"Praying in the Holy Ghost." -- Jude 1:20
"In the Holy Ghost" marks the grand characteristic of true prayer. The seed of acceptable devotion must come from heaven's storehouse.
It means praying humbly, for the Holy Spirit never puffs us up with pride. It is His office to convince of sin, and so to bow us down in contrition and brokenness of spirit. We shall never sing Gloria in excelsis except we pray to God De profundis: out of the depths must we cry, or we shall never behold glory in the highest.
It is loving prayer. Prayer should be perfumed with love, saturated with love--love to our fellow saints, and love to Christ.
Moreover, it must be a prayer full of faith. A man prevails only as he believes. The Holy Spirit is the author of faith, and strengthens it, so that we pray believing God's promise. O that this blessed combination of excellent graces, priceless and sweet as the spices of the merchant, might be fragrant within us because the Holy Ghost is in our hearts!
Most blessed Comforter, exert Thy mighty power within us, helping our infirmities in prayer.
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