A Helper

These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. (John 14:25-29 ESV). “Hey, Dad, can you help me?” I suppose I have heard that request hundreds of times before. Every time I have heard it I respond with, “Sure. What do you need?” That’s a good response; but, wouldn’t it be better if I knew what my sons need before they even asked and helped immediately? That’s the backdrop of our reading today. There are times when we don't really know what or how to pray. We know we need help, but we don’t know what kind or how much. Perhaps that’s where you are today. You may feel overwhelmed by a burden. You may find yourself discouraged, depressed, and in over your head. It is at that point that the Holy Spirit will help you. Jesus calls the Holy Spirit our “helper.” Other translations use the word “comforter.” We have lost the meaning of the word "comforter." It comes from the Greek word Paracletos, which means "called alongside to help," a helper, aide, or assistant. Some versions translate Paracletos as the word "advocate" (cf. 1 John 2:1). The purpose of an advocate is to plead the cause of another, an intercessor. This is part of the work that the Holy Spirit has come to do in your life. You may be thinking, “I don’t even have the energy to pray.” Well, often, merely a sigh will do. We don't always have to put words to our prayers. The Holy Spirit will do the rest. I have been in those positions before. I don't know what to say, or how to say it. I just know that I am in pain, so I sigh, I groan, and sometimes I cry. That's where the Holy Spirit comes in. As Romans 8:26-27 tells us, "Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God." Now, that’s a helper! Go to him, even if it’s just with a sigh.