Today, we return to our study of Romans 8 where we have been learning about sanctification. An essential part to our sanctification is the role the Holy Spirit plays. In today's passage we learn that the Holy Spirit helps the believer in Christ to pray. The preceding verses reveal that creation groans for a world without the effects of sin. In fact, there are three groanings in this passage; that of creation, that of the Spirit, and we ourselves groan. These groanings are reminders that this world is not our home. Our hearts have been lured by our Creator who not only chose to give us life, He also chose to lay down His life so that we could spend eternity in heaven with Him. These groanings that we have for another world are evidence that we are children of God.
In v.26 of today's passage we read, "In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words."
Prayer is the instinctive mark of the born again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. Generally, we do not pray unless we have a sense of dependence. Independent people do not pray. It is only when we come to the place where we realize we can not handle something that we really begin to pray about it. And, it is out of that sense of dependence that comes the instinctive cry of the heart expressed in prayer.
There are times when we do not know what to pray. We lack the words to even form the simplest of prayers. According to this verse, it is in these moments that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us. The Greek word translated "intercedes" means "to rescue someone who has no hope." That’s what the Holy Spirit does. When we do not have the strength and we are confused and we do not even know how to pray the way we should, the Holy Spirit intercedes before God on our behalf. God prays for us in these moments. He does this by taking our groans, those prayers that we can not form into words, and He presents them to the Father in heaven. This type of prayer emanates out of our sense of dissatisfaction and discontent which are products of our deep hunger and thirst within for God. This deep hunger and thirst is evidence that this world is not our home.
In v.27 of today's passage we read, "... and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God."
We must be careful to not separate this verse from the previous two verses. That which the Spirit prays for is what happens in the life of the believer in Christ. The Spirit prays according to the mind and will of the Father who answers these prayers of the Spirit by bringing into our lives the experiences with Himself that result in a deeper intimacy with Him. This means that the unwanted trials and tragedies that happen to us are also an answer from the Father to the praying of the Spirit. The Spirit of God voices the deep concern of God Himself for our most important needs. And, His motive is that we gain a greater sense of our security in our Heavenly Father’s intentions for our lives.
In v.28 of today's passage we read, "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."
Out of uncertainty and the help of the Holy Spirit's work in our lives comes the assurance that no matter what happens in our lives, it will work together for our good and God's glory. And, the more we experience this with God, the more we will be adjusted to any scenario that He sends or allows to come our way. This verse does not tell us that everything that happens to us will be good; it tells us that whether the situation is bad or good, it will work together for our good as we learn to give our hearts to God. As a result, our calling will become increasingly evident to us. This will result in a more growing and intimate relationship with Him.
This means we can wait with patience for God's will to come to fruition in our lives because as He has worked in this world for thousands of years, He is actively at work in our lives. This means we are always being prepared for the next thing that He has in mind for us. This call of God on our lives to abandon ourselves to His will for our lives is the greatest adventure that we could ever imagine. And, with each passing day, it is being revealed to us as we learn to walk in and by His Spirit, even through the bumps and bruises of life.
The words "work together" is one word in the original language. This one Greek word literally is best translated, "together energized." We get our English word, "synergy," from this Greek word which means God, in His power and providence, causes all things, even those things that are unwanted by us, to produce a result greater than the sum of those things. And, this is where our faith comes in. As we trusted God for the forgiveness of our sin, we trust Him with the daily events of our lives to accomplish His will for and through us on the basis of His proven character.
Just four years ago our middle son died and was resuscitated three times back to life. That first night was the longest night of my life. The evening when it all happened the doctors could not give us any hope that our son would live through the night. But, he miraculously did. The beauty of it all was there was incredible tapestry revealed to us as we went through my most difficult of trials. Our daughter in law kept oxygen going to our son's heart until the paramedics arrived at their home. That night people worked who were not supposed to work. Doctors were placed in the life of my dying son who had been perfectly fitted for the moment. And, the outcome was truly amazing, revealing the amazing heart of our Heavenly Father to us. Four years later the life of our son is perfectly normal, being used in the lives of his many elementary aged students. I have to say that week was the most difficult week of my life but it continues to bear forth the purposes of God in our lives. Through that trial I met one man in particular. When I first met Him he did not know the Lord as his Savior. To make a long story short he came to faith in the Lord and he has since died. I will one day see him in heaven because of my son's death.
God sometimes causes or allows the most tragic moments to come about in our lives in order to grant us a deeper walk with Him. This deeper walk is not only a gift to us, it is a gift to others because God has been known to use such to bring about His perfect plan for and through our lives. He does this not only for us but also others. He rarely blesses us with only us in mind. God has to sometimes allow what He hates in our lives in order that He might accomplish what He loves in our lives. And those who have trusted in Him, not only experience His blessings in the end, we also experience the blessing of helping others as they struggle with life's unwanted trials and frustrations. Through all of this we are growing more comfortable with the idea that says, "All things work together for the good to those who love God, to those who are the called, according to His purpose."
