Sermon Series on Romans 8> Reasons to be ENCOURAGED!
Reason #6, The Spirit Helps us Pray >Romans 8:26-27
“I do not know of any subject that has caused more perplexity for more Christians than the subject of prayer.” -So commented James Montgomery Boice, Bible teacher and Pastor.
Have you ever wanted to pray, but you felt so distraught, so uptight, so upset that words just wouldn’t come? Maybe your hurt was “too deep for words” and all you could do was to look upward and say, “Aaargh!” Now imagine God looking from Heaven and replying, “I got it—I understand completely.” That’s the basic message of verses 26-27. Paul’s been explaining how “we grown inwardly as we wait” for what God’s going to do in our lives (vs 23). We can expect God’s support in our struggles.
This prayerful groaning isn’t about “speaking in tongues”, but about intense, non-verbal communication. We don’t have to always pray with words—we can communicate through silence, through feelings, and by focusing on God without having to say a word. Inwardly we groan, and God hears it; He catches what no one else can comprehend. He understands our pain and longings. We don’t always know why we hurt—God knows even that. When we’re about to pray and we’re thinking, “Why do I feel so crummy?” -God already understands.
As disciples, we’re not confined to our limited, human resources. Paul says that the Spirit “helps” us. That word means literally, “to come alongside and take hold of”. In simpler terms, the Spirit lends a helping hand, enabling us to bear our heavy load. Paul also explains how the Spirit “intercedes”. This word implies rescuing someone (in the original language). An intercessor is an advocate, someone who speaks for us, in our behalf. The Spirit doesn’t remove our need to pray, but assists us in prayer. And because of the Spirit’s work in our behalf, we are secure in our salvation.
The Spirit “helps us in our weakness”—what kind of weakness? It could be physical, emotional, or spiritual. We may be discouraged, weary or burned out. But Paul isn’t talking about sin. True, sin hinders our prayers, but Paul is saying that we’re often limited in our ability to pray. We may be confused, distracted, unable to focus, or lack confidence. The reason is, we don’t “know what to pray for”. The word “know” means to know with certainty. We can have so much on our minds we may wonder, “Where do I begin?”
One place to start is by making prayer part of our regular routine, a daily discipline. A businessman stated that he used to log in his date-book, “7:00-7:30 am-Prayer”, but many times he got busy, distracted with various issues, and passed it up. He said, “Now I write, ‘7:00-7:30 am-God’. Somehow that’s a little harder to neglect!”
Have you ever asked someone to pray for you when you felt that prayer was beyond you? This is what Paul is describing--the companionship of the Spirit. When we don’t know the right words, the Spirit does, and He voices our requests in our behalf, by translating our groanings into concepts, making prayer out of wordless sighs. John Bunyan said, “The best prayers have often more groans than words.” When we’re struggling with prayer, we can rest assured that a joint-effort is underway. The Spirit is working with us, connecting with our emotions and aspirations. Paul assures us that God “searches our hearts”. He knows us far better than we know ourselves.
One reason we experience difficulty praying is that we get into a prayer rut—when we utilize only one method of prayer. We may need a fresh approach. Prayer is a cooperative effort--the Spirit assists, but we do some of the work. When we’re feeling stale, we can change our posture in prayer; we could try praying out loud rather than silently—or vice-versa. We might try writing our prayers, or singing prayer songs. We can “turn the Bible into prayer” (McCheyne), by praying what we read in Scripture. We can “prime the pump” by praying prayers of others. In our church bulletin we have a written prayer each week. Why not start with one, and then launch into your own thoughts? If your prayer time is too talkative, maybe you can introduce some contemplative silence, listening…and allow yourself to be impressed with something God has for you, there in the quiet. In silence we may do a better job of conveying our concerns to God—using actual word may prove to be a bad translation. Are your prayers too formal and serious? Maybe you need to relax and be more natural. We don’t need to use the eloquent “Thees & Thous” 17th Century language of the King James Version. Plain, sincere speech is respectful. Try using a prayer-list; but if all you do is work through your list, put it aside and simply talk to God. Is prayer easy to do? Not always. Will we always ‘feel good’ when we pray? Not always. But prayer is necessary, essential if we are to have victory in life. And we need to continue on, even if we feel we’re not very good at it. When we don’t feel effective at prayer we need to recognize that “the power of prayer is not in the one praying but in the One who hears our prayers” (Max Lucado).
