What do I do when I need help? Binge, cry, shout, work out a plan, share about it with a friend or simply pray. I’ve done all these things but I find that when I can stop and pray, I can then be more at peace and see the answer coming. If I dwell on a particular problem, then I get all stewed up and can’t sleep.

God’s word has something to say about getting help. Psalm 121:1-2 (Good News Bible) says a lot about where we can get help.”I look to the mountains;” the Psalmist says, “where will my help come from? My help will come from the Lord who made heaven and earth.” God is a very present help in trouble so we can turn to him at any time to gain His help and perspective in a given situation.

I think that we humans try to be so independent of God. We don’t take Him at His word when Jesus says, “without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). We think we can, but we can only produce the best when God is working through us and we let Him. As we abide and rest in  His love and power, His Spirit can guide and give us the ideas to pursue that can help us in our varying times of need. Even when in our pride we think we can do certain things, as we turn to God for help, He can do things in an even better way than we could ever have done on our own.

Jesus knew that we would need help when he returned to His Father after spending 40 days on earth following His resurrection from the dead. He told His friends that it was to their advantage that He return to heaven as then He could give us His Holy Spirit who would be with us forever and not even be limited to being in a certain place as Jesus was when on the earth. No wonder Jesus said that we would do even greater things than he had done as what He does now is multiplied by the Spirit working in every Christian and blessing others as well as blessing God – the reason we exist!

Children, particularly those that may struggle at school with various assignments, need to know that Jesus in the form of His Spirit can help them with every single task. As they learn to pray and bring even the smallest concerns to Him then God will act. Then their joy will abound as they see God not only answering their prayers by helping them in the practicals but also realising that God is indeed alive and is interested in them as individuals. How God loves us and wants the best for us!