“But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.” (John 14:26 NLT)

Have you ever experienced the Holy Spirit’s biblical intervention? Maybe you were struggling in a certain area of your life. Or you were facing a difficult temptation. Or you were unsure of what to do in a situation. Then suddenly, a passage of Scripture jumped into your mind—one that spoke clearly to your circumstances. And—here’s the amazing part—one that you don’t remember memorizing. It may have been a passage you heard in a sermon a few months earlier or one that you talked about in a Bible study ten years ago.

If, in that moment, you wondered where that passage came from, Jesus offers the answer in John 14:26: “But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you” (NLT). The Holy Spirit reminds you what you need to know when you need to know it.

That work extends to other areas as well. The apostle Peter wrote, “And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it” (1 Peter 3:15 NLT). Sometimes that’s not possible. Sometimes people ask questions that you can’t answer immediately. Sometimes you draw a blank when you’re asked to explain some aspect of your faith.

That’s when the Holy Spirit intervenes. Thoughts come to you. Answers that you didn’t know you had. You start sharing, and the words that come out are so good that you want to take notes on yourself. You say to yourself, “This is good stuff. Where did it come from?” It didn’t come from you. It came from the Holy Spirit. He’s reminding you of what you know.

Of course, that doesn’t excuse you from the discipline of Bible study. You can’t just hold your Bible up and say, “I pray that all of these things will go into my brain right now.” You still must discipline yourself to read, study, and memorize Scripture. You must put in the work to know and understand what God’s Word says. If you do that, you can trust the Holy Spirit to remind you of what you know at crucial moments.

That’s why, before you study Scripture, it’s important to pray for the Holy Spirit to illuminate what you read. Paul wrote, “That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.’ But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets” (1 Corinthians 2:9–10 NLT).

Once those secrets have been shown to you, they can be recalled again and again. The Holy Spirit will bring them to mind to strengthen and guide you when you need them.

Reflection question: In what area of Bible study do you need the Holy Spirit’s assistance? Discuss Today's Devo in Harvest Discipleship!

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“And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.” (Romans 8:26–27 NLT)

There will be times when you don’t know what or how to pray. You may be overwhelmed with a burden. You may be discouraged. You may be depressed. You may be afraid. That’s when the Holy Spirit steps in to help you.

Referring to the Holy Spirit, Jesus said, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you” (John 14:16 NLT). The word Advocate also can be translated as Comforter. It comes from the Greek word parakletos, which means “called alongside to help.” The Holy Spirit comes alongside you to assist you in your prayer. He serves as an advocate in interceding for you and pleading your cause before the Father.

Let’s face it, some prayer requests are too complex to put into words. Some situations are beyond your ability to fully grasp. Some cause you to confront your self-interests in uncomfortable ways, requiring you to choose between what’s easiest for you in the short term and what’s best for you in the long term. In situations like these, arranging your thoughts and emotions into coherent sentences may seem next to impossible.

The good news is that sometimes the most profound prayers are nothing more than a sigh or a groan—an emotional SOS, signaling that you’re overwhelmed and don’t know what to say. I can attest. After my son died, I struggled to come to grips with the reality of his being gone. I prayed to God, but I didn’t always know what to pray. So, sometimes I just said, “Oh, Lord.” Sometimes I just groaned. Sometimes I just cried. Sometimes I just sighed. But that was all I needed to do because I wasn’t crying out against God; I was crying out to Him for help. And His Holy Spirit was ready to assist.

The apostle Paul wrote, “And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will” (Romans 8:26–27 NLT).

Don’t let a lack of words keep you from praying. No matter what you’re experiencing, take it to the Lord. Give Him your sighs, your groans, your tears, your anxiety, your rage. Even if you can muster no more than “God, please,” it’s enough for the Holy Spirit to work with. He will make your needs known to the One who can bring ultimate good from any situation.

Reflection question: When have you needed the Holy Spirit’s assistance with a prayer? Discuss Today's Devo in Harvest Discipleship!

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The audio production of the podcast "Daily Devotions from Greg Laurie" utilizes Generative AI technology. This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known."

All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie.

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“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” (Galatians 5:22–23 NLT)

How do I know if you’re a Christian? For that matter, how do you know if I’m a Christian? You can’t see my heart. You can’t see my faith. But you can see the results of my faith. Jesus said, “Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions” (Matthew 7:20 NLT). I can’t determine if you’re a follower of Jesus merely by your profession; I need to see evidence in you. And that evidence is spiritual fruit.

Spiritual fruit doesn’t grow overnight; it takes time. Sometimes the best judge of the growth in your life is another person. You may be introspective and ask, “Have I become more like Jesus in the last twenty-four hours?” But that’s like trying to watch your kids grow. The growth is too subtle to notice in real time. But someone who hasn’t seen your kids in months may say, “Wow, they’ve really grown!” Similarly, you may not see spiritual growth in your own life. But someone else might say, “You’ve really changed!” That’s the work of the Holy Spirit in you.

And that’s important because Jesus said, “You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name” (John 15:16 NLT). Jesus wants to see spiritual fruit in your life.

The apostle Paul identifies the fruit in Galatians 5:22–23. It starts with love—love for God and for others. Jesus said, “If you love me, obey my commandments” (John 14:15 NLT). We bear spiritual fruit when we show our love for the Lord. We show our love for the Lord by doing what He says. The Holy Spirit helps produce spiritual fruit by reminding us of God’s commands.

Jesus also said, “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples” (John 13:35 NLT). We bear spiritual fruit when we show love to others—especially to people who are hard to love. The Holy Spirit helps in this area by reminding us of the love that God has shown us.

We express that love by maintaining a spirit of joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Another translation of Galatians 5:22–23 puts it this way: “Things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely” (MSG).

How do you bring forth this fruit? Jesus said, “But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!” (John 15:7 NLT). You remain in Christ. You sink your roots deeply in the soil of God’s Word. You get your nourishment from it. You stand strong when conditions get bad. You invite the Holy Spirit to cut away the dead or unhealthy branches in your life. That’s how you produce spiritual fruit.

Reflection question: What does spiritual fruit look like in your life? Discuss Today's Devo in Harvest Discipleship!

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The audio production of the podcast "Daily Devotions from Greg Laurie" utilizes Generative AI technology. This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known."

All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie.

Listen to the Greg Laurie Podcast

Become a Harvest Partner

Support the show: https://harvest.org/support

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.