The Spirit Prays For Us Manuscript

SERMON TITLE: The Spirit Prays For Us
TEXT: Romans 8:1-25 (ESV)
SPEAKER: Josh Hanson
DATE: 2-21-21

You can watch the sermon here.
You can find the sermon notes here.

WELCOME

As always it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And the one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshipping with us in person or are worshipping with us online — the one thing I always want you to know is that God loves you and that I love you too. 

SERIES INTRODUCTION

We’re returning to the book of Romans today — a book of the Bible that we’ve been in for a few years now. And we’re actually returning to a chapter that we only got about halfway through last year — Romans chapter 8.

So if you have your Bible please turn with me to Romans chapter 8. We’ll be looking at verses 26 and 27 together today. 

But since it’s been six months since we were last in this chapter — let’s remind ourselves of some of the great truths that we’ve learned — from what many consider to be — the most important chapter in all of the Bible. And probably the best way to remind ourselves — of the truths we’ve seen in this chapter — is to just read our way quickly through what we’ve already studied. So let’s begin back in verse 1 of Romans chapter 8. 

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (So we start with glorious news! No condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.) 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Though there’s no condemnation — for those who have faith in Christ — there is condemnation for our sin. Our sin has been judged by God and — through our faith in Christ — we’ve escaped the judgement for our sin.) 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. (Here’s where we learned about the importance of having an assured mind — because what our mind is set on determines what we live for. And either our mind is set on the sinful desires of our flesh or it’s set on the Spirit and the things of God.) 9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. (And here’s where the theme of belonging starts to permeate in our chapter. And we saw that everyone is trying to figure out where they belong. But — for the Christian — we’ve found where we belong — for we belong to God.) 12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. (In belonging to God, we find that we’re no longer debtors to sin — we owe sin nothing! — but we are debtors to God — we owe God everything!) 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs — heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. (Here we learned the difference between being made in the image of God — which is true of all people — and being a child of God — which is true only for those who’ve been adopted into his family. And one of the family expectations is to expect suffering — for it is sure to come our way. But as we suffer — we’re to focus on the glory that’s been promised to us — our eternal future with our God.) 18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. (All of creation feels the effects of our sin because — though creation did not sin — we’re the ones who sinned — creation has been put under the curse of the fall because of our sin. And creation is groaning — it longs to be set free from the curse.) 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. (And we groan — right along with creation. We groan to be set free from the curse. We long for — we eagerly anticipate what’s been promised to us — something that Christ’s life, death, and resurrection has guaranteed will come — something we catch glimpses of — now — but will see and experience more clearly than we dare to hope or imagine for all eternity — our redemption and the redemption of God’s creation.) 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. (Romans 8:1-25 ESV)

Though it’s easier to believe what our eyes can see — faith — living by faith — means hoping for and believing in what our eyes cannot see at this present moment. 

And — if we continue on — we come to our verses for today. Verses 26 and 27.

“Likewise 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. 27 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.” (Romans 8:26-27 ESV)

Does any one need some good news today? Well I’ve got some great news for us. If you find yourself at a place where life is maybe so confusing or so exhausting or so painful that you don’t even know where to begin — when it comes to praying — maybe you don’t even know how to pray or what to pray for — the good news for us today is that God’s Spirit knows exactly where to begin and knows exactly what to pray for and he — the Spirit of God — is praying for you. How about that for some good news?

Now — I’m sure that doesn’t sound like good news to everyone. It may be a bit underwhelming to your ears. Maybe life’s pretty comfortable — for you — right now. Maybe your health is good, your family’s good, your marriage is good, your kids are well-behaved, your job is going great, you’re spending hours with God reading your Bible and in prayer, you’ve got zero conflict in your life — and so on — maybe you’re the one person among us with a problem free life. Well — if that’s you — I don’t know that I’ve got much for you today. But for the rest of us — I’ve got some great news — the Holy Spirit is praying for you.

And we should be thankful for the Spirit’s prayers on our behalf — and — we should be comforted by this truth. God’s Spirit — when we don’t know how or what to pray for — when life is hard and prayer seems pointless — even when life’s easy and we don’t pray because we feel it’s unnecessary — no matter what you’re going through today — at this moment in your life — the Holy Spirit is praying for you. 

Just think of the past year we went through — 2020 — and how 2021 started off. Lots of troubling things happened. Lots of uncertainties. Lots of unknowns. Now — as Christians — I’m sure many of us have had an amped up prayer life during the past year. Yet — have you thought much about how unified our prayers have been?

