Scripture: Luke 11:13
Key Verse: If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!
Spiritual B3:
Luke 11:1-13 has taught us a lot about prayer. But listen to the final lesson of Jesus, as we are reminded of the disciple’s original request, “Lord teach us to pray.” After laying out the litany of look-a-like blessings of stones, serpents, and scorpions; Jesus concludes by responding, “how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
Naturally, there has to be a connection between the original request of the disciples and the final statement of Jesus—the necessity of the Holy Spirit in prayer. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the trinity and is the Spirit of God that dwells within believers. Romans 8 verses 26-27 reveal powerful truths about the relationship between the Holy Spirit and prayer, “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weakness. 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.”
On the journey while I was recovering, it was an up and down process. I relapsed a few times and particularly in the beginning really questioned— well actually I didn’t question, I knew that my mind was not working properly. And looking back, I wasn’t sure if my prayers were making any sense and as much as I had been a person of prayer in the past, I began to question the effectual nature of my own prayers and felt like the devil was attacking my confidence in prayer. This was an attack on my belief. But like clockwork God sent this word.
Romans 8:26-27 should give you a final word of encouragement for Week 4. First, it tells us that the Holy Spirit helps in our weakness. So even when we are spiritually, mentally, emotionally, or physically weak the Holy Spirit will step in. Second, the Holy Spirit steps in, not only in weakness, but in those moments when we don’t even know what to pray for! Let that sit in for a second, the Holy Spirit makes up the difference. Finally, if you are just learning to pray, don’t know what to say or what to pray, or you’re simply struggling to find the words because you don’t know what to pray for, the Bible says the Holy Spirit Himself makes intercession for us, as the saints, according to the will of God.
In these few lines I can’t even begin to unpack the depths of this statement but consider this. Imagine you are in a foreign country where you cannot speak the native language and circumstances have arisen where you urgently and desperately need to communicate with the highest authority in the land. Then steps in the Holy Spirit as your supernatural interpreter who communicates not only what you’re trying to say, but even the things you don’t even know that you want to say or need to say (the will of God). But not only is the Holy Spirit our supernatural interpreter, the Holy Spirit is the third person of the trinity who is the highest authority in heaven and earth. That’s what the Holy Spirit does through intercession for us, which is why we need to ask our Heavenly Father for the Holy Spirit in our lives, but especially our prayer lives.
CPR Kit for the Soul:
- Centering Theme: Be still and ask the Father for the gift of the Holy Spirit to come into your life
- Prayer Topic: Thank and praise God the Father for sending the Holy Spirit to make intercession for us
- Reflection Thought: Reflect on the fact that you don’t have to put undue pressure on yourself when you pray, you just have to pray with a sincere heart, believe, and the Holy Spirit will be your supernatural interpreter to make up the difference
T3 Prayer Booster:
- Father God, I thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit. I realize it would be foolish for me to not accept what You have given me for my own good.
- Lord, please help me to learn more through Bible Study, prayer, and meditation about to the full operation of Your Holy Spirit in my life. Please wipe my mental slate clean if I have been misled or misinformed about what You desire for me through Your Holy Spirit.
- Lord, from the depths of my heart and soul I thank and praise You for this awesome gift that keeps on giving every single time I come to You in prayer.
