Welcome to Week 42 of A 2020 Prayer Life!
What follows is a series of daily meditations and exercises to help us develop our individual prayer lives. This represents a one-day-at-a-time process. Don't short-circuit the process by reading ahead. Simply read and do each day what is offered for that day.
What follows is a series of daily meditations and exercises to help us develop our individual prayer lives. This represents a one-day-at-a-time process. Don't short-circuit the process by reading ahead. Simply read and do each day what is offered for that day.
October 14
At the Last Supper, Jesus told His disciples, "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever." (John 14:16 NASB)
(Later in the same chapter {verse 26}, Jesus is explicit about saying that the Helper is the Holy Spirit. As we consider the title of "Helper" this week, therefore, we do so with the recognition that this is a title for and role of the Holy Spirit.)
In your prayer time just now, make "Helper" the title that you use in prayer. And as you do, talk with Him about these questions.
(1) What does "Helper" reveal about You?
(2) What does "Helper" reveal about my relationship with You?
(3) How could my calling you "Helper" impact and influence my relationship with You?
(Later in the same chapter {verse 26}, Jesus is explicit about saying that the Helper is the Holy Spirit. As we consider the title of "Helper" this week, therefore, we do so with the recognition that this is a title for and role of the Holy Spirit.)
In your prayer time just now, make "Helper" the title that you use in prayer. And as you do, talk with Him about these questions.
(1) What does "Helper" reveal about You?
(2) What does "Helper" reveal about my relationship with You?
(3) How could my calling you "Helper" impact and influence my relationship with You?
October 15
"I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever." (John 14:16 NASB)
The verb "give" is central to the good news expressed in John's Gospel. Early in the Gospel, we read that God so loved the world that He gave His only Son (3:16). And here, as the Son approaches the end of His earthly ministry, He promises to "give you another Helper," which is the Holy Spirit.
In your prayer time, talk with the Lord about His giving of Himself to you:
What does this giving reveal about You?
Help me to understand why You do what you do.
Help me to receive all that You give.
The verb "give" is central to the good news expressed in John's Gospel. Early in the Gospel, we read that God so loved the world that He gave His only Son (3:16). And here, as the Son approaches the end of His earthly ministry, He promises to "give you another Helper," which is the Holy Spirit.
In your prayer time, talk with the Lord about His giving of Himself to you:
What does this giving reveal about You?
Help me to understand why You do what you do.
Help me to receive all that You give.
October 16
The giving that God does has expressed purposes:
In your prayer time just now:
- "that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16 NASB)
- "that He may be with you forever." (John 14:16 NASB)
In your prayer time just now:
- talk with the Lord about His expressed purposes
- ask Him what each means for you
- thank Him for His love
October 17
Jesus said to His followers, "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 14:26 NASB)
This verse is a remarkable testament to the work of God in your life. While we sometimes narrowly think in terms of our relationship with just one Person of the Trinity, here we are presented with the glorious fullness of God's total involvement with you. The Son promises, the Father sends, and the Spirit comes.
Meditate on the attributes of God implicit and explicit in this verse. What do you learn and discover about Him by thinking deeply about this verse? Talk to Him about that -- about what this passage reveals about Him. Praise Him for who He is, and thank Him for what He does.
This verse is a remarkable testament to the work of God in your life. While we sometimes narrowly think in terms of our relationship with just one Person of the Trinity, here we are presented with the glorious fullness of God's total involvement with you. The Son promises, the Father sends, and the Spirit comes.
Meditate on the attributes of God implicit and explicit in this verse. What do you learn and discover about Him by thinking deeply about this verse? Talk to Him about that -- about what this passage reveals about Him. Praise Him for who He is, and thank Him for what He does.
October 18
"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 14:26 NASB)
This verse is a double gift, for it speaks of both the giving of the Spirit and what the Spirit gives. Talk to the Lord about these gifts.
This verse is a double gift, for it speaks of both the giving of the Spirit and what the Spirit gives. Talk to the Lord about these gifts.
- Thank Him for His gracious purpose in giving the Helper.
- Meditate on the sort of help that the Helper gives.
- Consider what the Helper has taught you, and thank Him for it.
- Think of times that the Helper has 'brought to remembrance' for you the words of Christ, and thank Him for His work in your life.
October 19
"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 14:26 NASB)
In your prayer time, consider aloud before the Lord the remarkable promise expressed in the phrase "He will teach you all things."
In your prayer time, consider aloud before the Lord the remarkable promise expressed in the phrase "He will teach you all things."
- Tell the Lord what your initial understanding of that promise is.
- Tell Him your initial reaction to that promise.
- Ask Him the fullness of what He means by it.
- Ask Him to show you what more the Helper is willing and able to do in your life than perhaps you have experienced thus far.
October 20
Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you." (John 16:7 NASB)
Put yourself in the disciples' shoes. Use your imagination to climb into their thoughts and feelings. Imagine for a few moments how they must have felt when they heard that Jesus was going away.
With that in mind, then, what is your reaction to the suggestion that it would be to their advantage that Jesus go away? Does that seem possible? Would you readily believe that if you had been in their place?
In your prayer time, talk to the Lord about the implications of Jesus' dramatic statement. What does it reveal about the role of the Helper that it is actually advantageous to Jesus' followers for Jesus to go away?
After you have pondered that in prayer and talked to the Lord about it, be sure to spend some time thanking Him for sending the Helper to you!
Put yourself in the disciples' shoes. Use your imagination to climb into their thoughts and feelings. Imagine for a few moments how they must have felt when they heard that Jesus was going away.
With that in mind, then, what is your reaction to the suggestion that it would be to their advantage that Jesus go away? Does that seem possible? Would you readily believe that if you had been in their place?
In your prayer time, talk to the Lord about the implications of Jesus' dramatic statement. What does it reveal about the role of the Helper that it is actually advantageous to Jesus' followers for Jesus to go away?
After you have pondered that in prayer and talked to the Lord about it, be sure to spend some time thanking Him for sending the Helper to you!