The Spirit Helps Us Pray as We Should

“The Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God”(Rom. 8:26-27 esv).

The Spirit helps us pray as we should (Rom. 8:26). We don’t know what God will bring about today or what will happen in the future to us or those for whom we’re praying. We need the Spirit’s assistance in order that our requests come in line with God’s plans and purposes.

“All true prayer is due to the influence of the Spirit, who not only guides us about what we should pray about but also gives us the appropriate desires and works within us to produce that faith without which our prayers are useless.” (Hodge, Romans 254-55.)

I have faced problems where I didn’t know what to pray. I have looked at both sides of the situation, but I can’t figure out the right solution. One way of solving the problem seems as if it will work, but looking at it from another angle it seems like something entirely different would be the best way to handle it.

There have also been times when I sensed something was wrong, but I didn’t know what it was. I felt as if I were lost in a dense fog and couldn’t see my way.  I would catch a glimpse of what was wrong, but it was all so hazy. I continued to stumble along through the fog praying God would make things clear.

But when the sky broke open and the problem was revealed, it was devastating.  I didn’t know which way to turn or how to pray as I should. There have been some heartaches that I wished I had never found out about because I could do nothing about them.

But in finding out what was wrong I gained greater insights into the underlying problem. I was praying one way, but once both sides of the situation were revealed, the Spirit showed me how to pray the way He desired.

Have you ever been through a trial like that and you were helpless to do anything about it?  We can ask God for many things, but we don’t know what He would want for us or the person for whom we are praying.

“For spiritual blessings which we know to be according to the divine will we could ask with confidence, but perhaps these would not meet our peculiar circumstances.” (Charles H. Spurgeon, “The Holy Spirit's Intercession,”  No. 1532, April 11th, 1880, Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington.)

One thing I am certain of in those situations is that the Spirit helps me pray the way I ought to pray, even when I don’t know how. He gives me peace even when the circumstances have not changed and are as hard as they were when I started praying.

We have this assurance that the Spirit intercedes for us when we don’t know how or what to ask as we should. When we can’t pray He prays for us and with us. He knows what to say when we don’t. We find our hope in Him and in the power of His intercession.

The Spirit’s Intercession

The Spirit of God is interceding for us in harmony with God’s will (Rom. 8:26). The Spirit teaches us how to pray, interpreting our prayers, and presenting them to God in a way that is acceptable to Him. The Spirit also makes intercession for us personally and offers petitions to God on our behalf.

What if you were being sued and had to represent yourself in small claims court? But you knew very little about the law and had no idea how to plead your case.

A lawyer friend offered to advise you for free. She helped you gather evidence, drew up the legal documents, and taught you how to present your case in court.

She came to the hearing to counsel and support you during the proceedings, but she could not represent you before the judge. Because of the lawyer’s help, the judge ruled in your favor. Though you presented your own evidence, your lawyer friend would deserve the credit for helping you win the case.

The Holy Spirit is such an advocate. He will teach us what to say and how to present our case before the courts of heaven. He stands with us and supports us before God.

The indwelling Spirit “will write the prayers which I ought to offer upon the tablets of my heart,  and I shall see them there, and so I shall be taught how to plead. It will be the Spirit's own self pleading in me, and by me, and through me, before the throne of grace,” said Charles Spurgeon. (Charles H. Spurgeon, “The Holy Spirit's Intercession,”  No. 1532, April 11th, 1880, Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington.)

“If you are spiritual the Holy Spirit is offering up prayers in your bodily temple that you know nothing about, it is the Spirit making intercession in you  . . .” Oswald Chambers, Biblical Ethics, 46.)

Moreover, we don’t know how to pray in a manner that is acceptable and pleasing to God. But we have this assurance that the Spirit intercedes for us in the right way. The Spirit works in our heart to bring about the right attitude, humility of spirit, and strength of faith so that our prayers are acceptable to God.

Spurgeon said, “This is something more than helping us to pray, something more than encouraging us or directing us,—but . . . he puts such force of his own mind into our poor weak thoughts and desires and hopes, that he himself maketh intercession for us, working in us to will and to pray according to his good pleasure.” Charles H. Spurgeon, “The Holy Spirit's Intercession,”  No. 1532, April 11th, 1880, Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington.)