Have you ever wanted to do something but didn't know how? Perhaps you wanted to learn to water ski. Or to knit. Or to play the piano. You didn't just sit down at the piano the first day and start playing. And you surely didn't knit a sweater the first time you picked up the needles. And what about water skiing? Chances are you didn't get up on your first try, drop one ski along the way and start doing flips. So how do you learn to do these things? How do you learn to do anything? Simple. You first find someone that already knows how to do it, you let them teach you what they know, and you start trying. Over and over and over you try. You practice. You won't get it just right the first time...or the third...or maybe even the fifteenth time. But you don't quit...you keep at it...keep trying...and eventually you learn. But you'll never learn if you never start.
The same is true with developing a prayer life and quiet time with God. You may think, "I don't know how to start" or "I don't know how to pray," or "I don't understand the Bible." But just as we would seek out an instructor for piano lessons, God gives us an instructor for developing a personal relationship with Him. Romans 8:26 tells us, "In the same way, the Holy Spirit helps us where we are weak. We do not know how to pray or what we should pray for, but the Holy Spirit prays to God for us..."
In other words, the Holy Spirit is our Helper. Our Instructor. Our Guide. When we don't know how to pray or how to spend one on one time with God, if we just show up...if we are just willing to try...the Holy Spirit will take over and guide us along the way, just as a piano teacher or a skiing instructor.
I read a devotional recently that dealt with the topic of the Holy Spirit being our Helper. It used the illustration of the little boy that disappeared from his parents at the concert of the world renowned pianist. You've probably seen the commercial that has been made out of this story. The little boy reappears on stage, sitting at the piano, playing chopsticks. Just when he realizes he has made a mistake and probably isn't doing something right, the pianist comes alongside him, encourages him to keep going, and joins in playing with him. In the same way, the Holy Spirit will come alongside us and encourage us and help us...as long as we're willing to try.
There is no right or wrong way to spend time with God. Yes, he is Holy and should be approached with respect, but that doesn't mean our words have to be flowery and ornate. And we should never be like the hypocritical, arrogant Pharisee in Luke chapter 18. Jesus says unless we come to Him as a little child, we will not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. And only when we are humbled will we be exalted.
And when we are willing to try...to humble ourselves and make time with God...the Holy Spirit will come alongside us and assist us. Sometimes you may not need words at all. Sometimes just quietness will suffice. Or a simple "Please," or "Help," or "Thank You," is all that is necessary. God knows our heart and He knows our motives. A one-word prayer from a humble, spirit-seeking heart is far greater than a lengthy drawn-out prayer from an arrogant, self-serving one.
So if you don't have an established prayer life...if you don't find one on one time to spend with God daily...what are you waiting for? You'll never have one if you never get started. The Holy Spirit will guide you, will teach you, will intercede for you...but you've got to be willing to try.
"And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you." ~ John 14:16-17
"But 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 things that I said to you." ~ John 14:26
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