Prayer When Wiped Out

I admit it: I’m wiped out. 
Not enough sleep? Too much stress? 
Constant distractions? Deadlines? 
Whatever it is, you remind me: 
you restore my soul, my life, 
my being: me, who I am. 
Your Spirit breathes calm words 
into my consciousness, 
pumps gracious serum of truth 
into my arteries. I breathe. 
And you fill my inner being 
with the fact that you here. 
And where you are, there is health. 
there is health. And love.  
I let go and listen. 

Your essence of purity dissolves 
the clinging dirt accumulated 
by walking this narrow path 
surrounded by garbage. 
Your serenity speaks peace 
inside the swirling mist 
of multiple concerns, responsibilities. 
The reminders of who you are 
(most powerful of all, High King, 
my friend and my dear Abba) 
crumples my fears into a wad 
of inconsequential papers 
to throw away, knowing that 
if you keep track of each gray hair 
that leaves my head each morning, 
you also know about these things. 
And care. And you are good— 
all good. It is enough. 

You’ve been there too—in those moments when a concatenation of tough stuff leaves you feeling wiped out. One of the best ways to deal with it is to remember that you are not alone! If you have entered God’s Family, you have become “united” with him, “one” with him. Yes, it’s hard to understand. But our Lord Jesus himself promised that he would not leave us alone. No! He would come to us, living in us through his Spirit:

Then I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you forever– ¹⁷ the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept, because it does not see him or know him. But you know him, because he resides with you and will be in you. ¹⁸ “I will not abandon you as orphans, I will come to you.  (Jn. 14:16-18 NET)

He is our eternal Advocate! There is a lot of discussion about how to translate this special name for the Spirit, “paraclete” in the Greek. English doesn’t have one word with all of the meaning wrapped in the Greek word, so we get “Comforter” or “Counselor” or “Helper” or “Advocate”. According to the Oxford Languages Dictionary, an advocate is “a person who publicly supports or recommends a particular cause or policy.” Similar words cited are champion, upholder, supporter, backer, promoter. I like understanding it that way, especially “upholder.”

The main thing to hold onto is that the Spirit does all that is connoted by these titles, comforting and counseling and helping us. And he lives in us. We don’t have to call him in his office and make an appointment. That makes all the difference.

Jesus also said that we “know him”!  How does that happen? Well, when someone lives with you and you are in the same family, you talk to each other—especially when you are in a love relationship. You share delights and concerns. If you don’t, you pass like shadows on a sidewalk. Your relationship is a legal one, but not at all personal or intimate. So to know the Spirit we need to pay attention to him and interact with him. He may be the one to address us about something, prompting us to take action or change an attitude. When we download our concerns, he hears; we need to listen to his response.

For me his answer is usually a reminder of promises or commandments in the Word. When I wrote my “wiped out” conversation above, I needed to take time away from the distractions that were wearing me out. I listened, and was restored, because I knew I was not alone; instead, deep inside I was being reminded that the King of the Universe, my Rescuer, was taking care of me. He has promised to be with me, and explained that his Spirit would be constantly living in me, at work in me.  I could feel the distresses being swept into a dustpan and thrown out. I knew that he had been there, aware, every stressful moment. Nothing I was saying was new to him, but he wanted me to confide in him. No detail escapes him, and I was reminded:

Even all the hairs on your head are numbered. (Matt. 10:30 NET)

I lose a bunch of hairs into my brush every  morning! What attention he pays to his own, knowing even how many there were! So, do I pay attention to him and all the comfort and counsel he gives? It has to be a two-way street to be a real relationship.

When I was growing up as a missionary kid, I loved participating in the regular “singspirations” that the local mission team would have. A hymn that my mom always wanted us to sing became one that often melts into my “inner jukebox” when I’m walking in the early morning:

I come to the garden alone,
While the dew is still on the roses,
And the voice I hear falling on my ear
The Son of God discloses.
And He walks with me, and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own;
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known.[1]

When as a young teen at boarding school I began that early morning search for quiet outdoors, I would hum it. And I wondered what it meant to Mom, especially that shared joy that “none other has ever known.” Knowing Mom and her encouragement to us to spend time with the Lord, I think these words communicate that it was an intimate relationship, his with his Lord, so personal that others could not know it the way he did—yet they could be having their own personal relationship that was precious to them. Just private, interior, and treasured by each one.

Recently I was struck deeply by this farewell blessing that Paul wrote to the Corinthians:

May 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 NIV)

Jesus’ grace, the way he gave me a gift I in no way deserve—salvation—is a precious truth. So is the love of God, shown in so many ways by the One whose very essence is love. But how about the “fellowship of the Holy Spirit”? I meditated on that as I walked outdoors one morning, and felt a strong reference to the deep relationship I have with this person who lives in me, listens to me, and prompts me to move in ways that matter. So do you, each one of you who knows him.

But when I looked up the verse in commentaries I found lots of discussion about the meaning of that last phrase about the fellowship of the Spirit. It could refer to this intimate relationship that a true believer has with the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Jesus,  the Holy Spirit who lives in them. It could also refer to the fellowship that believers have with each other because they are each inhabited by the Spriti. I appreciate the voices that approve both meanings, and explain the order of the names of the Trinity with their attributes in that verse in 2 Corinthians 13:14 like this commentary does:

The closing call for God’s blessing is especially significant because it is the only place in the NT where God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are explicitly mentioned together in such a blessing. Paul highlights the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ (cf. 8:9), the love of God (supremely demonstrated in reconciling the world to himself in Christ; cf. 5:18–21) and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit (i.e. participation in the Holy Spirit through being his temple and participation in the fellowship of believers created by him).^[2]

Yes, both kinds of fellowshiip are key facets of believers being the home residence of the Spirit! Again, the Oxford Languages Dictionary gives a definition of “fellowship” that can strengthen how we understand it: “friendly association, especially with people who share one’s interests.”

The Spirit is in us to unite us with our Father and Savior, and keep us guided according to his purposes, as well as comforted when we need it. We need to interact, to take advantage of this relationship. When we are together with another true believer, we are bonded together by our faith and commitment to our Lord. We’ve got to remember this and work towards more mutual acceptance and understanding—our differences should not divide us:

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³ Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. (Col. 3:12 NIV)

Sometimes this may seem impossible—way too idealistic. But it depends on whether we try to live up to the Family standards that we’ve been given. When we put up with each other like this, with forgiveness and gentleness, we can maintain a harmonious and mutually respectful relationship. We have fellowship through the Spirit who lives in each of us. At the same time, we have this very personal interaction with God’s Spirit, with the benediction that comes from his ongoing work in us. It does take humility, compassionate patience and receptivity to what the Spirit communicates.

What a gift! We are never alone, and always have access to the Throne. Our Advocate is intimately connected to us, living in us, counseling us. Pentecost was the beginning of the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise to never abandon us. That means that even our “normal” days are spent with him—not only crises when we cry out for help.

This is our daily, moment by moment, source of peace, restoration, and guidance. Thank you, Lord Jesus, Father and Holy Spirit!

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[1] Charles A. Miles

^[2] Colin G. Kruse, “2 Corinthians,” in New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition, ed. D. A. Carson et al., 4th ed. (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994), 1205.