Subject: The Holy Spirit Our Intercessor
Scripture Reading: Romans 8:26-28
The greatest privilege that God has given to us is the freedom to approach Him at any time. We are not only authorized to speak to Him, we are invited.
Not only are we permitted, we are expected to speak to God. In fact, God waits for us to communicate with Him. We have instant, direct access to God.
However, living in these bodies of flesh there are times when we cannot communicate with God as we should.
So God sent us the Holy Spirit who dwells within every born again believer and one of His functions is to help us in our prayer life.
We find this truth in Romans 8:26
Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
Now there are several truths I want to share with you:
I. The Holy Spirit Intercedes With Us.
Now this truth is good news. How many times have you said, or thought, I don’t know what to say when I pray.
How many of you have gone to God in prayer and when you tried to pray, the burden was so great, or the problem was so heavy you didn’t even know where to begin.
You see, what God has given to us is not just book of instructions on how to pray. But He has given us a person, some one who will pray with us and for us – the Holy Spirit.
Now the word intercession in verse 26 is not the same Greek word translated intercession in verse 27.
In verse 26 the word means that the Holy Spirit goes WITH us to the Father to help plead for our needs.
Listen we are finite beings, and we have as this verse says we have our weaknesses. Therefore there are times when we do not know what to pray for.
Let me share it with you this way:
1. I go to prayer but I don’t know what I need or what to pray for.
2. The Holy Spirit DOES know what I need
3. As I pray the Holy Spirit shows me my needs
4. I then take my needs to the Father and He -the Holy Spirit goes with me to the Father.
So I go to my knees in prayer and I cry to the Holy Spirit and say, Oh, Holy Spirit, I don’t know what I need today, I don’t know what God’s will is in this matter.
Holy Spirit will you help me and show me what I have need of today, and he does, and then the Holy Spirit goes with me to the Father.
He knows the father better than I do, so what better Person could I have to go with me to the Father when I present my needs and petitions than the Holy Spirit Who has led me in making my petitions.
Let me try to help us understand this by sharing some other verses with you.
Ephesians 2:18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.
Now notice the word both. You see the way prayer works is like this, we pray to the Father, Through the Son, With the Holy Spirit.
Our access to the Father is through His Son. Our prayer partner when we go to the Father is the Holy Spirit.
Now look at Acts 15:28
For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things.
Oh I like those words, It seemed good to the Holy Spirit AND TO US. Notice the agreement there.
There was a fellowship between the Holy Spirit and the apostles.
They had communed with the Holy Spirit. They had been with Him to the Father.
We are not to just jump on our knees and start telling God what we want and what we need, No NO NO!
We go to the Holy Spirit, who impresses upon us what we really need, He leads us as we go to the Father as we go to the Father the Holy Spirit accompanies us.
He leads me as I talk to the Father, also talking Himself with the Father and confirming my petitions.
Listen there is a way that the Christian can walk in the Spirit, with the Spirit, and through the Spirit until God’s wants become our wants
and His desires become our desires,
His delights become our delights.
His will becomes our will.
OH, what A Joy it is to the Holy Spirit intercede with us.
II. The Holy Spirit Intercedes For Us.
Did you know that if we only received from God what we asked for, that we would not get everything that we needed?
But the verse says that even when we don’t know what to pray for, the Spirit makes intercession for us.
Now the word “intercession” here does not imply the Holy Spirit meeting with us to plead.
This is the Holy Spirit coming before God for us, on our behalf.
Here He tells God about the needs that I have forgotten to ask for, or did not even know that I had.
You see He is now interceding FOR me where before He was interceding WITH me.
The Holy Spirit who is faithful intercedes FOR me, making sure that I get the things that will work together for my good.
Some of these may not be the things I would choose myself, but He knows what I need so He intercedes before the Father on my behalf, asking the Father to give me things that I NEED.
I may want the sun to shine everyday, But He may know that I need a cloudy day.
I may want all noontime’s, But He may know that I need a midnight.
I may want all mountaintops, but He may know that I need a valley.
I may want all smiles, but He may know that I need tears.
