstand me. The validity of your salvation is not in question here. The infilling of the Holy Spirit simply enhances your spiritual life.