The Spirit Makes Intercessions With Groanings

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