Romans 8:26-30

Last week, we looked at suffering as it relates to the Christian, and the joy of the resurrection. One thing I mentioned, and we didn’t get to, was that suffering should serve a purpose to prepare us. We will start there this week. We’re going to start in verse 26 and work through verse 30.

Romans 8:26–30 ESV

26 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. 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

So, as I said, last week we ran out of time and didn’t get to look at verses 26-27, so that is where we will start. We talked about how there was suffering, expectation, and preparation. Verse 26 really gets into the preparation aspect.

PREPARATION

Verses 26-27:

Romans 8:26–27 ESV

26 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.

I said last week that suffering leads to preparation. This is it. We prepare by praying. We prepare by relying on the Holy Spirit, which Paul already told us dwells inside of us.

Jesus calls the Spirit the “comforter.” We can see that here in verse 26.

The Spirit helps us in our weakness.

How many of you have been so overwhelmed in a situation that you didn’t even know how to pray? Like, I don’t know where to start God!

Sometimes, we don’t even have those words. Sometimes we are so grieved, we cannot even form solid thoughts.

Paul tells us here that the Spirit knows what to pray.

Sometimes, that means the Spirit is praying on our behalf (verse 27).

But sometimes that means that the Spirit is instructing us. Sproul is helpful here:

The Gospel of God: Romans (3) Suffering and Glorification

Is there a secret to answered prayer? If so, it is praying through the Spirit. Now what I mean by praying through the Spirit is not glossolalia (speaking in tongues), but that when we pray, we are in close touch with the Spirit of God working in us to assist us. The Spirit teaches us to pray as we ought to pray. The more we grow in grace, the more we cultivate the life of the Spirit, the more accurate and effective our prayer life becomes because we pray according to the Word of God and according to the mind of God which is given to us, inwardly, through the Holy Spirit.

The closer we grow toward God (sanctification), the more aligned our prayer life will be with the Spirit. Sproul continues:

The Gospel of God: Romans (3) Suffering and Glorification

It is one thing for me to pray, ‘Thy will O God’—but I don’t know what the will of God is except as it is set down for me in Scripture. However, the Spirit knows both the mind of God and my mind in a way that I don’t know the mind of God nor even my own mind. So the Holy Spirit works to facilitate the communication that takes place between God the Father and his children.

Jesus, the one Paul talks about as the one who searches the hearts in verse 27, is our intercessor. We pray to Jesus, who speaks to the Father on our behalf. But because we don’t know what to pray, the Spirit (our Advocate, according to Jesus), helps form our prayers and direct them toward Jesus.

Think about that: Both the Spirit and the Son help us when we pray, to make sure that our prayers are brought to the Father.

That is an encouraging thought!