Someone Is Praying for You: The Holy Spirit, Our Intercessor
Text: Romans 8:18-28 18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. 26 In 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. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will. 28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Intro: This morning we talked about Someone who cares about us and is praying that our faith will not fail. Jesus knows all about us and all about our situations, and He knows how to pray for us. He was tempted in every way that we are tempted, yet He did not sin. He understands what we are going through, and gives us the strength and comfort of His presence to help us through it. I am glad that I have such a friend in heaven who is pulling for me, urging me to keep going, and asking the Father to give me what I need.
-Well, another Divine person is also praying for us. The Holy Spirit is making intercession for us, as we read in v.26 of our text. We will talk about that more deeply in the next few minutes, but the main idea of the message is this:
Prop: God the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness, because He prays for us according to the Father’s will.
Interrogative: How does this help us in life?
TS: We will see from the Scriptures that although we often come up short in our best efforts, with God’s help we can get through anything we face in this life. First, let’s talk about our weakness.
I. Our Weakness
-Most of us would admit that our weaknesses are many. Few of us are really as strong or effective as we think we should be spiritually. If we do think we are strong enough, we’d probably better be careful.
-Sometimes we are weak in body. Do you ever come face to face with the reality that your physical strength is decreasing? You just can’t do the same things you did when you were 21. I remember being reminded of this about 5 years ago when I was playing basketball in Baker with Steve Coles and some other men. I tried to do a reverse lay-in, and I pulled my hamstring muscle. I’ve never been the same since. Knees, ankles, hips, muscles… they all wear out eventually. We are weak and frail, although we don’t really believe it when we are under 30.
-We are sometimes weak mentally. Throw a little pressure and stress at us, and we cannot even think straight. Mess up our sleep schedule and our mind wants to take a nap on us. We get easily confused and intimidated because of all the grand ideas out there. How do we know what is really true and what is not? We can have mental weakness.
-We can have emotional weakness. Perhaps we lack self-control and fly off the handle sometimes. That is weakness, even though some might think the power of anger is a strength. God gave us anger for a reason, but if lack the control to master it, then it can quickly become a liability.
-We have spiritual weaknesses as well. Sometimes we don’t pray like we should. We don’t stay connected to God’s word. We allow our relationship with Him to be put on the back burner because of the busyness of our lives. We make wrong decisions sometimes, relying on ourselves, rather than on the Lord. Sometimes we compromise in areas of our lives we never thought we would. And if none of these glaring weaknesses get a hold of us, then pride tries to come in, telling us what a good person we are. God is gracious and forgiving, but it becomes very clear that we have weaknesses.
-The main weakness Paul seems to target here is that we do not know what we should pray for. If it is up to us, we want blessing, prosperity, healing, no pain, no problems. However, we seem to forget that God has a growth plan for our lives. He allows us to face adversity in order to strengthen us. He allows us to walk through dark valleys so we will learn to trust Him, and not ourselves. He also helps us through these difficult times so we can be a blessing to others who will face the same kinds of things. Jesus prayed that the Father would remove the cup of suffering, if possible. However, He committed Himself to His Father’s plan and will and added, “Nevertheless, not My will, but Your will be done.”
-Face it! We are weak and cannot begin to understand God’s way of shaping us into the people He wants us to be. We need His help, even when it comes to talking to Him. We don’t always know how to pray, but the Holy Spirit does, and He is willing to help us in our weakness. He will pray for us. Let’s talk about this.
II. The Holy Spirit’s Intercession
26 In 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.
-Groans that words cannot express – What are these groans? Many Pentecostals believe that this is a reference to speaking in tongues. I believe in speaking in tongues, and I do it, but I am not totally convinced that Paul was talking about tongues in Romans 8.
-1 Cor. 14 tells us that when we speak in an unknown tongue, we speak to God, not to man, and we are edified (built up) when we do so. It is our spirit (our human spirit) that prays. V.14 says, “For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful.”
-So, we can pray in tongues, and be built up in our spirit, but this appears to be something different than the intercession of the Holy Spirit. Praying in tongues is prayer through the Spirit or in the Spirit. It is empowered by the Holy Spirit. However, Rom. 8:26 seems to be a little different. There, the HS prays for us or instead of us. He prays on our behalf with groanings which cannot be uttered. If they cannot be uttered, then speaking in tongues would not appear to be what is meant, because tongues are uttered. Tongues are spoken with the mouth, even if we do not know what is being said.
-Now, let me qualify what I have just said. Can the HS intercede for us while we are praying and/or speaking in tongues? Yes, I believe so. Can the HS intercede for us while we are singing a song? Yes. Can the HS intercede for us while we are just waiting in God’s presence, being perfectly quiet? Yes! My point in defining all this is to show that the intercession of the HS is His work, not ours. If we are seeking the heart of God, and His will for our lives, then the Holy Spirit will help us in our weakness, when we do not have a clue how to pray or what to do. When you’ve done all you know to do and prayed all you know to pray, try resting in the Holy Spirit, and letting Him pray God’s will into your life. He knows what He is doing, because He intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will. He is objective – we are subjective. He is all-knowing – we know very little. He is strong – we are weak. We can trust the HS to pray exactly what is needed into our lives. Oftentimes it might be something we would never ask for, but is exactly what we need.
-TS: Now, finally, let’s look at v.28 to see the result of the Spirit’s intercession for us.
III. The Desired Outcome
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
-The HS has your best interests in mind. The Father, Son, and HS are working to accomplish good in the lives of those who love God. As you can clearly see, this promise is not a blanket promise to every person. There are a couple of conditions attached to it.
-First, God is working for the good of those who love Him. What is the greatest thing you could ever do? Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. If you love the Lord with all your heart, you can be assured that He is working for your good. All of the things in your life are being worked within God’s loving plan for you – if you love Him. However, if we find ourselves loving the world more than God, or loving our own lives more than God, or loving comfort or pleasure more than God, then we may not see the desired outcome. I do believe that God will still be working on us, but it may become very painful and unpleasant. The way of the transgressor is hard, so let’s stay in love with Jesus.
-Second, God is working for the good of those who have been called according to His purpose. What is God’s purpose? We need to look at the next verse to see God’s purpose. Romans 8:29 “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” God’s purpose is to make us more like Jesus. That is what He has called us to. If we live with any other purpose as the motivating force in our lives, we may miss the good that God is working for us and in us.
-Because the HS is praying for us according to the Father’s will, God is working for our good. It is ours to keep on loving Him, and to keep on changing, becoming more like Jesus.
Conclusion: As we close, someone is praying for you. Jesus is praying for you, that your faith will not fail, and that the Father will protect you from harm. He is praying for your sanctification, that you will be entirely His, set apart from sin and brought close to God. He is praying that all believers will be one, living in unity as the body of Christ.
-The Holy Spirit is praying for you. When you are weak, He is strong. When you do not know how to pray, He prays for you according to the will of God. As a result, God is working for your good. He does not allow anything to come your way that you and He cannot handle together.
-Be encouraged tonight, because God knows your situation, and He is in the middle of it. He is right where you are, loving you, encouraging you, and helping you wherever you need it. You are going to make it – someone is praying for you.
Pray
