Pray in His Name

When I was in labor with my son, Kaedin, literally nothing went the way I had planned. It was chaotic, scary, 37 hours long, and ended with me almost dying. Thankfully, God orchestrated specific hospital staff to be there who were exceptionally skilled and they sprung into action to save my life. When I was in (unmedicated) labor with my second child, Violet, the second most athletic endeavor I have ever been through, I was incapable of advocating for myself to hospital staff due to the intense, singular focus it required of me. That is why I had a midwife. She knew my history, acted as a go-between, spoke for me when I couldn’t speak for myself, was on my team no matter what, and would not bail no matter how chaotic the circumstances became. Without my midwife, my daughter’s delivery would have turned out very differently. But because of her steady and calm presence, both my daughter and myself made it through healthily and without unnecessary medical interventions (16 hours later).

The same is true of the Holy Spirit. God, the Father, loves us so much that He didn’t leave us alone. He sent the best teammate to advocate for us when we couldn’t advocate for ourselves. The Holy Spirit’s role is to teach and remind us (testify) of all the things Jesus has said and done. I, in my own strength, am inadequate to live this Christian life. But He is adequate in every way, giving us the same power that raised Jesus from the grave (Romans 8:11), to live life to the full here and now — In His Name (John 10:10)

Prayer doesn't have to be this eloquent soliloquy. Romans 8:26 says “In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groaning too deep for words.” Even when we don’t have the ability to pray “as we should,” we can lean on the Spirit to advocate to the Father on our behalf. In His Name, we have direct access to the limitless God who loves and desires us so much that He sent His son to be born completely human, live a sinless life, die a sinner’s death, and rise again to reconcile us back to Himself. Thank you God, that you didn’t leave us alone. You provided a helper for us here and a way to be with You eternally.