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. 27 And He who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. Romans 8:26-27
I love these verses for several reasons…
1) Like the verse says, I do not know what to pray as I ought.
2) I feel very weak and inadequate as a pray-er.
So I take great comfort in the fact that the Spirit can do what I cannot. I liken it to an experience that I had several years ago. I was in Haiti preaching one Sunday morning and my good friend Pastor Leon Dorleans was interpreting for me. I would say a short little sentence (perhaps 30 seconds worth) and then he would translate my English into Haitian Creole – but he would take about 2 minutes to do so and would add emotion and inflection and passion to what I said. I soon realized that he was saying what I said but he was saying it so much better – and in a way that those who were listening wanted to hear and respond to.
This is what the Spirit does. He takes my weak and ineffectual prayers and translates them in a way that God wants hear and respond to.
I do not have to be the best pray-er that ever lived. But I do need to make sure that I am living by the Spirit and not according to my sinful nature. If I do the former I will be a super(natural) pray-er. If I do the latter I will continue to be weak and anemic in my praying.
That being said, here is a prayer that I came across by John Piper that seems to be Spirit led. May it embolden your soul to pray in the Spirit as it has mine…
“O Father, how we fear the wasting of our years! Forgive us our love affair with empty things and our little love for You. Make us feel the suicidal faith in innocent idols. Give us fresh freedom from all hollow gems. Grant us to bear the weight of glory and become more like Your Son. In His all-sustaining name we pray. Amen”
Next Week’s Passage: Romans 8:28-30
Memory Verses: Romans 8:1-20