THE UPPER ROOM DAILY DEVOTIONAL 19 MAY 2024, SUNDAY MESSAGE
TOPIC: Our Advocate
TODAY’S READING
Acts of the Apostles 2:1-4
The Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with groanings too deep for words. – Romans 8:26 (NRSVUE)
TODAY’S MESSAGE
As I was reading about this verse in a Bible commentary, the word advocate jumped off the page. My mind went to the definition of a special education advocate. This type of advocate assists parents and teachers with developing a child’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP) to help them succeed in their schoolwork.
I recalled the time when my husband and I asked a friend, who is a special education teacher, to be our child’s advocate in an IEP meeting we attended several years ago. I felt an overwhelming peace knowing someone was there to support us when we weren’t sure what to say.
Looking back at this experience, I think about how God has given us the Holy Spirit as an advocate. We can come to God in prayer even with a burden that feels so big to us that we don’t know what to say, and our heavenly advocate will present our requests to God. The more I learn about God, the more I realize how amazing God is.
TODAY’S PRAYER
Dear God, thank you for providing the Holy Spirit as an advocate to support us when we don’t have the words to say. Amen.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Because the Holy Spirit is praying for me, I can rest easy.
PRAYER FOCUS
Special education advocates
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The Upper Room Daily Devotional 19 May 2024 Message. The Upper Room is a daily devotional magazine published in more than 30 languages and 100 countries around the world. The daily meditations are written by readers of the magazine and others interested in sharing their faith experiences through writing—both laity and clergy, published authors and new writers. The meditations are stories of real people working to live faithfully with the Bible as their touchstone. Every day, readers of The Upper Room around the world read the same story in many different languages and pray the same prayer together. Read More