Prayer Power

In the same way the Spirit also joins to help in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with unspoken groanings. And He who searches the hearts knows the Spirit’s mind-set, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

Two incidents from the life of George Mueller:

One day they had run out of food. 300 children sat waiting for their breakfast. George prayed to God and thanked God for the breakfast that they were about to eat, confident that God would provide food for them. There was a knock at the door and the baker was standing outside with a big load of bread. He said that God had woken him up in the night and told him to bake more bread than usual and to take it to the orphanage. George said thank you for the bread and took it inside for the children. There was another knock at the door, and this time it was the milk man. A wheel on his cart had broken outside the orphanage. He didn’t want to leave the cart and go and get what he needed to fix the cart, as he said the milk would get stolen. So he had decided to give the milk to George for the children instead! So breakfast was provided.·

Later on in life, George decided to travel around the world,telling people about his incredible God and what God could do when we trust and ask him. When he was crossing the Atlantic in 1877, his ship ran into thick fog. George explained to the captain that he needed to be in Quebec by the following afternoon, but the captain said he was slowing the ship down for safety. George asked the captain if he could use the chartroom to pray for the fog to lift. The captain followed him to the room, claiming that prayer would be a waste of time. Müller prayed, and then the captain decided to pray. Müller stopped him and said, the prayer had already been answered. They went upstairs to find that the fog had lifted. The captain became a Christian not long after. [1]

[1] https://www.mullers.org/downloads/Teachers%20resources/George%20Muller%20Life%20of%20Prayer.pdf, accessed on 5/12/21

What if I told you, though, that we can pray like Mueller, like Hudson Taylor, like multiple other examples I could share? It’s not about motivation – it is easy to guilt people into wanting to pray. It’s not about a rigid schedule – I must get up at 4am or some other time; I must give up meals, time with my family, time doing things I enjoy…. I am still inadequate, but I believe I have found a way to gain confidence in prayer, not a ‘strategy’ for a perfect prayer life, but a way to accept the challenge of the writer of the letter to the Hebrews: “Therefore let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us at the proper time.” (Hebrews 4:16, HCSB)

1. Own your inadequacy

2. Accept the presence of the Spirit

Rom 8:3-4; 9-11; 16-17; 26-27.

Now look again at Rom 8:16:

“The Spirit Himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children,” (Romans 8:16, HCSB)

And then Rom 8:26, “In the same way the Spirit also joins to help in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with unspoken groanings.” (Romans 8:26, HCSB).

3. Acknowledge that the Spirit knows God’s heart for us

“For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man that is in him? In the same way, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who comes from God, so that we may understand what has been freely given to us by God.” (1 Corinthians 2:11–12, HCSB).

Let me ask a challenging (and difficult question): Why do you spend time reading your Bible? You don’t need to raise your hand but here are some possible answers (at least some of the answers I’ve given over the years):

- because I want to read the Bible through every year;

- because it’s what I’ve been taught to do;

-because it’s what the pastor keeps saying I need to do.

read the Bible daily and expect to meet God in the pages of His Word

Paul says the Spirit ‘helps’ us in our weakness. Though the word sounds mundane in English, the Greek word here is unusual. It is only used twice in the entire NT in this form. The first occurrence in Luke 10:38 – 41 (vs 40 translated ‘’give me a hand.’) The other location is Romans 8:26 “ the Spirit also helps us….”

a) we are to pray …

b) we are to seek after the presence, power, and purposes of God -for ourselves and for others: family, friends, acquaintances, church family, and so on.

We are ‘given assistance by’ the indwelling Holy Spirit only AS WE PRAY!

You alone are inadequate – but the Holy Spirit is more than adequate

You have all the Holy Spirit you’ll ever receive once you trusted in Jesus as Savior and Lord – so trust that the Spirit is present (even if you don’t ‘feel’ His presence)

You are being conformed to the image of Jesus –

as God’s purposes are revealed to you through the Holy Spirit

You, along with all believers, are being built into a dwelling place for God – so, let the Holy Spirit pray through you for your brothers and sisters in the body of Christ.

Related Media

Related Sermons