Help!

Not infrequently I hear those who are praying use the word "help".  They are petitioning or articulating a request for the Almighty God to intervene in some way.

• help us to honor your name
• help me to study well for the exam
• help me to do what is right
• help me to avoid the bad habit in which I am entangled
• help our elected officials to govern rightly

Suppose the praying one does not do well on the exam.  Is she tempted to feel that God did not answer her prayer by "helping" her?  Or, what about the one who keeps failing to steer successfully from the bad habit that bothers him enough to pray for "help"; might he wonder why God has not yet answered his prayer by helping him succeed?

The commonly accepted definitions of "help" include: to make it easier for (someone) to do something by offering one's services or resources; or, assist (someone) to move in a specified direction; or, render assistance to; or, rescue.  With these in mind are those praying (above) asking the living God to:

• make it easier for us to honor your name;
• rescue me from the exam for which I feel so totally unprepared;
• assist me to do what is right;
• make it easier for me to study (less?) for the exam;
• assist our elected officials to govern morally?

How are Biblical prayers worded?  Do they use the word "help"?  In fact, I found a couple dozen that seem to do just that.  Most, if not all, however, pertain to general support or specific rescue, i.e. from enemies.  One woman's prayer was instructive: Tell my sister to help me!  The Lord's answer?  "No", essentially, "That's not the way I do things".  Are many of our prayers essentially those to which the Lord might reply similarly, "That's not how it works, prayer that is.  I am not here to provide you with a bit of assistance, or to make life easier.  Do you want to honor my name?  Tell me that.  Tell me why you find it difficult in your setting to do just that.  Or, what habit is it that you have allowed increasing control such that now you feel you need help?  Do you truly regret its grip on you and want to be thoroughly done with it, to have its power completely broken?"

I remember when Jesus was interrupted during his approach to Jerusalem and what would be the final days leading to his betrayal and crucifixion.  A blind man accosted him with loud and insistent cries of, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"  He was successful in bringing Jesus and the crowd accompanying him to pause long enough for Jesus to call the blind one closer for further questioning: "What is it that you want me to do?"  To this day it is instructive that the crippled one didn't launch into pleas for help; he went straight to the point: "Lord, I want to see." Notice he didn't say, help me to see.

Shall not we too modify our requests for help from the Almighty God by:

• speaking back to Him of His worth, His matchless identity, His unrivaled character and attributes;
• crying to Him from the very depths of our being with hearts completely frank about our total inability;
• specifying what we want to see Him do?