Devotion #6: We Need Help
“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. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” Romans 8:26-27
When I was in High School, my girlfriend, Kim, and I were on a double date with some friends of ours (Kim is now my wife). We went to see a movie. The theater was about 30 miles from where I lived. After the movie, I realized that I did not have enough gas in my car to get home. Actually, it was empty. We went to a gas station, but between the four of us, all we could scrounge up was about two dollars. We needed help.
As believers in a broken world, we face many difficult circumstances and hardships. We do not always know how to pray in these situations. Sometimes, these situations are so difficult that it is hard to even come up with words to pray. We need help.
In John chapter 14, Jesus promised to ask the Father to send His disciples a helper. That Helper is the Holy Spirit.
In our passage from Romans chapter 8, we see that “the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” The Holy Spirit does more than groan. He jumps in and helps us in our weakness by interceding for believers when they do not know how to pray. We do not always know how to pray because we do not always understand God’s purpose and will, especially in difficult circumstances. However, the Holy Spirit knows God’s will, and He prays according to that purpose and will for us. The Father knew we would need help, and out of His love for us, He gave believers a Helper.
We all need help sometimes. When I was out of gas 30 miles from home, help came in the form of someone overhearing our conversation in the gas station parking lot and interceded. That person went into the gas station and paid $20 worth of gas for us because they knew we needed help.
The Holy Spirit knows we need help as well. He intercedes for us when we do not know how to pray. That does not mean we should not pray. Prayer is an essential part of a believer’s life.
In this broken world, there will be hardships and difficulties. If we have put our faith in Jesus and made Him the Lord of our life, we can trust that when we do not know how to pray, we have a Helper who intercedes for us, the Holy Spirit.
We only receive the Holy Spirit and His help when we have put our faith in Jesus and make Him the Lord of our lives. Have you done this? If you have not and have questions about what that looks like, I recommend talking to your Location Pastor.
John 14:16 states, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever.”