Prayer has been compared to mastering a musical instrument. At first we hit plenty of sour notes, the music doesn’t flow very well, our technique is poor; but we stick with it, and eventually it sounds right. The Spirit is our music teacher in prayer, enabling us to make melody in our hearts and express our concerns effectively to God our Father. Prayer’s also been described as visiting a foreign country. Some go as tourists, look around, take some pictures, buy a few souvenirs, and then move on. Others choose to make it their new home.
The Spirit mediates for us in prayer “in accordance with God’s will”. Some people arrogantly assume they know what’s best for them, and “claim” certain things. They also think that praying “Thy will be done” is a cop-out prayer. I wholeheartedly disagree. When we pray for God’s will, we’re utilizing a prayer-strategy that assumes only God knows what is best. Prayer isn’t to cancel God’s plans. People have told me that in hindsight they’re relieved that God didn’t give all they’d asked for. What a mess we’d be in if God said “yes” to all our prayers! God protects us from ourselves; His answers are wiser than our prayers. When God says “no” or “wait”, He has good reasons; reasons perhaps we can’t fathom. We certainly shouldn’t want things God doesn’t want us to have. I’ve prayed, “Lord, here’s what I think I need, but I could be wrong; I’m open to other options.” The Apostle John explains: “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything in line with His will, He hears us. And if we know He is listening when we make our requests, we can be sure He will give us what we ask for” (I Jn 5:14-15). The caveat is whether our requests are in accordance with God’s will. Our aim in prayer is not to get God to change His mind. We ask God for whatever is “best”, then assume He will do what’s best for us.
But what if we pray for wrong things? Will our prayers change God’s plans? And if prayer doesn’t affect what God intends to do, why even bother to pray? True prayer isn’t an attempt to force the hand of God, but rather an act of submission to His will. In prayer we don’t issue orders--we “report for duty”. The purpose of prayer is to get us closer to God, to spend time with Him alone. What’s most important in prayer is connecting to God, communing with Him. Paul earlier in the chapter speaks of how wonderful it is to cry out to God, “Abba, Father”, to have a close, personal, family connection (vs 15).
What happens when we don’t pray? We grow distant from God; we miss out on getting to know Him better. So does prayer really change things? Does it matter if we pray or not? It does, because it’s God’s plan that we first pray, and then see change as a result of our prayers. Our prayers are part of the way God’s work gets done. Prayer is His idea. Both the means and the end are His will. God has designed the universe to function in a certain fashion, and prayer is part of His plan for how things work. C.S. Lewis was asked if he prayed for God to change things, and answered, “No I never do—I simply pray, and God changes me.” It’s certainly OK to ask God for things, but then we’re to leave the outcome to God and accept His response. Scottish Missionary Robert Murray McCheyne stated, “God will either give you what you ask, or something far better.”
I heard about an elderly man who was terminally ill. His Pastor stopped by to see him in the hospital and noticed an empty chair beside the bed. He asked who had been by to visit, and the man said, “I place Jesus on that chair and talk to Him. I heard that prayer was as simple as talking to a good friend. So every day I pull up a chair, invite Jesus to sit, and we have a good talk.” Several days later the man died. His daughter had been with him, but slipped out for a few moments because he appeared to be resting peacefully. When she returned, she discovered he had died. To her surprise, his head was not resting on the pillow, but on the empty chair beside his bed.
Our relationship to God is the foundation of our lives, and prayer is what connects us to God. It is an awesome privilege. We don’t always know what to pray for, or even what to say, but God will help us and will satisfy our deepest needs—even the ones we don’t know we have. One more thing: God is delighted when we take time to talk to Him!
“Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire,
Uttered or unexpressed;
The motion of a hidden fire
That trembles in the breast.
Prayer is the burden of a sigh,
The falling of a tear;
The upward glancing of an eye,
When none but God is near.”
-James Montgomery
For the bulletin / Questions to ask about the text>
>What do you do when you want to pray and words won’t come?
>How does the Holy Spirit help us to pray?
>What does it mean to "intercede" for us?
>If we pray for the wrong things, will that change God’s will?
>Does prayer really change things?
>What is the purpose of prayer?
>Why are God’s answers wiser than our prayers?
