One of the most wonderful blessings in the Christian life, but one that we seldom think about or thank God for, is the intercession of the Holy Spirit. He overrules our wrongly directed prayers, and intercedes for us according to the will of God!
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The Intercession Of The Spirit
Romans 8:26-27
Today we are going to talk about a blessing in your life that I bet you haven’t thought about or thanked God for in a very long, if ever. I’m talking about the intercession of the Holy Spirit on your behalf. I believe that is the central idea of Romans 8:26-27. You will notice that Paul mentions the Spirit’s intercession on our behalf twice, once in verse 26, and the other in verse 27.
Now, I do need to mention that this is a controversial passage. Different Bible scholars interpret this verse in different ways. You will have to do your own study to come to your own conclusions. I will give you mine, but I will not speak dogmatically, because a good case can be made for the different conclusions believers have come to.
As we work our way through this passage, I’m going to ask and answer four questions:
- Why Does The Spirit Intercede?
- How Does The Spirit Intercede?
- Who Does The Spirit Intercede For?
- What Does The Spirit Intercede For?
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Why Does The Spirit Intercede?
In the same way. What does Paul mean by that? In the same way as what? Well, several good answers could be given.
First, he may be saying not only does hope give us help to keep going amidst our suffering in this sin-cursed world, but also the Spirit helps us in our prayers. Hope provides help to us. The Spirit also, in the same way, provides help to us.
Second, he may be saying just as the creation groans (8:22), and the Christian groans (8:23), in the same way, the Spirit groans (8:26). That very well may be what Paul meant here.
Third, Paul may be saying, just as the Spirit helps us to fulfill the requirement of the Law (8:4), to put the deeds of the body to death (8:13), to have assurance of salvation (8:16), so too, in the same way, the Spirit also helps us in our prayers. Now, all three of these have merit, and may be what Paul had in mind. Personally, I lean towards the third one. I think Paul is focusing on the ministry of the Holy Spirit to the believer in Romans 8. He has told us how the Spirit ministers to us in various ways, and now gives us one final way, and so begins his thought, “In the same way…”
The Spirit also helps our weakness. There it is. There is the answer as to why the Holy Spirit intercedes for us. We are weak. But, in what way are we weak?
For we do not know how to pray as we should. Now, I don’t believe the New American Standard Bible gives us the best translation here. The literal Greek is, “for we do not know the things which we should pray for.” The NASB sounds like we don’t know how we should pray. In other words, should we pray loud, quiet, long, short, standing or sitting, etc. But I don’t think Paul has any of that in mind. We know that Paul is telling us we are weak when it comes to knowledge. We don’t know what to pray for. That’s why the Spirit intercedes for us according to the will of God.
Remember the context. Starting from 8:17 and going all the way through 8:25, Paul is talking about the groaning that creation and the Christian go through as they suffer in this present world. We experience suffering and sin that causes us to groan. But through it all, we eagerly wait for our full and final redemption, the glorification of our bodies when Christ returns. So, Paul is thinking about the trials, sins, sufferings that we experience in this world as we wait for the world to come. And he is saying that as we experience these sufferings, sins, and groans, we pray, but because we are weak, we don’t know what we should be praying for.
We don’t always know the will of God. Now, of course, we do know what we should pray for in some things. We know that it is the will of God that we pray for our sanctification, that we give thanks in all things, that we rejoice always, that we produce the fruits of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control. We know that it is right to pray that we have boldness and love as we witness to the lost. We know we should pray for more love for the brethren. But, in many things we just don’t know what the will of God is.
A sister in the Lord meets Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome, and she starts praying that God would let her marry him. What she doesn’t know is that he is all a façade, and an outward shell. He has no inner godliness and Biblical convictions, and it would be a horrible mistake for her to marry him. If God gave her what she wanted, she would be miserable, and the marriage would end in divorce, with the children being split between two parents and two households.
A brother prays that God would give him the promotion that his company is recruiting for. He wants this so bad. It comes with a large pay raise, and great perks. He’s sure that this would truly fulfill him. What he doesn’t know is that this promotion will require him to be away on business a large percentage of the time. He will be away from his wife and children, sleeping in hotels. He will be exposed to all kinds of sinful temptations, and is going to suffer a terrible blow in his walk with the Lord.
A believer is dying from brain cancer, and prays fervently that God would heal him. What he doesn’t know is that God is going to use his testimony and godly example through suffering to bring his parents to Christ. He doesn’t realize that at his memorial service, the pastor is going to preach a gospel message, and read some things from this brother’s spiritual journal, and that many are going to repent and put their trust in Christ.
