In You!

“But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:25-28 ESV).

Three for the Price of One

Only one religion affirms there is only one God, and that God is three persons, Christianity. The doctrine of the Trinity spells out who our God is, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Initially, the church disagreed with this doctrine because there is no one sentence in the Bible that says: The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the Father and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. However, the church has embraced the doctrine because it spells out in many sentences there is one God, not three, and reveals each person of the Trinity for who they are.

It is pretty mind-bending. As God’s creation, we cannot make God who we think He should be. God existed when nothing existed. God was not born or made, so no one designed God to be who He is. In Exodus 3:14, God said, “I am who I am.” As God’s creation, we must learn about who He is and what He does, not try to tell God who we want Him to be.

The Holy Spirit

We never talk much about the Holy Spirit, yet He lives in us. There are not billions of Spirits who independently live in us, and only one Holy Spirit dwells in each of us separately. The Holy Spirit is omnipresent; He is everywhere. My passage for today, Romans 8:26-28 describes the Spirit.

Love the Spirit

Jesus told us we must love God with all our heart, mind, and strength. The Holy Spirit is God. After you read this, I hope you come to love the Spirit for who He is and what He does for you. We should love the Spirit as one who cares about us, works for us, has emotions for us, and prays for us as we will see.

Early verses in Romans give us a transparent background on the Spirit:

1) The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus sets you free from the law of sin and death. (v.2)

2) The Spirit helps you fulfill the just requirement of the law. (v.4)

3) The Spirit gives life and peace. (v.6)

4) God will raise you from the dead by the Spirit who dwells in you. (v.11)

5) The Spirit helps you put to death the deeds of the body. (v.13)

6) The Spirit leads the sons of God. (v.13)

7) The Spirit bears witness in us that we are God’s children and assures us of our salvation. (v.14)

8) The Holy Spirit is the foretaste and guarantee of our final redemption. (v.23)

In verses 26 and 27, the Spirit helps us pray when we do not know how and need to pray. It is the Spirit who helps us when we are weak.

In verse 26, Paul wrote, “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”

The word “likewise” at the beginning of 26 means that Paul has also been helping us by explaining who the Spirit is to us. Paul has demonstrated why our suffering is essential, and our enduring binds us to Christ.

What's the Meaning of it All

Here is the main thing I believe we find in this text. We see what the Spirit prays for us. I think it is essential for us to understand the answer to this question. In His intervention, what does the Spirit ask for on our behalf?

Our text points to three ways the Spirit answers this question: Our text tells us that the Spirit asks for things that we don’t know we should ask for. Verse 26: “We do not know how to pray for what we ought.” Secondly, Paul is telling us the Spirit asks for things we don’t know to ask for because of our weaknesses. Verse 26: “The Spirit helps us in our weakness.” Lastly, the Spirit asks for things that are in accord with the will of God. Verse 27b: “The Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”

But I Already Know

Now, when I look at this text, I can’t help but think God tells us what to pray for, so how can we not know what to pray for? We are to pray for holiness, faith, hope, joy, and all of the fruits of the Spirit. We must pray for all the commandments to stay steadfast in our faith and works.

Here is what we are missing. The key to this is in the word weakness. Based on the New Testament text, we can be weak due to human nature, sickness, or adversity. In verse 23, Paul told us, “We groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.” We live in bodies that are in decay. We live in the misery and futility of the world. Our groaning is because Christ has not redeemed us, who Satan trapped by the fall. So, in our above weaknesses, the Spirit helps us. So, what is the answer? Here is what I believe. We do not know the plan of God for our lives. We cannot understand God’s goals for our sickness and futility. Most significantly, we don’t know if we should pray for healing or strength to endure. Both are correct, of course, and we should pray for both. The point Paul is making is our needs, even though we exalt Christ, are sometimes overwhelming.

Stick These in Your Pocket

Here is what we should take away from this. It is okay not to know. We know God wants us to glorify him through our satisfaction in Him. But if we should trust Him to let us recover from our weakness or trust Him to let us die and come home to Him, it’s okay not to know. The point of this text is the Spirit knows, and He will pray for us when we are unsure.

Find encouragement in our lack of knowledge and confusion, God is not scrutinizing us; the Spirit understands us. In holy groanings, God finds so much about our hearts. Our groaning to God is much deeper than words; words sometimes get in the way.

Be thankful that mere words are not needed for God to understand us. God knows what is in our hearts and our minds. Especially in times of stress and sickness, the Spirit prays for us intimately, knowing our needs. That, my friends, is a true blessing.

Be grateful that in our times of trouble, sickness, stress, and uncertainty, the Holy Spirit is praying for you, not against you. Paul wrote in verse 31, “If God is for us who is against us.” The intercession of the Holy Spirit is always for us.

Lastly, God hears every prayer. He is never musing, relieving himself, on a journey, or asleep (1 Kings 18:27 ESV). He hears every single prayer that you pray for, and the Spirit prays on your behalf.

God is for us, Christ died for us, and the Spirit in us is praying for us.

May the blessings and the mercies of the Lord be with you.