"Helping Allah" does not denote weakness. One may ask another for help in order to test his commitment and reward him, not necessarily out of need. It is the case in those verses, pointing to Allah's self sufficiency as they end with an emphasis on His might
22:38-41"Allah will help him who helps His cause; most surely Allah is Strong, Mighty".
This passage for instance speaks of helping Allah on the battlefield and for the defence of religious sites, mosques, churches and temples where His glorious name is mentionned. Besides the verse's end with a reminder of His all encompassing power, the preceding verses make it clear that
"Allah will defend those who believe"
and that
"Allah is well able to assist them".
Allah therefore is not in need of human help, and victory only comes from Him. Should the believers help Allah, He will establish and reward them
22:41"Those who, should We establish them in the land, will keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate and enjoin good and forbid evil; and Allah's is the end of affairs".
There are thus indicators in the context, the wider sura, let alone the Quran as a whole, on how to understand those Quranic terminologies. One finds similar wordings in previous scriptures. YHWH, through His angel, curses the inhabitants of a village that did not come to God' help at the battlfield
Judges5:23"Curse Meroz,' said the angel of the LORD. 'Curse its people bitterly, because they did not come to help the LORD, to help the LORD against the mighty.'"
Helping the Lord is a metonym for helping the Israelites in performing His will.
In 48:7 it says that
"And Allah's are the hosts of the heavens and the earth; and Allah is Mighty, Wise"
then 2 verses later speaks of helping Allah. But that does not mean the outcome of the battle hangs on whether the believers help Allah or not. God will ultimately grant the believers victory and reward them
48:16"You shall soon be invited (to fight) against a people possessing mighty prowess; you will fight against them until they submit; then if you obey, Allah will grant you a good reward".
Concretely, this "help to Allah" is done by assisting His divine representative in any given task
48:18"Certainly Allah was well pleased with the believers when they swore allegiance to you under the tree, and He knew what was in their hearts, so He sent down tranquillity on them and rewarded them with a near victory".
The whole sura fath, contains verses emphasizing that Allah grants victory and reward to those that "help him", meaning that this "help" is only a matter of test
48:21"Allah has surely encompassed them, and Allah has power over all things".
Jesus' request to his close circle makes it clear that helping Allah is helping His representative against the opponents and for the establishment of truth
61:14"O you who believe! be helpers of Allah, as Isa son of Marium said to (his) disciples: Who are my helpers to Allah? The disciples said: We are helpers to Allah".
Again in sura Hadid it encourages spending in Allah's way all the while making it clear that Allah already owns all things
"And what reason have you that you should not spend in Allah's way? And Allah's is the inheritance of the heavens and the earth".
It then speaks of God making available items of warfare as a means of testing those that will help Him and His representative even although
57:25"surely Allah is Strong, Mighty".
Allah therefore is in no need of that help, rather requests it so as to test the commitment of the believers and reward them both in this world and the next. In Sura Baqara, after encouraging the believers to defend themselves through the stories of past nations who were commanded likewise to fight in Allah's way, after calling them to contribute to the war effort anyway they can, the Quran ends with a set of verses, the most emphatic being ayat ul kursi 2:255. It reminding the believers that Allah is all powerful sustaining the universe despite its apparent complexities and moments of chaos. He could immidiately end all differences but has decreed that people should arrive to the truth by their own will after it has been clarified 2:256.
The believers receive the religion of Allah through the prophet, he therefore represents the religion and the believers are told to help him while the Quran never says that the prophet is the believer's helper 8:72,9:40,47:7,59:8,7:157. This set of verses shows that supporting Allah means establishing and applying the way revealed to His prophet. This "helping" is a test. Whether one assists Allah or not, the outcome will eventually conform to His will, when all things return to their Creator.
Further reading answering Sam Shamoun "How Many Gods Are There in the Quran?"
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