Seasonal Prayer

I like the fact that we have four distinct seasons here in the Midwest.  But as I reflect on the past seasons I find myself thinking this:

Winter 2010 – 2011 – it was too harsh

Spring 2011 – it was too rainy and the tornadoes too many

Summer 2011 – it was too hot

Fall 2011 – I'm concerned that it might be too short

But seasons make like here at least more interesting that say some tropical island where the temperature never deviates that much and the weather is always the same (with the occasional concern for a tsunami, of course).

And if I can't remember, the weather man will tell me exactly which month, day, and hour the seasons will change.  They can tell me now when “fall” will officially begin.  However, the actual weather outside may not always conduct itself in the descriptive manner of its assigned season.  We might have winter's snow while it is still fall.  We might have summer's heat while it is still fall. 

Life is like that.  When I was young, I thought I would be young forever.  But as my “young” starting aging, I longed for the freedom of adulthood.  Ready or not, adulthood came and with it came the responsibilities that always accompany freedom.  I cannot say “this is the day I became and adult” - it was a process.  Yes, milestone birthdays are still celebrated.  But I can't tell you that the day I turned 16 and got my driver's license that I was an experienced driver and ready for that season in my life.

I wanted to be married – and I was.  August 24, 1968 was the day that I began my season of “being married”.  I'm still in that season – but it's behavioral characteristics have changed through the years.

And so it goes – for each season of our lives we may not always be able to ascribe a beginning and an ending for that season.  We may place dates – but it doesn't always mean that the characteristics of that season began and ended on those set days.  (I didn't lose all my childish ways the day I got my driver's license and entered the adult world of driving....)

So how do we pray in seasons?  I prayed for a driver's license (and worked hard to get it), I prayed for a husband (everyone knows that's a lifelong undertaking sometimes), I prayed for a family, I prayed for our home, our finances, our health, our crises (we've had a few as have you), our circumstances (they're part of our daily existence) and I prayed prayers of thanksgiving when prayers were answered, crises abated and circumstances changed – but my prayers have not always had dates of beginning and ending on them.  My prayers have not always been the same.  It would seem that there are seasons of prayer.

Sometimes I haven't even been sure how to pray – or what to pray.  Perhaps the season was new to me or I simply did not know what was the best for the particular season I was in.

Fortunately, the Bible has the answer for us in these seasons of our lives:

Romans 8:26 – Likewise, the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses.  For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

The original language “helps” is a compound word (sunantilambano) made up of 3 separate words:

sun – together with

anti – over against

lambano -  to take

Altogether it is a picture of someone who comes to another's aid by taking hold of the load he is carrying and helping to ease the burden.  He does not take the entire load, but he helps to carry it.

So, the Holy Spirit comes to our aid, helps us to carry the load during our particular season.  Sometimes it feels like God has actually lifted our load from our shoulders; other times we are just aware that He has helped us – He has come along side of us and offered to assist us through seasons of life that we feel over-burdened and unsure of.

Sometimes the characteristic behavior of a particular season that I may be walking through may “leak” into the next season of life, but God has already made provision for me in each season.  He has provided a “help” via the Holy Spirit.