Prodigal Prayer Day--By the Spirit 1: Advocate
June 2 and the Worldwide Prodigal Prayer Day will be here in a few weeks. Those of us who love and pray for prodigals prepare our hearts to bring our wandering loved ones and the thousands on the “pray-for” list to the throne of grace. This year our theme will be By the Spirit and this week we look at Advocate. You are welcome to join us.
Our theme verse is Zechariah 4:6: “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit…”
Dear Lover of Prodigals,
As a writer, I sometimes receive requests to endorse books—most often from friends. They want me to vouch for them, to say their book is well written and worthy of reading. In a sense, my friends are asking be to be an advocate for them.
Certainly those of us who love prodigals understand this advocate role. How many times have we spoken for or on behalf of our wayward ones: in their schools, in the courts, for a job, even to our friends?
Yes, we desire and encourage appropriate consequences for their choices. Yet our love compels us to be on their side—an ally! To believe in and endorse them! To be an advocate for them!
Gratefully God has provided an Advocate for us and for our loved ones: “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” (John14:26)
The New Testament word for Holy Spirit is parakletos. In most recent translations the meaning given is advocate. An advocate is one who speaks for or on behalf of, or speaks up for, to give a character reference for.
How often do we feel inadequate and unworthy to come to the Father with our desperate needs as parents and family and friends?
The Holy Spirit is there. He speaks to the Father on our behalf, because of what Jesus has done for us. He offers a character reference for us—the character of Jesus Himself.
He is also an advocate for our prodigals before the Throne. He reminds our God that Jesus shed His blood for these we love. That there are children of God on their knees pleading on their behalf.
And this Holy Advocate does something else: He actually prays for us and for them. His prayers go much deeper, with infinite understanding. What a comfort!
As we prepare for June 2 on our knees on behalf of loved prodigals, we can be assured that the Holy Spirit, our Advocate, is standing with us, speaking for us, praying for us.
In the Spirit,
Judy
What about you? How has the Spirit been your advocate?
c2017 Judy Douglass
If you would be interested in requesting prayer for a prodigal loved one, or being a part of our wonderful praying community, respond in comments or write to me at PrayerforProdigals at gmaildotcom.