26In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.
Romans 8:26-27 niv
26So too the [Holy] Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance.
27And He Who searches the hearts of men knows what is in the mind of the [Holy] Spirit [what His intent is], because the Spirit intercedes and pleads [before God] in behalf of the saints according to and in harmony with God’s will.
ROMANS 8:26-27 amp
The other day to prepare for a shepherding session, I went through some of the earlier posts that I had in this blog. I had to smile when I read my entries way back then. I can hardly relate with the person who wrote them, and I marvel at how much I’ve grown and changed since then. I remember thinking to myself that I wouldn’t hold back on what I was really thinking when I decided to record my experiences when I joined the church, and a lot of my experiences are really something I could point out to new believers that I meet now to say that I went through the exact same things that they are going through right now, and it only gets better and better from there.
One of the things that I seemed to be hung up on was my inability, as I saw it then, to pray effectively. I remember saying the words, “I don’t know how to pray”, and despairing over it, finding ways to get around it (templates and such), and really obsessing over the desire to communicate with God in the best way possible.
I think it was with the leading of the Holy Spirit that I was so convicted to the pursuit of ‘perfect’ prayer to God. Because prayer really is the most effective way of keeping up our relationship with the Lord, and praying in the Spirit is the fastest way of doing that.
In the verse today, I am especially touched by the words “groans that our words cannot express”, because I am the type of person who relies very much on words, who values communication to a great degree. And here is God once again refuting what I know to be true, telling me that, no, this time it doesn’t work that way, that when it comes to Him, the best way to communicate is by letting the heart speak it’s desires directly unto Him.
Which is where the Holy Spirit comes into play. This ‘speaking of the heart’ is not possible if we do not have the help of the Holy Spirit to guide us and tell us how to speak to God. Call Him a translator if you will, only much more than that, because He doesn’t just make a direct translation of what we are saying we want, but He packages it into a prayer of the soul that is more in line with God’s will for us. Our needs are translated en route, made more holy and pleasing to the Lord when the prayer gets to Him.
This is a divine mystery that I will accept as it is, and believe to be true. The thousands of words that I know are not effective compared to the utterance of Spirit filled prayer that is also mine by holy birthright. And hours upon hours of praying and praising and worshiping are for naught if the Holy Spirit is not behind every sound and syllable.
Reflection Question
Is your prayer life still effective and relevant relative to the level of your maturity as a Christian right now? What can you do to go the extra mile in your prayer and devotions?
Heavenly Father, I thank You for answering my question from those many months ago. I thank You for the things that I had to go through before you revealed Yourself to me, making the discovery ever sweeter, and the journey that much more memorable to recall and relate. I know that I had not plumbed the depths nor reached the heights of living a life that is fully engaged in you, and I thank You that I have that much left to discover. I pray that You will keep me sealed in the Holy Spirit all throughout, as I accept that nothing more is possible in my life if I do not have Him with me at all times. Amen