William Hendriksen in his commentary on Romans gives the example of the beloved Pastor who was very sick. His congregation prayed fervently for his healing, but he grew worse and died. At his funeral, the minister said, “You might feel God doesn’t answer prayer. But in this case there were 2 prayers: the congregation’s prayer for the pastor to be healed because they needed him so badly, and the Spirit’s prayer, “Take him, because the congregation is leaning too heavily on him and not on You.”
As we go through trials and sufferings in life, we are confused. What should we pray for? Should we pray that God would take away our suffering? Should we pray that persecution would cease? Should we pray for prosperity, protection, healing, and comfort? Or, should we pray for grace to glorify God in the midst of sickness, poverty, pain, and trials? We don’t know. We are weak when it comes to knowing what the will of God is in our circumstances. Truly, the purpose of prayer is not to get our will done on earth, but to get God’s will done in heaven.
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How Does The Spirit Intercede?
The Spirit Himself. This teaches us very important lessons about the Holy Spirit. The Bible says, “the Spirit Himself.” It doesn’t say, “the Spirit itself.” The Spirit is not an “it”! In fact, in verse 27, the Bible uses the word “He” to refer to the Spirit. The Spirit is not a force, or an energy, or a power alone. The Spirit is a Person! He is the 3rd Person of the Blessed Trinity. He is God of very God, and He is a Person. Notice, that the Spirit intercedes. A force can’t intercede. When is the last time you saw electricity praying for someone? When is the last time you saw a lightning storm praying? Of course it is absurd. The Spirit is a Person, and the Spirit is a He, and the Spirit does things only a Person can do. In the Bible the Spirit can be resisted, quenched, grieved, blasphemed, and insulted. The Bible says that the Spirit teaches, comforts, helps, and testifies. No impersonal force does any of those things! Only a Person does them. So, don’t listen to the Jehovah’s Witnesses when they tell you that the Holy Spirit is not a Person, but just a power or force. I’m laboring this point, because I want each of you to love the Spirit. I want you to commune with the Spirit. I want you to walk in step with the Spirit.
Intercedes. So, what does the word “intercede” actually mean? It means “to bring a petition on behalf of someone”; or “to plead for someone.” When we talk about “intercessory prayer” we are talking about a person praying, or pleading for someone else. Intercession is not you praying for yourself. It is you praying for someone else. That is what the Spirit does. He intercedes for us.
For us. Now, I find this fascinating. The text does not say that the Spirit intercedes through us, or by us, or with us. It says, he intercedes “for us.” I take that to mean that this is something the Holy Spirit is doing all by himself, apart from us. Again, in verse 27 Paul says, “He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” His intercession is something He is doing on your behalf. It is not something He is inspiring you to do. To make this point even more clear, Paul says, “The Spirit Himself intercedes for us.”
With Groanings Too Deep For Words. Again, the NASB does not have the best translation here. Literally, the Greek says, “unspoken words.” The NIV translates it, “the Spirit Himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.” The HCSB renders it “with unspoken groaning.” In other words, these groaning are not put into words. They are just groans. It is exactly the same way when the Christian groans. In Romans 8:23, Paul says that we groan within ourselves. Our groaning is inward, not outward. We feel grief, and pain, and groan, but do not say anything outwardly. It is the same with the Spirit. He groans inwardly when He sees the pain and grief and suffering we go through as we travel through this sin-cursed world on our way to glory.
Now, this is one of the points upon which there is so much disagreement. Who is doing the groaning? Some say that the Spirit moves upon us, and we groan. They say, that Romans 8:26 is describing our prayer life inspired and motivated by the Holy Spirit. However, I disagree. Paul has already talked about our groaning in Romans 8:23. It does not seem likely that he is backtracking and going over that all over again in Romans 8:26. No, the text itself is clear – “the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groaning too deep for words.” The text says that these groaning are from the Spirit Himself.
Another point of contention is the expression “groaning too deep for words.” Some of our Pentecostal and Charismatic brethren tell us that this is talking about the gift of speaking in other tongues. However, it cannot be talking about speaking in tongues, because someone who speaks in tongues is uttering words. However, Romans 8:26 is speaking about unspoken groaning. Further, Romans 8:26 is talking about the groaning and intercession of the Spirit, not the praying in tongues of believers.
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Who Does The Spirit Intercede For?
