“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God (Romans 8:26-27).  Happy Birthday Church!  Sunday marks the Day of Pentecost, the day on which the Church is truly born.  Now why is that?  There were certainly disciples prior to Pentecost.  The quick answer is simply that without the power of the Holy Spirit, we lack the ability to do what our Lord calls us to do.  This is on full display in Paul’s words to the Romans.  Even our deepest cries of joy and lament are powerless without the aid of the Holy Spirit.  Much of the time, we don’t even know what we want.  But the Spirit comes and sifts through our mixed motivations and our half-hearted attempts at prayer.  On this Pentecost, I pray that you and I will open our lives to the Holy Spirit in a new way.  Happy Birthday Church!