Mentoring Men for the Master

MAY I HELP YOU?

MAY I HELP YOU?

Romans 8:26

It was bargain day at Belk’s.  I was fumbling in a pile of goods on a counter and a salesman brought to me welcome relief when he said, “MAY I HELP YOU”  Frustrated and confused in my scrambles for bargains, I was delighted to hear his loving invitation to help me and he did and I was soon on my way home with a perfect pair of trousers for my son.

May I help you?  In the “rat race” in life with the rats winning the race, the words, May I Help You, has become a parable to me, for I frequently hear the Holy Spirit say tome, May I Help You?  We have a way of saying, “God helps those who help themselves.” But  to help one’s self may be the height of egotism.  And Self cannot ultimately help us, because it thinks it needs no help.  Self is your “FLESH” and the fleshly mind is an enemy of God, is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” (Romans 8:7)

Question, in what area do Christians need help?  We need help in many areas, but especially in PRAYER.  The great Prayer Warrior, Paul, admitted he had a definite weakness in prayer, and he heard the Holy Spirit in his soul asking, May I Help You?  And Paul let Him.  Listen to his word in Romans 8:26, written in the first person. “The Holy Spirit HELPS our weakness (in prayer).  For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Holy Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” The word “Help” in English consists of only four letters, but in Greek the word “Help” consists of 17 letters, SUNANTILAMBANETAI.  This word has 3 words in it:  SUN – means “with”; ANTI – means “at the other end of.”  LAMBANETAR – means  “take hold of.”

Illustration:  When my dad on the farm needed help in moving a heavy object, he would say to me,  “Grab a holt, son, and help me.”  This is exactly what the Holy Spirit offers to do in our burden of prayer.  Exactly what does the Holy Spirit do?

  1. The Holy Spirit shows us that the secret in prayer is to recognize our weakness.  Paul testifies  to this truth in 2 Cor. 12:9, “…my strength is made perfect in weakness; most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities (weakness), that the power of Christ (the Holy Spirit) may rest on my.
  2. The Holy Spirit reminds us that Jesus is praying for us constantly in heaven (Heb. 7:25-26; Romans 8:34; 1 John 2:1-2).
  3. The Holy Spirit reminds us the Holy Spirit in your heart is SUNANTILAMBANETAL, “taking hold with you” as you pray.
    1. The Holy Spirit Adapts or revises our requests to His perfect will- Illus:  I prayed that God would heal Doris; The Holy Spirit knew I wanted the very best for Doris, so He prayed the Father would take her to heaven. PTL!
    2. The Holy Spirit helps us Articulate our words.
    3. The Holy Spirit  Advises us “what” we should pray for.
    4. The Holy Spirit  Activates our will to pray.

 

 

  1. The Holy Spirit  Arouses our urgency to pray, even quickening our mortal bodies – Romans 8:11.
  2. The Holy Spirit  helps us Avoid repetition.  Much praying of Christians is a re-iteration of the same things until they become a cliché.  Illus:  A mother asked her little daughter, are you praying as I taught you?  She replied, “Mother, I thought the Lord wanted to hear something new, so I just told Him about the three bears.”  Illus:  Much praying is just informing God over and over in words, “We thank you for who you are.  For creating the Universe.  For our pastor and church.  Bless me and my wife, John and his wife, us 4 and no more.”  Illus:  An insightful writer on prayer writes, “For most persons to pray effectively they must unlearn the old, worn-out prayers they pray all the time.”
  3. The Holy Spirit  comforts us by Assuring us that we should keep on praying, even though our prayers seem so imperfect, because  His intercession makes our prayers worthwhile.

Note:  the only thing predictable about the Holy Spirit is His unpredictability and that is particularly true in prayer. So you should pray when you feel like it, when you don’t feel like it until you do feel like it.

 

Conclusion:

  1. If saved, you have the Holy Spirit, but you must surrender your life to Him if you expect Him to intercede in your prayers.
  2. The Holy Spirit intercedes alongside you as you pray.  He does not intercede for non-prayers.
  3. The Holy Spirit does not intercede for the lost.
  4. Repent and trust Jesus with all your heart and you will receive the Holy Spirit through the New Birth (Romans 8:9b) and He will become your Helper Prayer.

 

Questions and Answers:

  1. The one thing my members enjoy least is praying. (Successful Pastor)
  2. Do you enjoy praying?
  3. Do you find it hard to make time to pray?
  4. If so, why?
  5. True or False:  Since the Holy Spirit intercedes in me, I do not need the prayer plan set forth in our text book.
  6. True or False:  Since Jesus and the Holy Spirit are praying for me, I know they’ll pray when I don’t have time.
  7. If I pray when convenient, what kind of prayer life will I have?
  8. Why does a Christian pray only three minutes a day?
  9. Evaluate your prayer life if you watch TV more than you pray.
  10. Every victory is a prayer victory and every failure is a prayer failure.  Agree?
  11. How can you tell if a person prays or does not pray?

Paul wrote in Phil 1:19, “I have the Holy Spirit, “but I will prosper if the Philippians will also pray for me.”