For us. Who is the “us”? Well, it would include Paul and the believers in Rome. In verse 27, Paul says, “the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” There it is – saints. The Spirit intercedes for the saints. He doesn’t intercede for the lost, He intercedes for true believers.
The Spirit prays for the same group of people that Christ intercedes for. In John 17, we have a specimen of Christ’s high priestly prayers. And in John 17:9, Jesus prays, “I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours.” Jesus prays for His own sheep. In Hebrews 7:25, the Bible says, “Therefore, He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.” Who does Jesus intercede for? Those who draw near to God through Him. In other words, saved Christians. And that is exactly the same group the Spirit intercedes for – God’s saints.
Now, if there is any confusion in your mind about who is a saint, let’s clear that up really quick. I grew up in the Roman Catholic church, and we were told that only very special and holy believers could be saints. But I figured I could never be a saint. That was for the super holy Christians. However, the Bible knows nothing of this! This can very easily be shown. In Romans 1:7, Paul writes, “to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Obviously Paul is writing to all true believers in Rome, and he calls them all “saints”. In 1 Corinthians 1:2, Paul writes, “To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.” Again, it is obvious that when Paul speaks of “saints” he is talking about all true Christians everywhere. He doesn’t divide Christians into the super holy (saints), and the ordinary believers. He calls all believers “saints”. That means that if you are born again, you are a saint! Saint Jerome! Saint Debbie! Saint Myong! Saint Fernando! Put your name in there. And that is exactly who the Spirit intercedes for – saints.
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What Does The Spirit Intercede For?
He who searches the hearts. Now, the “He” here is God the Father. He is the One who searches the hearts of men.
1 Chronicles 28:9, “As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.”
Revelation 2:23, “And I will kill her children with pestilence, and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds.”
So, what is this saying? I believe Paul is saying that as we try to pray as we are afflicted with temptations, grief, and pain in this world, and don’t know what we should pray for, God searches and knows our hearts. Even though we may be praying for the wrong thing, He searches our hearts, and knows that at the bottom of everything, we just want to glorify Him. We want to please Him. We want to exalt Him. We want Him to be magnified among the nations. We may momentarily, because of our weakness, pray for something out of God’s will. But, in our heart of hearts, we desire God to be glorified.
Knows what the mind of the Spirit is. Of course God the Father knows the mind of the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit is God. God knows the mind of God. This is what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:10-11, “For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so, the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.”
Here is another reason I believe this is talking about the Spirit’s intercession, not ours. It says that God knows the mind of the Spirit. It doesn’t say that He knows our mind. If this was talking about our groaning and intercession, then it would say that God knows our mind.
Because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. The Spirit doesn’t need to use words in His intercession. Groanings are perfectly adequate, because God knows His mind without Him having to speak anything at all.
So, what is the Spirit interceding for? The will of God! This is exactly the point that we are weak on. We don’t know God’s will, too often. We don’t know if we should pray for this or for that. We go to God to pray, and don’t know what to say. We are baffled and confused. And it is right at that point that the Spirit steps in, and prays for us. And the beautiful thing is that He always knows what the will of God is. We may be confused, but the Spirit isn’t. He loves us and when we are praying for wealth, or a beautiful wife, or a soft and easy life, the Spirit steps in and says, “Father, what He really needs is hard work that will develop character, a godly wife that will encourage and pray for him, and trials that will cause Him to trust You.”
Conclusion
So, how should we apply the truths of Romans 8:26-27?
- Be encouraged that God doesn’t expect you to always know His will in every situation. We discover here that it is OK for us not know. There is One who knows, and He is praying for you.
- Be encouraged that what the Spirit prays for you will come to pass. God the Father hears the prayers of God the Spirit. The Spirit’s prayers are always heard, and always answered. As the Spirit prays according to the will of God, you can trust that the will of God is coming to pass in your life!
- Be encouraged that you have 2 Intercessors – Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ intercedes for you in heaven, the Holy Spirit on earth. Christ’s intercession is outside of us, the Holy Spirit’s is inside our hearts. We have an advocate with the Father in heaven, and an Advocate within our hearts. If Jesus and the Holy Spirit are praying for me, then I can rest assured that the will of God will be done in my life. No wonder that Paul’s next sentence is, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” God causes all things to work together for good for the saints, because the Spirit prays for them that God’s will comes to pass in their life. God’s will is His glory and their good. God answers those prayers. You can rest assured knowing that God will bring His will to pass in your life!
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