I like to illustrate it this way:
At Christmas time, child ask for things that they wants, but not always what He needs, But a loving father along with the toys, and the games, and fun, will buy also what their child needs.
So along with the new doll is a pair of boots or along with the new bike is a sweater or a warm jacket. Why?
Because those things the earthly father knows will work together for their child’s good.
This is where Romans 8:28 comes in.
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.
Some of you have heard me tell about the man years ago in a tent meeting in Florida, after the service a preacher and an old man were kneeing at the alter praying, The old man with a tear stained face, looked toward heaven and prayed, Dear Lord, I hate baking powder, Dear Lord I hate flour, Dear Lord, I hate salt, Dear Lord I hate shortening.
He prayed on listing several other things, and then a smile came across his face and He prayed Dear Lord put those things all together stir them up and put them in the oven, and I sure do like golden brown biscuits.
And that is the joy of having the Holy Spirit as our intercessor. He knows what I need and what is for my good more than I do, and He intercedes in my behalf for me.
III. The Holy Spirit Increases Our Desire To Pray.
Just as it is natural for a child to talk to its earthly father, so it is just as natural for a believer to want to talk to their heavenly Father.
The Holy Spirit living inside of us encourages and increases the desire to pray.
In fact it is a sure sign of spiritual illness, when we lack a desire to pray.
A carnal Christian will find many excuses why they don’t have time to pray.
Let me tell you that Satan is always ready to try to rob us of our time alone with God, because he knows it is our source of strength.
But when the Holy Spirit is indwelling us and filling us, He will draw us to the place of prayer so we can talk with our heavenly Father.
We find this in the life of Christ Himself.
Look at what it says in Luke 4: 1
Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness.
And we know that it was there that he fasted and prayed and afterward was tempted of the devil.
But it was the Holy Spirit that drew him to the place of prayer.
And when the Holy Spirit is dwelling in us and filling us, He will give us a desire to commune with our heavenly Father.
IV. Through Prayer The Holy Spirit Opens Our Eyes To The Needs Around Us.
It is through prayer, that the Holy Spirit can give us insight into what others may fail to see. He can help us see where God wants to move and work.
He can inspire us to pray for a person, or for a situation. That we would never had even been aware of, if it wasn’t for the Holy Spirit bringing those needs to us as we pray.
We find this truth all the way through the 10th chapter of Acts. In verse 9 Peter goes up to the rooftop to pray while he is waiting for the evening meal to get ready, and The Holy Spirit shows him that he should no longer call the Gentiles unclean.
Then in verse 30, Cornelius was praying and fasting, asking for God’s direction in his life, and the Holy Spirit, through prayer told him to go to a certain, town, and to a certain house in that town and ask for a man by the name of Peter.
Jeremiah 33:3 tells us: Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.
Oh, listen, as we pray, it is the Holy Spirit that brings needs, and insight to our attention.
When Jesus Christ faced the greatest crisis of His life - the Cross He felt the need of prayer. We find this in Matthew 26:36
Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, "Sit here while I go and pray over there."
37 And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed.
38 Then He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me."
39 He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will."
I believe that Jesus in this crisis of His life was led by the Holy Spirit to pray.
V. The Holy Spirit will Add Special Depth, Power, and Faith To Our Prayer.
The Holy Spirit will not only direct us to pray for those special needs, but He will join us in our praying with a depth of power and faith that we do not have by ourselves.
We are weak in and of ourselves, and therefore our prayers are weak, but when the Holy Spirit is filling us, He will pick up where our weakness ends and His praying will transcend any possible praying on our part.
You see, He calls us to prayer, He shows us the needs, but then He joins us in prayer as our loving prayer partner, adding infinite understanding, desire and power to the prayers we are making.
Paul puts it like this in verse 26: . . . the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Our intercessor, The Holy Spirit prays with such fervency that it is just groans that can not be put into words.
Oh, what an encouragement when we go to prayer. If the Holy Spirit is filling us and we are walking by the Spirit, and being led by the Spirit, we have a prayer partner that will help us pray.
