Back in the 50s, there was a television show entitled “Father Knows Best”. In that show, the man who played the role of the father usually had the best answer for any problems that came up. But what I would like us to consider over the next few blogs is the reality of the fact that our Heavenly Father truly does know what is best for us. In our Sunday evening services, we have been studying in the book of Romans and right now we are studying one of the most important and significant passages in all the Bible in Romans 8. Beginning in verse 26 we read, “And 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; 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,” (Rom.8:26-27 NASB).
The first thing that we see in this passage is that our Heavenly Father knows best how to answer our prayers. When Paul says, “in the same way”, he is referring back to what he’s just been teaching about the fact that our physical bodies groan with weaknesses and frailties, just as the creation does. We know as believers we can’t walk in our own strength to cope with the problems that we have, but Paul is instructing us that even when we don’t know the right words to pray the Holy Spirit prays with and for us. The word “intercedes” in this passage pictures someone carrying a heavy burden and someone coming alongside them to be of help and assistance. The Holy Spirit takes hold of our load and shares the task with us, even rescuing the one who may be in trouble. The Holy Spirit imparts needed wisdom, whereby we might know our need for Christ’s fullness and the Holy Spirit’s touch in our life. Paul views the Spirit of God as a personal being and shares that He is interceding for us in accordance with the will of God. When we bring our requests to God, we can trust that our Heavenly Father is going to do what’s best. The word “groanings” in the passage is referring to the important issue of prayer. Why is it sometimes difficult to make time to pray? There are many distractions in our world and when we pray, we expose ourselves and our weaknesses to God and sometimes we cannot pray rightly, because we cannot foresee the future. Sometimes we cannot pray rightly, because in any given situation we may not know what is best for us. We are not free from the corruption of self-seeking and are paralyzed, but it is the Holy Spirit who is the Great Intercessor. Our prayer life has great potential since the Holy Spirit, who is intimately involved, can raise our prayers to higher and holier desires with words that are too deep for us. Sometimes we must silently wait for the Holy Spirit in holy adoration. Someone has said, “God hears the heart without the words, but never the words without the heart”.
So, we see how important the Holy Spirit is in our prayer life. We also see in verse 27 that the “Holy Spirit makes intercession according to God’s will” for us. God the Father searches the hearts of His saints. He understands the intent or bent of our unalterable prayers and He knows what is best for us. The key question in our spiritual lives is – “Are we walking in the Spirit?” The main point for us as God’s children is to be in the center of God’s will, following and adapting God’s moral preferences and worldview. The words, “according to the will of God”, should greatly affect the matter of our prayers and the manner of our prayers. When we are praying in accordance with the will of God the activity of the Holy Spirit will give us a tremendous sense of His peace and presence.
We see in this passage how deeply God desires that you and I walk in fellowship and truth with Him in our prayer life. It’s so important to our Heavenly Father, who knows best, that He has sent His Holy Spirit to be our aid and assistant. I am deeply thankful to God for His Holy Spirit who with groanings helps me with my struggles and my weaknesses, and I rejoice in the omniscience of God and His willingness to impart the Holy Spirit to help you and I in our prayer life. This is indeed a great reason for rejoicing in our Savior, Jesus Christ, today and every day.
In the King’s service,
Pastor Rich Sivo