Teach us to pray, part 58: The Holy Spirit as companion and teacher

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?" (Luke 11:13 NASB)

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. 2 Cor. 13:14 NASB

"I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in 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 said to you." (John 14:16-17, 26 NASB)

Jesus described the Holy Spirit as a helper who is with us forever. He is the Spirit of Truth and not only teaches us what we need to know but helps us to remember the words of Christ. It is our job to commit those words of Christ to memory, but the Spirit is the One who brings them to our mind at just the right time. 

When we are in a frightening situation and suddenly remember the verse we learned as children, "What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee," (Psalm 56:3) it is the Spirit of God that has brought that truth to mind. When we remember words of Christ, it is the Spirit of God that brings them to mind. When that Still, Small Voice speaks in our heart, it is the Holy Spirit speaking in us.

If love is the characteristic that marks God the Father, and grace abounds in Jesus Christ, then fellowship, companionship is the prime characteristic of the Spirit. Jesus promised that He would not leave us alone, would not forsake us, and He did not. His Spirit remains as our constant companion and, because of that, we are never alone. 

In our heartbreak, our struggles, our trials, our loneliness, His Spirit is with us and, if we allow, will give comfort, as well as strength to persevere and overcome whatever we face. We can have that Still, Small Voice as our constant companion, and we, too, can say, "My best friend is Jesus."

God's gift of the Holy Spirit is available to us in as much measure as we need or want. Imagine that. All we have to do is ask. As we pray, then, let us ask that God's Spirit would not just work in our lives but fill us with the sweet aroma of Christ, that we might infuse our world with Him. Lord, give us the Spirit as You will, and as much of Him as we are willing to receive.

Teach us to pray, part 52: Seeker prayers

"So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened. (Luke 11:9-10 NASB)

In yesterday's blog post, we considered the idea of seeking and finding. If what we have found in life is not what we wanted, we've been seeking the wrong thing. It is that simple. God promises that, if we seek Him, we will find Him, for He is also seeking us.

This morning, it occurred to me that this is a series on prayer. "Seeking" seems more like an issue for a series on priority or lifestyle choices, rather than prayer, until I remember that prayer is rooted in relationship. That relationship is an outgrowth of the kind of seeking that finds the One who is the object of my search. 

Yesterday, I was humming a song I learned as a child, "My Best Friend is Jesus". As I hummed aloud and listened to the words silently as they played in my head, I thought, "I really mean this!" When I learned those words as a little girl, I had no idea at all of the richness of relationship available to me, nor the depth of love that could be mine. 

Over the course of several decades, my seeking has led me to the One my heart most desired, my Lord, and to a relationship with Him. As I have spent time with Him in prayer, studied His words, and learned to trust Him, a relationship that is precious beyond all else has developed. Christ is the first one to whom I speak in the morning, before my feet hit the floor. He's the One whose "tongue is the pen of a ready writer" and supplies the words I write. He's the first One I go to with a problem, a need, a desire. He's the One I trust above all others. He's my best friend.

My best friend. As I write those words, I am utterly astounded. How can it be that someone who has done so very much sinning can find a friend in God? It seems impossible, yet our God is so forgiving, so loving and long-suffering, that He can embrace even someone like me. Someone like you. What is even more astounding is that the God who created and sustains the Universe will take the time to communicate with me, listen to me, talk to me in that Still, Small Voice in my heart!

We call that communication, between my heart and His, prayer. When I understand that prayer is simply talking to the one I love the most, it becomes a simple thing. I talk to God about all the things that concern Me, then leave those concerns in His capable hands, trusting Him to deal with every single issue. Sometimes His solutions require some action from me, but more often than not, they don't. 

If I want to have power in prayer, if  I want answered prayer, I must begin by having a relationship with the One to whom I pray. Satisfying myself, whether by the accumulation of money, houses, things, or by pleasure that lasts for a moment, or by gaining the status and power the world offers, must be set aside in order to satisfy and to please my God. Answered prayer begins with relationship, and the deeper the relationship, the deeper the conversation between us.

In teaching us to pray, Jesus taught, "Seek and you will find" because our seeking must first be for His kingdom and His righteousness. Prayer is simply the communication that flows naturally from that relationship. 

"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, 

and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:33 NASB)