"O Lord, be my Helper!"

What to Do When You Need a Helper

Posted on by Michele Morin

Sunday Scripture

My grandchildren love to help me in the kitchen, just as their father was my helper when he was small enough to stand on a stool and struggle to keep all the flour in the mixing bowl. This variety of “help” usually requires a fair amount of work and patience on my part. It usually means sweeping up sprinkles and finding sticky fingerprints in odd places for days.

Perhaps this is why “Helper” is a word so easily misunderstood when we encounter it in scripture–particularly when it refers to God!

Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me!

O Lord, be my helper!”

Psalm 30:10

Make no mistake about it, David’s request is a plea for his life to be preserved. He is simply a man in deep need, and God is his last resort. Indeed, this is our position as well, and the wise among us are quick to acknowledge our need, to throw ourselves upon God’s mercy, to ask for divine help!

The wise among us are quick to acknowledge our need, to throw ourselves upon God’s mercy, to ask for divine help. “Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me! O Lord, be my helper!” (Psalm 30:10)

All around, we see people fall and know that we, too, are fallible. Even so, God promises to “provide strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him” (2 Chronicles 16:9). He is a “help against our adversaries” (Deuteronomy 33:7), particularly when we are fighting a spiritual battle.

C.H. Spurgeon summarizes Psalm 30:10 as “two gems of prayer; short, but full and needful.” He then goes on to give believers strong encouragement to give voice to our need:

In every duty,
in every conflict,
in every trial,
in every effort to promote the Lord’s cause,
in every season of prosperity,
in every hour we live,
this short and inspired prayer is suitable.
May it flow from our hearts, be often on our lips, and be answered in our experience.
For if the Lord help us, there is no duty which we cannot perform;
there is no foe which we cannot overcome;
there is no difficulty which we cannot surmount.”

C.H. Spurgeon, Expositions of the Psalms (56)

Rejoicing in his help,

All around, we see people fall and know that we, too, are fallible. God promises to “provide strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him” (2 Chronicles 16:9).

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Published by Michele Morin

Michele Morin is a Bible teacher, writer, reader, and gardener committed to the truth that women can become confident Christ-followers and students of God's Word. She has been married to an unreasonably patient husband for thirty-plus years, and together they have four sons, four daughters-in-love, and five adorable grandchildren. Michele loves hot tea and well-crafted sentences, poems that stop her in her tracks, and days at the ocean with the whole family. She laments biblical illiteracy and advocates for the prudent use of “little minutes.” She blogs at Living Our Days, and you can connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter.

60 thoughts on “What to Do When You Need a Helper”

  1. Michele, the Spurgeon quote is a powerful one indeed. A simple three word prayer, “Lord, help me!” and “there is no difficulty we cannot surmount.” Grateful to have read these words!

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  3. Tears come to my eyes as I contemplate God Almighty as MY helper. To think he is willing to come to my aid whenever I need him, to bring to bear all his glorious attributes for my benefit. Hallelujah! Thank you for the uplifting start to our Sabbath, Michele! Oh, and with Joanne above, I love that Spurgeon quote!

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  4. Good morning, Michele. Thank you for your Sunday morning encouraging word. To think that He is our ever-present help and is as close as the mention of His name.

    I look forward to your reviews of books Aging with Grace (I just finished it last month) and Turning of Days which I recently ordered thru your blog and received yesterday. Delightfully, the intro began, “It’s late February.” The first chapter shares author’s affection for spring peepers (kindred spirit) and just last night we heartily welcomed our pond’s first chorus!

    This morning, I’m thankful to get up, get dressed, and join the other saints who’ll go marching in to Zion (uhh, church). So looking forward to real peoples, pews, and programs of worship!

    Let God be praised and His enemies be scattered…….

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    1. Peepers in February?!
      I am finding myself jealous on this day of frozen ponds and a negative 16 degree wind chill!
      It’s so good to know what you are and have been reading. You are in for SUCH a treat with Hannah Anderson’s book. I savored every word. Right now, I am reading Eugene Peterson’s bio and wishing it would not end.

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  5. My word for the year is Trust. I had thought of it before my son became ill, so I have been leaning on it. David trusted the Lord when he prayed this. Be my helper. Oh how calming David’s prayer, as yes, be merciful to me as I’m not always upright, and be my helper. God is such a loving and kind God.

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  6. One advantage to being in my sixties now is that I can look back and see how God was clearly my helper all along life’s way. This bolsters my faith that He will be my helper thoughout all of my days.

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  9. Love to Spurgeon quote! Yes, we don’t understand the word Helper the way it’s used in scripture. Your explanation puts it in a different light. Worth noting that it’s also the word used regarding the wife being a helper to her husband, which puts that in a different light as well. Great post!

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  10. Good for you, Michele, for allowing your boys to help you in the kitchen when they were younger. I did too, and now each one of my sons is the chief cook in their respective families. Now my grandsons love to “help” in the kitchen too. Acknowledging need is not always easy. Thank you for this encouragement to admit our need for God’s help.

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  11. Yes it is the wise who know when to ask for help and who to turn to. One must be wise enough to be humble. I love the cover of the book The Generosity and the other two look very interesting to me as well.

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  12. Michele,
    Now, more than ever, I feel like we are fighting a strong spiritual battle. I know how much I need a Helper – I can’t go it alone. I believe God has been waiting for us to recognize our own need for Him.
    Blessings,
    Bev xx

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  15. So grateful that he is my helper and ever present aid in time of need.
    I love beautiful book covers (and have been known to choose books only by their covers). The top row of books (what I am reading now) sure caught my eye by their covers alone. A feast to look at.

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  17. Michelle – This says so much: “a man in deep need” – I am so glad that when I am in deep need, that God’s help is exact to His purposes – and, though my grandkiddos are adorable, wanting to be helpers, and love being with them – I am so glad God doesn’t make messes when He helps us! What an amazing, powerful, adept God we have!

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  20. Thank you for sharing at #OverTheMoon. Pinned and shared. Have a lovely week. I hope to see you at next week’s party too! Please stay safe and healthy. Come party with us at Over The Moon! Catapult your content Over The Moon! @marilyn_lesniak @EclecticRedBarn

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  22. Great insight, Michele. I also have litter helpers in the kitchen. Now that our grandson turned 5 and we gave him a piggy bank, we let him help us do other things in exchange for coins. 🙂 Isn’t that the same way with the Lord, our best helper yet. He exchanges our tiredness for His rest, our weakness for His strength, our shame for His mercy, and so on. The best part is it doens’t cost us anything but our meager stuff.

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  25. What a lovely memory about your helpers in the kitchen. It’s so wonderful to include little ones in simple, everyday tasks like this. Mine adores playing with recipes herself, now she’s a bit older. A lovely insight. Thank you for joining us for #mischiefandmemories.

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  26. I was always taught to pray for help, not to have things done for me or achieve something without virtue of my own efforts. Help to be brave and apply for the job, get through the interview. Help to make the right choices. Help to support my loved ones. It isn’t weak to ask for help, it is human. Thanks for linking up with #MischiefAndMemories

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