His prayers are essential for our Christian lives. In Romans 8:26, Paul tells us
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.
Paul says that in the midst of our weakness the Spirit intercedes or prays for us. In the context he is discussing our persevering in the Christian life in the face of the difficulty of living in a fallen world. In verse 23 he talks about the believer groaning. The Christian life is a life of joy but it is also a life of groaning as we wait for our bodies to be redeemed. And part of our weakness is not knowing what to pray for in the face of the suffering this world brings. In the middle of suffering it can be hard to pray, and it can be even harder to know what to pray for. Do I pray for the suffering to be taken away? Or do I pray to persevere in the midst of the suffering? And why am I suffering like this if I am a child of God?
Suffering as a Christian can obviously take a whole range of forms – from the snide remark about our Christian faith – all the way to the grief of losing a loved one. It is a fact of life – either we die young or we will eventually suffer. And so it is crucial for us to be prepared for suffering when it comes – and this passage in Romans 8 prepares us in a way that is often overlooked. At these times where we are most under pressure, we can remember that the Holy Spirit himself is praying for us. What an encouragement – the Holy Spirit is praying to the Father for you to persevere in the face of your weakness. In the face of your doubts about whether you can keep going as a Christian, the Spirit is praying for you.
Further, because the Holy Spirit is God, his prayers are perfect. Unlike our prayers, he prays as Paul says in verse 27 in accordance with God’s will . And, in fact Paul says he is groaning for us (verse 26). We are meant to understand that the Holy Spirit is working hard for us in prayer.
This passage I think is a real encouragement to us as we struggle in the Christian life. My guess is that as a reader of this blog, you will face many reasons that make it difficult to keep going as Christian: Family issues; health problems; depression; feelings of guilt from past sin; nagging doubts; disappointment with other Christians; maybe simply the sheer tiredness of life. Whatever it is, I think these verses encourage us that someone is always praying for us – and not just someone – the Holy Spirit himself. The Holy Spirit is always praying to God the Father for us.
And I think that understanding that the Holy Spirit prays for us is great encouragement for us as we pray. We can pray secure in the knowledge that we do not pray to the Father alone, the Holy Spirit also prays for us.
Peter Orr lectures in New Testament.
To celebrate the upcoming Moore College Sunday on August 3rd we are sharing some resources on prayer to be a helpful ministry resource for you in your spiritual life. How can Moore be praying for you? Let us know at: http://mcs.web2024-junjie.webforceconnect.alphasys.com.au.