Hey family! Good morning, afternoon, evening, or night. Whatever time it is at your current location; I trust that you are well. I apologize for missing out on our conversations last week. I need to work on being more consistent with this assignment and ensuring I keep my commitment to you because you are precious and important. Writing this blog is first an assignment which I must faithfully steward; and then, serving you is an honour that I do not take for granted. I commit to being more consistent by His grace and creating structures to ensure I keep to my commitment. Remember, you don’t rise to the level of your goals, rather you fall to the level of your systems.
Happy new month! Alas, June is here; and we are almost halfway through 2021! I pray that, this month, you experience new things. New wisdom, new insights, new grace, new connections and partnerships, new experiences with the Lord, and new depths in His word. I pray that this month, the light of God’s word permeates your heart, illuminates your dark places, clarifies your confusions, and gives you access to insight beyond your skills or training. I pray that your heart burns for the Lord and that you capture new visions and dreams that set you upon your watch.
Alright! Let’s get talking! This week our conversation is still on rethinking prayer. In the last post, we discussed rethinking the meaning of prayer and our access as believers. If you missed it, you should catch up here. This time, let’s talk about the role of the Holy Spirit in prayer. If you’re a Christian, you are most likely familiar with John 14:26 which outlines some of the roles of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer. Reading this verse in the Amplified Classic translation helps us see a direct link to the role of the Holy Spirit in prayer.
“But the Comforter (Counsellor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will cause you to recall (will remind you of, bring to your remembrance) everything I have told you.”
Just look at that! I absolutely love this translation! It opens depth in this verse. From here, we see the Holy Spirit not only works as our Counsellor, but as our Intercessor, Advocate, and Strengthener. The Holy Spirit is truly an all-round guy!
Now, to prayer! Have you ever sat down or knelt to pray but found that you have no words? You’re not quite sure what to say, and how to string the words to this Almighty God so you don’t come off rude or blithe to the Creator of the universe? Or are you so weighed down by the events of your life that the words seem stuck in your throat? You know those moments when you try to pray and all that comes out are sighs, groans, and hot heavy tears. Or have you had those days where you pray tirelessly, yet you’re worried that your prayers may not be in line with God’s will, and so won’t be answered? If you answer yes, to any of these questions, fear not! Don’t despair! Help is here! Help is the Holy Spirit!
So, how does the Holy Spirit help us in the place of prayer?
Before we go along, please remember our working definition. Prayer is an intimate conversation with the One who passionately loves you and lives in you. Please hold on to this, and don’t ever forget it.
As God’s child, prayer is a natural part of your daily existence. Just the same way you can speak continually and repeatedly to your loved ones within a 24 hour span; prayer is a continuous, never ending, intimate conversation with your Father who loves you and lives in you. This means you can talk to Him on the go, tell Him how you feel, be vulnerable about your deepest desires and darkest secrets, struggles and joys, pains, and fears. He is a tender-loving, attentive and affectionate Father. In summary, prayer is beyond an action, rather it is an interaction – because there is continuous communication and response between you and Him!
Now, this interaction doesn’t take place in a void but in and through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit in you prays through you by taking your thoughts, and words and aligning it to the Father’s will. Remember, your concern about not praying His will or aptly capturing His mind on a matter? Leave it to the Holy Spirit – that’s one of his areas of expertise. He steps in and aligns your thoughts and words to the Father’s will; and then helps you rightly discern the Father’s heart. He serves as the interpreter to bridge the language barrier. He can even deliver God’s word to you in your local dialect – spot on in such a manner that you get it so clearly. It would catch fire in your heart and birth a deep and unshakable conviction in your spirit. Oh, thank you Jesus for the gift of the Holy Spirit!
It doesn’t end there. For the times you don’t have the words and you aren’t sure how to pray, just lean on Him. Pray in the Spirit. I know some of us may be familiar with this term and believe that it means using an inspired language to pray, but it goes beyond that. Praying in the Spirit is allowing the Holy Spirit to pray through you – inspiring your words, leading the direction of prayer, and using you as his mouthpiece to declare His intention and will over situations. In this mode of prayer, He is the main character while you’re the mouthpiece. It’s not about what you think, rather He leads your heart, prompts you, and flows out through you. Here, you access depths you didn’t even know were possible because He is the main character; and you truly fellowship with Him.
Then, on the days where you’re tired, weighed down, spent and uninspired – guess what? You don’t have to feel guilty or deny yourself of intimate conversations with your Father. Because the Holy Spirit super-intercedes for you. He takes your wordless sighs and groanings and pleads for you before God; ensuring you are in perfect harmony and alignment to God’s plan for your life. I know this sounds too good to be true, but I promise I didn’t make it up. You can check Romans 8:26-27, it’s right there.
You hit the mark in intimate conversations with your Father when you go along with the Holy Spirit. Leverage his help.
Remember,
