Why are we in such a doctrinal mess today? It is because people are following their own ungodly desires. They cause division. In some instances, if you go to the Bible school of one Pentecostal denomination you are not permitted to preach in the churches of another Pentecostal denomination. This attitude is coming from Jesus Christ?

Those who walk in the soul, according to their self-will, shall bring confusion and division wherever they go.

Such ministers may talk in tongues but they do not have the Spirit of God. They follow their own soulish instincts. We do not see in them the fruit of Christ's image. Sooner or later they shall be cut from the Vine even though they have wrought miracles in the name of Christ.

But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, (Jude 1:20)

Praying in the Holy Spirit may include speaking in tongues, but this is not the key issue. The issue is living and praying in the Spirit such that we are flowing with the Spirit of God. It is a way of life. As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God and they are regarded by the Lord as having the righteousness of Him who kept the Law of Moses perfectly.

Of all the needs in the American Christian churches, the greatest (after changing our doctrine to conform to the New Testament) may be for the believers to spend time each day praying in the Spirit. In fact, if we do spend time each day praying in the Spirit, our doctrine will change for it is not in line with what the Spirit is saying.

We talk about the merits of prayer. We all nod agreeably when the prayer closet is mentioned.

However, the American culture is so rich in monetary, educational, and scientific opportunities that the days are not long enough to take advantage of all that is being offered.

The result is that we talk about the importance of prayer but do not pray.

We do not build up ourselves in the most holy faith by praying in the Holy Spirit.

We work or study until we are exhausted, and then come home and flop in front of the television and let Satan do our thinking for us.

It is absolutely impossible to stand before God in these days in America unless we are praying in the Spirit each day. Praying in the Spirit means we stay in prayer until our prayer begins to merge with the prayer of Christ. We can tell when this happens, usually.

At the very least, one-half hour is to be spent each day in a place set aside for prayer. I do not mean thinking good thoughts, I mean getting down and praying. The best time is when we first wake up (although I understand this is not always possible). This means we have to go to bed earlier so we can get up in the morning.

Prayer is a delight. We rob ourselves when we become too busy to pray.

There is this about it: if you do not have time to pray one-half hour a day (at the very least) you do not have time to watch television.

To be continued.