The Help of the Holy Spirit: Understanding His Role in Your Life

The Holy Spirit is often misunderstood or feared, but there's nothing to be afraid of when we talk about Him. Too many Christians have diminished the Holy Spirit's role to just a few things, when in reality, there is an abundance of power available to those who believe.

The Holy Spirit isn't something to be intimidated by—He's someone we should lean into and draw upon. The Bible calls Him our helper, advocate, counselor, and standby. He's in our lives to guide us and help bring God's Word to its fullest potential in our lives.

Who is the Holy Spirit and what does He do?

The Holy Spirit isn't a genie who gives you whatever you want. He resides in everyone who has called upon the name of the Lord. If you're born again, His Spirit is available to you now.

While there is a baptism of the Holy Spirit (an infilling of His power) that is separate from salvation, the Spirit of God must come into you when you're saved. It's His power that recreates in you the work of Jesus Christ.

The Spirit that raised Christ from the dead lives and dwells in us. It's that recreative force that causes our spirit—which was dead and separated from God—to be made alive. That's how we can boldly stand and say, "Old things are passed away. All things have become new."

How does the Holy Spirit abide in us?

In 1 John 2:27, we read: "The anointing which you have received from Him abides in you." This anointing refers to the Holy Spirit. Every believer has been given the Holy Spirit—the empowering presence of God within you. His Spirit, wisdom, and power are available to abide in you constantly.

The word "abide" means to remain and stay connected. The Holy Spirit wants to abide in our life every day, in every situation—not just during church time, but all the time. He wants to work, move, speak, live, and stay connected to you.

Jesus said it was better that He go so that the Holy Spirit could come. If something better has been given to help us—not to replace Jesus, but to multiply and amplify, allowing us to stay connected to who Christ is—why would we not follow that? Why would we not hunger for that?

How does the Holy Spirit help us pray?

One specific way the Holy Spirit helps us is by listening to our emotional pleas and cries, but selectively responding to the prayers that align with God's will.

Many of us pray prayers that have no spiritual meaning—they're just complaints with "in Jesus' name" attached. When we pray in our known language, we're limited in what we know to do. We don't always understand the situations in our lives.

Romans 8:27-28 tells us: "He who searches the heart knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God." The Spirit acts as an advocate to the Father, but only in accordance with God's will. He filters out requests that don't align with scriptural truth.

The Holy Spirit doesn't help us win our arguments or change God's mind. When we're desperate and want God to do things our way, we might try all kinds of religious activities to convince God we're serious. But what we really need is to let the Holy Spirit pray about it.

What is praying in tongues and why is it important?

Praying in tongues is simply the Holy Spirit interceding or praying for you. It's a language our mind doesn't understand, but the Spirit understands and prays. When we don't understand it, the enemy doesn't understand it either and can't hinder those prayers.

We are limited in our capacity to pray in English, so we need to let the Holy Spirit take our prayers, desires, and needs, and bring them to the Lord in a deeper, more meaningful, and truthful way.

The Father and the Holy Spirit have perfect communication—there's no confusion between God and His Spirit. When He intercedes for us, He prays in a perfect, specific, detailed way about what we've asked Him to pray about.

Does the Holy Spirit give us everything we want?

The Holy Spirit wisely chooses not to give in to selfish whims because He knows what's best. He won't help with selfish or foolish prayers. He's not a magic trick and won't get involved with nonsense.

Romans 8:28 says: "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." Notice this is connected to verse 27 about the Spirit's intercession. There is no "all things working together for good" if the Holy Spirit isn't involved in your prayer life.

When we whine in our prayers and pray selfishly, we hinder the work of the Holy Spirit. Prayer is what changes things—it opens doors and brings healing. But prayer isn't about getting what you want; it's about getting what God wants.

Also, this verse doesn't say all things come from God. Not every good thing that happens is God's responsibility, and not every bad thing is His fault either. While God is sovereign, He limited His sovereignty when He gave us free will.

How does the Holy Spirit empower us?

The Holy Spirit wants us to be able to do whatever God calls us to accomplish. If you feel God has inspired you to do something, He wants to help you accomplish it. He doesn't give you a big idea and then say "good luck."

In 2 Corinthians 3:5-6, Paul writes: "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."

The New Testament isn't just a lighter version of the Old Testament—it's a completely new covenant built on God's efforts through Christ, not our efforts. All our Christian activities—going to church, praying, reading the Bible, living right—are so the Spirit can work through us to create life and abundance.

What God wants you to do, He will empower you to do. When God calls you to something, He makes you sufficient and able to perform. So ask the Holy Spirit to help you trust and lean into His direction for the things you're called to do.

Does the Holy Spirit respond more to holy people?

The Holy Spirit is more concerned about obedience and trust than giving us what we desire. In 1 John 3:20-24, we read that when our hearts don't condemn us, we have confidence toward God, and whatever we ask, we receive because we keep His commandments.

This doesn't mean God only answers prayers based on holy living. Rather, when we keep His Word active in our lives, it gives our hearts assurance. When we're doers of His Word, we have boldness to believe. When we stand on His Word and meditate on it, it removes condemnation.

And when our hearts have assurance and condemnation is removed, confidence produces results. The more we believe in God's Word, the more confidence we have, the more faith we exercise, and the more it produces in our lives.

Too many Christians live in guilt and condemnation, hindering the effectiveness of God's Word. We know what God's Word says, but we go by what we feel rather than what God says.

Those who aren't living godly lives have the same access to God's grace and power as those who are. The difference is in the results. A person who knows God's Word but doesn't live by it will never have enough confidence in God to receive anything. Their own conscience will either bring them to repentance or to shipwreck.

Life Application

Ask the Holy Spirit today to show you if there's any area in your life where love and obedience aren't in operation. Ask the Lord to forgive you for any unwillingness to change. Ask the Holy Spirit to bring God's Word to your remembrance for every situation in your life.

Stop running from change, deliverance, healing, or the forgiveness you need to release. Too many of us avoid the discipline of change, unwilling to let the Holy Spirit transform us from the inside out.

Every choice you make comes with a cost. There are many voices at work in our lives—our flesh, our soul, our mind, our will, our emotions—all telling us different things to do. But there's also that still, small voice speaking to our conscience, saying: live right, do right, think bigger, follow His Spirit, obey out of love.

God isn't looking for robots—He wants relationship and intimacy. He wants the fullness of His love abounding in your heart toward others. His Spirit is given to help us live in the fullness of His Word, grace, and promise.

Ask yourself:

• Am I allowing the Holy Spirit to intercede for me in prayer?

• Are there areas in my life where I'm resisting the Holy Spirit's guidance?

• How can I be more sensitive to the Holy Spirit's leading this week?

• What specific situation do I need to surrender to the Holy Spirit's help right now?