Romans 8:26-27
26 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 through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
All of us probably have been in a place where our hearts were so heavy, we couldn’t really even pray for ourselves. There were times when you were able to muster up the energy, you would approach God to pray and you found yourself speechless. You were numb in your thoughts. No real focus. You just sat. And then sometimes, all you could do was cry.
There’s a song that says, “I lay awake at night. I have to cry sometimes. I have to moan sometimes.”
I’ve been there.
During one season of my life, all within a few months time, I had lost my mom to cancer. I lost my job. And I had permanently separated from my husband, who was a drug addict. I felt like I was a walking mummy. I was numb to say the least. It was like I was having an outer body experience. It was like I was watching my life from the outside as a spectator.
Later on, I came to appreciate that numbness. I felt like God had Divinely orchestrated a mental and emotional numbing or disconnect to keep me sane and to keep me going in that season.
I believe that if I actually had to feel to the fullest, everything that I was going through during that time, I could have seriously had some type of mental or emotional breakdown.
At that time, one of my elders asked me if I needed anything. I told him, “Too much to say. If I told you what I needed, you’d take off running.” That was the end of that conversation.
I felt like I needed so much that I couldn’t even bring myself to ask him for anything. Because honestly, I didn’t even know what I needed.
And I found myself in the same place when it came to God. How can I bring myself to ask God for so much? How could I ask Him for anything not even knowing what I needed?
I mean…I knew I needed something. I knew I needed a lot. But I was so heavy in my spirit that I couldn’t even think straight long enough to figure out what I needed.
This is why we can appreciate the text.
It says that we don’t even know what to pray for.
So God, in His infinite wisdom knew that we would struggle and find ourselves having a difficult time at the foot of the cross just to open our hearts to God. If it wasn’t because of heaviness, it would be because of our ignorance or immaturity. We just wouldn’t know what we ought to be praying for.
The foot of the cross….this should be our place of refuge and surrender. We should be able to lay it all out as authentic as we can be. The foot of the cross is supposed to be our safe place. This is where we get naked and unashamed in the presence of God.
But when life hits us, the enemy will paralyze us in our human frailty. And this flesh we live in will shackle us and consume our thoughts. And we find ourselves unable to pray for ourselves or pray at all – our minds clouded with defeat, stress, worry or whatever it is that has us unable to pray.
This is why the bible teaches in Proverbs 4:23 More than anything you guard, protect your mind, for life flows from it.
The enemy knows that there is power in the prayers of faith of a child of God. Our prayers call down heaven’s intervention and God’s power.
This is why Satan attacks our ability to pray. Because it’s no longer about our strength. But it then becomes about the strength of the all powerful God of heaven.
You know for the longest, I had allowed myself to buy into the idea that I had to be strong at all times. There’s no place for weakness. Especially as a woman. But especially as a child of God.
But what God did for me was show me that sometimes life will throw some stuff at you that you can not bear.
Of course, this contradicts what so many of us have heard. We hear that God won’t put more on us than we can bear. But this actually contradicts what the Bible teaches.
2 Corinthians 12:9 says that God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness. His grace is sufficient. It’s enough.
In other words, we don’t have to be strong when we learn to abide in the strength of God. God will be our strength.
Why would God be our strength? Because He knows that we weren’t built or made to be able to handle it all. There are just some things that are too heavy for us to carry. Otherwise, we wouldn’t need Him. God created us to need Him.
Look what Paul said concerning their suffering in 2 Corinthians 1:8
…we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life.
They were suffering to the degree that they wanted to die or they thought they were going to die.
The comfort of God met them exactly where they were in their despair.
But even in our suffering and despair, God is intentional.
2 Corinthians 1:9
Indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead…
The Word is showing us that our weaknesses are Divinely orchestrated circumstances that God affords us opportunities to trust Him.
So when we find ourselves in this place of weakness, despair, hopelessness with no words, unable to pray, the Holy Spirit says “I got you covered. I’m praying for you when you can’t pray for yourself. And I’m praying for those things you don’t even know you should be praying for.”
We don’t have to pray eloquent, impressive prayers to get God’s attention. Our pain gets God’s attention.
1 Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
God hears our groans. He hears the pain. He hears the concerns. He hears the desperation. He hears the depths of our hearts that we haven’t even been able to discover, understand or express. He hears the groans no one else hears or knows about.
Even when we are able to pray eloquent and what we would consider a powerful, mighty prayer to God, we still don’t know the depths or the magnitude of what we need to be praying for. This is why God graces us and the Holy Spirit prays on our behalf.
The Word groans in Romans 8:26 means sighing, especially brought on by circumstances creating great pressure.
Remember the groaning of children of Israel when they were enslaved by Egypt.
Exodus 2:24-25
24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.
God gave attention to their oppression.
It says that:
God heard
God saw
God knew
This is the same God that we serve today.
- God hears the pain you can’t express.
- God sees every detail of what you’re going through – even better than you can see.
- God knows everything you’ve been through, you’re going through, and what you’ve yet to go through.
God hears. God sees. And God knows. And the Holy Spirit is praying for you.
He’s not just praying that God gives you relief or deliverance.
He’s praying in accordance with the will of God.
The Spirit and Jesus are one in the same.
Jesus prayed, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou will be done.
Matthew 26:39
See when we pray for ourselves, sometimes, we just want the pain to go away. We just want God to say yes. But that may not be what keeps us in the will of God.
Jesus and the Holy Spirit understands that remaining in God’s will is more important than eliminating our pain.
This can be a hard pill to swallow. So this begs us to develop an understanding, desire and appreciation for God’s will over our own.
In His will is where victory is no matter how things turn out.
So we can trust that God will deliver us IN the storm or He’ll deliver us BY the storm.
Isn’t it good to know that whether God pulls us out or not that we have an advocate, a Comforter praying for us.
I imagine that He’s praying for us like Jesus prayed for Peter.
Luke 22:32 I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail.
God understands that life can get pretty tough. He knows that sometimes we want to throw in the towel and give up.
Remember this: that you’re already a victor in Christ Jesus. You don’t have to fight to win. You’ve already won. You’re just waiting on your reward.
Look at the text. Look at what the Holy Spirit is doing for us.
Romans 8:26-27
26 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 through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
- He helps us.
- He intercedes for us.
- He searches our hearts.
These are promises to the children of God. He helps those in Christ. He intercedes for His children. Those that don’t belong to Christ don’t have this benefit.
So if you’re not a child of God, you have a decision to make. Are you going to continue to live your life, that’s guaranteed to cause you pain, without the covering of the Holy Spirit – without being in Christ?
Or will you decide to live in Christ and gain access to this spiritual blessing among many more?
For those that are in Christ, but struggling to pray during your storm, hold on.
Hebrews 10:36
For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.
God hears the sighs no one hears. He loves you. Heaven is cheering for you.
So it’s ok if you only groan. God knows the depths of your heart and cares for you.
*Tressa Jo
BeyondSeeLevel 