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Praying about the flow of time: Prayers to the Holy Spirit for Pentecost

Lynne Baab • Tuesday June 3 2025

Praying about the flow of time: Prayers to the Holy Spirit for Pentecost

I need comfort this week. When describing the Holy Spirit in the Upper Room, Jesus uses a Greek word that doesn’t have an easy English translation but which can mean “comforter.” In anticipation of Pentecost this Sunday, I want to consider this Greek word, parakletos. It literally means “one who comes alongside,” as in a law court. John 14:16 is the first use of that word in the Bible, and here are Jesus’s words:

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever.” In this translation, the NRSVue, a little footnote after Advocate says: “Or Helper or Comforter.”

Bible Hub lists about three dozen translations of John 14:16. Here’s how those translations deal with parakletos:

  • Advocate – 13
  • Helper – 11
  • Comforter – 10
  • Counselor – 2
  • Paraclete – 2
  • Intercessor - 1

The King James uses “Comforter,” so some of us heard that translation frequently in our childhood.

In John 14 and 16, as Jesus talks with his disciples over dinner, he gives quite a bit of information about what this Advocate/Helper/Comforter does. Because I need comfort this week, and because Jesus’s words in the Upper Room encourage me, I’ll give you his teaching interspersed with my prayers. Jesus says:

“This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him because he abides with you, and he will be in you” (John 14:17).

Holy Spirit, reveal truth to us. Help us be aware that you are abiding with us and in us.

“I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me, and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them” (John 14:18-21).

Beloved Jesus, thank you for coming to us in the Holy Spirit. We want to see you and know that you are in us and with us. We want to show our love for you by obeying you. And we long for you to reveal yourself to us, day after day.

“The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you” (John 14:26, 27).

Holy Spirit, teach us everything! Each day, remind us of what you have said to us in the Gospels. And yes, please, give us your peace in abundance.

“I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you, but if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because they do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, and you will see me no longer; about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned” (John 16:7-11).

Lord Jesus, we hate that you had to go away, but we thank you for the gift of your Spirit to be your presence with us. We thank you that we don’t have to prove the world wrong — that’s your job through the Spirit. We praise you that the ruler of this world has been condemned.

“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me because he will take what is mine and declare it to you” (John 16:12-14).

Spirit of truth, thank you for guiding us into truth. Thank you for working in our hearts to help us glorify Jesus. We want to do that more and more each day.

Note that “you” in these passages is plural. Jesus is talking to the community of his disciples. The Holy Spirit guides us into truth communally, enables us to love one another (see the fruit of the Spirit, Galatians 5:22-23) and serve each other and the wider world (see the gifts of the Spirit, Romans 12:3-8, 1 Corinthians 12, and Ephesians 4:11-12).

Advocate, Helper, Comforter, thank you for the Body of Christ, where together we discover your truth and try to live into it together. Pour out your Spirit on our friendships, small groups, and worshipping communities.

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Next week: Trinity Sunday. Illustration by Dave Baab.

Past posts about Pentecost:

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