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Dr. Ray Guarendi takes your calls from the studios of Ave Maria Radio in Ann Arbor, MI.

Dr. Ray Guarendi takes your calls from the studios of Ave Maria Radio in Ann Arbor, MI.

Praying in the Spirit, What Does That Even Mean?Jude 20 “But you, my delightfully loved friends, constantly and progressively build yourselves up on the foundation of your most holy faith by praying every moment in the Spirit.”I decided to read through the book of Jude today, as it is a very short book. It is only one chapter. The author of this book begins by stating that he fully intended to write to them about our amazing salvation that we all participate in, but felt the need instead to challenge them to defend and contend for the beliefs that we cherish vigorously. He then warned them against false teachers and the fate of the apostates, and subsequently discussed Enoch's prophecy. He ended with a call to remain faithful.When I read the call to remain faithful, two verses jumped out at me. When I started writing this episode, the verse above immediately caught my attention. I felt that the Holy Spirit wanted me to discuss praying in the Spirit. The translation I used today is the Passion translation. It says that we are delightfully loved friends. It goes on to say that we should constantly and progressively build ourselves on the foundation of our most holy faith by praying in the Spirit at all times.I am sure we all want to build ourselves on the foundation of faith. With a firm foundation, nothing can shake us. Nothing can knock us off course. When our feet are planted on a firm foundation, we know we will be ok, we will feel safe. So how do we get this firm foundation we so desperately want? Today's verse says that we can pray in the Spirit all the time. Some of you may be asking, “Pray in the Spirit, what does that even mean?” Praying in the Spirit is another way to say praying in tongues.Praying in tongues is something that many people have heard of but few people understand. Praying in tongues is when the Holy Spirit is praying through you. It is when you surrender your vocal chords to the Holy Spirit. I know this probably sounds weird to you, and if so, I get it. When I was a high schooler, I accidentally went to one of my dad's charismatic prayer group meetings. I thought I was going to a sweet 16th birthday party, but that was in a different part of the building. When I heard them praising the Lord out loud and speaking in tongues, I thought they were all a little bit crazy. I had never heard anything like it before.Later in life, I heard a speaker talking about how she also thought speaking in tongues was crazy. She said she would pray to God to give her all the gifts of the Holy Spirit, except that one, because that one seemed crazy and she didn't want to be crazy or have people think she was crazy. Then life happened, and she had a really intense experience with a high schooler she was counseling at the time. She realized that she needed all the power of the Holy Spirit. She realized that it was crazy to limit God and not want all that He had to offer. God is only good. He is not going to give you a bad gift. His gifts will only build you up and bring you closer to Him. There are no bad gifts of the Holy Spirit.Let me take a minute to explain the gift of tongues. You can receive the gift when you are baptized in the Holy Spirit, which occurs when you are baptized, when you make your confirmation, and anytime you go through a life in the Spirit seminar. There can be other times as well; these are just the most common. Sometimes you will just be overcome by the Holy Spirit and receive this gift and start speaking in tongues like the apostles on the day of Pentecost. They all started speaking in different languages so that all those in the crowd could hear what they were saying in their native tongue.However, this is not everyone's experience. Many people who participate in a Life in the Spirit Seminar who wish to have the gift of tongues do not receive it right away. They need to practice saying sounds that do not sound like words. This is not easy to do, as most of us are afraid of looking stupid in front of other people.One of the ladies in the prayer group told a story about how she first learned to pray in the Spirit. The leader of her Life in the Spirit seminar had told her to practice in the shower, where no one else could hear, or down in the basement while doing laundry. She said she would go downstairs, and when the laundry was going, she would practice stringing random consonances together. During one life in the Spirit seminar, the leader described it as if you were talking to baby Jesus. You know how when we talk to babies, we always say things like goo goo gaa gaa. This is how you can practice trying to talk in the Spirit. It is not easy, as you have to surrender your voice to the Lord. Also, you have to be ok looking silly while you do it.If you decide to give this a try at home, I want to encourage you to keep trying it even if you feel silly. You don't have to do it all day every day, just a few minutes each day. Go somewhere private and practice saying nonsense words, or talk like a baby. For me, I just said the same thing over and over again. Ta, Ta, Ta, Ta, Ta…. I knew I wasn't speaking in tongues for the longest time, but I was willing to keep practicing. Then, one day I was on a retreat and I told the Lord, I wasn't going to leave the chapel until I was speaking in tongues because He had told me on a walk that He had given me the gift, so it wasn't Him standing in my way, it was me. After saying that word over and over again for a while, something shifted, and I knew it was no longer me saying it but the Holy Spirit praying through me. It was amazing! I was so excited.You might be asking yourself, What is the point of going through all of this just to pray in the Spirit or praying in tongues. Praying in tongues is a powerful kind of prayer. Do you ever struggle with what to say to God or what to ask God? Especially when things are really bad, or you are so far in the darkness you can't see any light? Praying in tongues is great when you don't know what to say. When you are praying in tongues, you don't even know what you are saying. It is a special prayer where the Holy Spirit relays the deepest desires of your heart to the Lord in a perfect way. It is the Holy Spirit speaking directly from your heart to the Lord. Wouldn't it be worth being a little uncomfortable and putting in a bit of work if it meant that you would be able to pray the perfect prayer to the Lord?Romans 8:26-27 says, “ Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.  And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” The Holy Spirit knows what you need; He knows how to pray to God for all your needs. Why not let Him? If speaking in tongues is foreign to you, if you have heard of it but think it is weird, or you think you are not “holy” enough for that gift, I want to encourage you to bring your thoughts and feelings to the Lord. At least have a conversation with him about it. You wouldn't be listening to the podcast if you didn't want me to help you walk more boldly in your faith, and I know this would help exponentially. Most of the gifts are for the building up of the faith of the whole community. This one is for you and your faith journey. It can help others, too, but primarily it is to help you along your faith journey. Just think about it, pray about it, and reach out if you have any other questions.Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, you are amazing, and you bless us with so many gifts. Thank you! Lord, I ask that you speak directly to the hearts and minds of all those who are listening who cannot speak in tongues. I ask that you give them the courage to talk to you about it. I ask that you help them see that they have nothing to lose and everything to gain by asking for this gift.  Lord, I ask that you bless all those who want this gift with it. You are a dad who gives lavishly to your children. You give us so many blessings and gifts, and we are so grateful. We love you so much, Lord, and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus's holy name, Amen!!Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I want to remind everyone that my retreat is just two months away, so CLICK HERE and check out all the details. I look forward to meeting you here tomorrow. I have a special witness tomorrow from Patty Schneier. She is a lifelong Catholic, housewife, and mother of three from the Archdiocese of St. Louis. She and her husband, Larry, are active members of their parish, where Patty serves as a cantor at Sunday Mass. During her 19 years of work in Catholic Radio, Patty hosted weekly radio shows, conducted countless interviews, and produced a daily podcast for Covenant Network Catholic Radio.  She has been a guest on EWTN, Ave Maria Radio, Catholic Answers Live, and numerous radio affiliates across the United States. She was nice enough to share a testimony with us, and I can't wait for you to hear it tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I! Have a blessed day!Today's Word from the Lord was received in January 2025 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email CatholicCharismaticPrayerGroup@gmail.com. Today's Word from the Lord is, “Have wisdom for yourselves and for those who hate you. Do not turn away from the words of my mouth. I delivered you. Walk in my wisdom.” www.findingtruenorthcoaching.comCLICK HERE TO DONATECLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emailsCLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily lifeCLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace