“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.” Romans 8:26
Do you have a friend with whom you act more boldly or speak more freely than with other people? What is it about that relationship that allows you to do that? When you share a tight bond with someone, it frees you up. Add trust to that same relationship, and you step from freedom into empowerment. This is the kind of relationship we are meant to have with the Spirit!
Intercession is defined as “the act of intervening or mediating between differing parties, particularly the act of praying to God on behalf of another person.”[1] Sometimes, though, there are situations where we don’t know what to pray or how to pray. How do you pray for a dying friend? What about all the people around the world who have never heard the gospel? You don’t know them, so how are you supposed to pray effectively for them?
What about when a person is so broken all she can do is cry out, “Oh, God!” over and over again, are those the only words that God hears in that moment? No! God hears meaningful words of sorrow, confession, repentance, adoration, and supplication because the Holy Spirit comes to our aid by interceding for us. This is a promise for all believers. There is freedom and empowerment in prayer through the Spirit. We are not left to intercede on our own. We can know that our prayers to the Father are filtered through the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, according to God’s will. This guarantees that we can confidently trust Him to answer only in the way that is right.
- What is a situation in which you struggle to know how or what to pray? How does this verse speak to you about that?
- Pray: Make a list of intercessory prayer needs. Then pray about those in freedom and confidence, knowing that the Spirit is taking over for you, directing you right to the heart of God’s will in every thought you have and every word you speak.
[1] Butler, Trent C. Holman Bible Dictionary. Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 1991.