The Spirit Makes Intercessions With Groanings
Minister: |
Rev. Ronald Van Overloop |
Date: |
5/27/2012 PM
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Text:
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Romans 8:26,27
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Psalters: |
75, 82, 389, 217 |
- The occasion.
- The Spirit’s help is needed because of “our infirmities,” i.e., weakness, lack of required strength.
- A specific infirmity which often repeats itself is: “we know not what we should pray for as we ought.”
- This is a serious weakness because of the importance of prayer.
- The weakness is the inability to know the particular things we need in different situations of life.
- Our heavenly Father provides the saints with the help of Himself the Spirit (literal).
- The Spirit “helpeth,” i.e., to lay hold along with, to take hold with another, to help in obtaining.
- The Spirit’s help is: He “maketh intercession for us.”
- Intercession is praying on behalf of another.
- One thing which the Spirit of Christ does in believers’ souls is to intercede when we are in troubles.
- How the Spirit works is “with groanings which cannot be uttered.”
- “Groanings” are word-less sighs, longings (not formulated in words).
- It is that believers groan, not that the Spirit does (as in Gal. 4:6).
- What is the value of the groanings?
- Note that God is described as “He that searcheth the hearts.”
- God understands us and He “knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit.”
- Comfort.
- Our text implies that prayer is the norm for saints (cf. Lord’s Day 45).
- Saints may find themselves sighing wordlessly because we are perplexed.
- We learn that while we may be perplexed about our situation, but we are not perplexed about God’s relationship to us.