Another way to experience prayer – the Holy Spirit groans within us.

By mmayer

Romans 8:19-27

⁹For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. ²⁰For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope ²¹that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

²²We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. ²³Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? ²⁵But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

²⁶In 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. ²⁷And 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.

Video

The Holy Spirit intercedes for us through wordless groans. Romans 8:26

I’m usually good with words, but when it comes to asking my wife or others closest to me for help around my deepest needs, I usually die a million deaths, before I get any words out. The apostle Paul promises us that the Holy Spirit of God is very familiar with that and works deeply and lovingly inside each one of us, to bring those things directly to God.

I find it fascinating that he talks about this prayer as ‘the Holy Spirit groaning within us.’ It’s the same word he used a few verses earlier in Romans 8 to describe creation groaning as in the pains of childbirth, giving birth to something new. If the Holy Spirit is groaning within us, then it means the Holy Spirit is working within us to bring something new to birth in or through us.

That is the ongoing promise of Easter and the resurrection. It’s not just a one-time event that happened 2,000 years ago. It’s the on-going experience of our lives as Christians. God is always at work in us and around us, to bring new life out of what is old and dying. That is the promise and great hope we all have. Paul encourages us to wait for that patiently. Most good things don’t work out instantly, they take time. Trust that God has you.

The Holy Spirit praying within us is another form of prayer, and there is great blessing in attending to it. Our prayers using words, scripture and song include requests, praying for others, adoration, and asking for forgiveness. We are all familiar with using words to pray. There is also a time for just sitting quietly, and not using words, as we trust that the Holy Spirit is bringing our deepest needs to the heart of our Heavenly Father. That can be a very comforting way of praying, because it doesn’t depend on us getting the words or the technique right. It can be as simple as sitting still, being aware of our breathing, and having a simple biblical phrase that we go to whenever we find we have day-dreamed or got distracted.

Trust that God knows your deepest needs and is working on them. Live with hope. Keep loving.