When the disciples requested, "Lord, teach us to pray," Jesus let them in on this wonderful secret - the Holy Spirit is our greatest helper in prayer.  Jesus told them God the Father is willing to give the Holy Spirit to us. "How much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him."  In essence He said, "if you really want to pray, then ask the Father to give you the Holy Spirit."

"But what does the Holy Spirit have to do with prayer," you may be asking, "And why do I need Him?"

If we are honest most of us have to admit that like Paul, due to human weakness, "we know not how to pray as we ought."  Who is even fully aware of his own deeper personal needs? Our tendency to protect our personal image or reputation often prevents total honesty.

Who of us can see Satan's hidden ambushes or be sensitive to concealed snares?   Who feels adequate to interpret the critical live situations in which we find ourselves?  Who is capable of knowing God's will in a given situation?  If we did know it, would we be tempted to change it?  Who knows about the future?  Who knows how the decision I make today will affect tomorrow?  All of these human frailties underline our need for divine help if we are to pray as we ought.

The Scripture assures us of that divine help for our weaknesses in prayer.  We have two helpers: Jesus the advocate with the Father and the Holy Spirit the advocate within.  Christ's priesthood for us is eternal: He ever lives to make intercession for us.  The Holy Spirit's intercession is all-embracing; He helps our infirmities.   Contrary to what we often think, our weaknesses do not cause the Spirit to leave us.  Actually, it is our very weakness that qualifies us for His help.  Only when we admit we cannot pray as we ought does the Holy Spirit come to our rescue.

As Christ taught His disciples to pray, now the Holy Spirit wants to continue Christ's mission in us by teaching us to pray.  The intercession of Christ and the intercession of the Holy Spirit are really one.  Christ constantly offers Himself to the Father in our behalf. and the Holy Spirit helps us become part of Christ's intercessory work, not just for our own needs, but for those of the whole world.   Shall we respond, too, to Christ's teaching on prayer by asking the Father to give us the Holy Spirit, the spirit of prayer?

- Helmut Schultz