• For instance, when it comes to things like wearing masks — have we Christians all been praying the same prayers? Probably not.
• Or the presidential election — is the outcome what we were all praying for?
• Or the Superbowl — were we all praying that Tom Brady would win yet again?
• Let’s make it closer to home. When it comes to prayers for the elders of Gateway — and the many decisions we’ve had to make over the past year — things like “do we close our buildings and go online only” — “do we require masks and social distancing” — “do we reject the governor’s recommendations or submit to them” — and so on. As you all have been praying for us — how unified do you think your prayers have been?

Now this lack of unity in our prayers is why the Spirit praying for us is so important and such good news. But in order to appreciate the Spirit’s prayers for us — we must first admit two things about ourselves that our verses reveal to us. We must admit that we are weak. And — second — we must admit that we lack understanding. Two reasons why the Holy Spirit — interceding on our behalf — is great news: We are weak and we do not fully understand the reasons for all that’s going on around us. 

This is what separates Christians from others who pray. Many people pray who aren’t Christians. But — as Paul tells us — “the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” The Spirit intercedes for who? The saints. Who are the saints? They are the people who’ve been set apart by God — who’ve been made holy by God through the work of his Son, Jesus Christ.

And so — though many people pray — one study found that nearly 30% of atheists admit that they pray “sometimes” — the people whom the Spirit of God intercedes on behalf of are those who’ve put their faith and hope in Christ alone. People who admit their weakness and know there are many things they do not fully understand.

ADMITTING OUR WEAKNESS

Let’s begin by looking at what it means to admit our weakness. Paul writes, “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness.” (Romans 8:26a ESV)

So we need the Spirit of God to intercede on our behalf because we recognize — and admit — that we are weak. Are you able to admit your weakness? I ask — because — admitting weakness is something we’re told not to do in our society. “Never let them see you sweat,” right? But what’s the consequence of not admitting our weaknesses? 

• Well — for some — it means we become blind to our weakness. Thus we can be certain that we’re praying according to the will of God even when a fellow Christian points out the error of our ways. 
• For others — it means we blur the lines between God — the Creator — and us — those who’ve been created. God is the only One who has no weakness, right? And you’re not God. Thus — we all — including you and me — have weaknesses.

But — our weakness is an opportunity — if we’re willing to admit them. For — once we admit our weakness — we’ve opened ourselves up to God using us in ways we won’t experience if we fail to admit them. What do I mean? Well, listen to some of Paul’s words.

To the Christians in Corinth he writes, “And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:1-5 ESV)

Paul could’ve used lofty speech or the wisdom of his day to persuade the Christians in Corinth. But — instead — he allowed his weakness to be the means by which the Spirit of God demonstrated his power through Paul. And why did Paul do this — why did he put his weakness on display? So that they — the Christians in Corinth — wouldn’t put their faith in the cleverness of Paul’s words — but in the power of God. Paul allowed the Spirit of God to use his weakness for the good of those living in Corinth.

He also told them, “If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.” (2 Corinthians 11:30 ESV)

“If I’m going to brag about myself, what you’re going to hear me brag about is my weakness.” Think about how different this is from the way we talk about ourselves. My oldest son is applying for college scholarships right now. How many scholarships do you think he’d get if he boasted about his weaknesses — even if he used his weaknesses to point to Christ — instead of bragging about how awesome he is? Probably no scholarships, right? 

And in what may be some of the most familiar verses on weakness — in all of the Bible — Paul — after writing about a vision he had of Heaven — and that God had given him a thorn in his flesh to keep him humble, Paul writes, “But he (Jesus) said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10 ESV)

Now — back in Romans chapter 8 — the weakness — being referred to — as one Bible scholar states — is most likely our “inability to discern clearly God’s will in the many things for which we pray.” The point is that — unlike God — we’re weak. And our weakness influences our prayers. There are times when we don't know what to pray. And then there are times when we think we do know what we should pray — and we’re wrong.

ADMITTING OUR LACK OF UNDERSTANDING

And this leads us to the second thing we learn from our verses. Again — Paul writes, “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought...” (Romans 8:26a ESV)

So we need the Spirit of God to intercede on our behalf because we recognize — and admit — that there are many things we don’t fully understand. 

Now — in many ways — a lack of understanding is simply a weakness we all have. But Paul brings this specific weakness to our attention and I don’t want to miss its application to our prayer lives. 

Earlier — in Romans — when explaining to us how we were once slaves to sin, but have been set free from sin and are now slaves to God — Paul writes, “I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations.”

Paul says that he’s had to use some easy to understand words because we have some natural limitations in our understanding. And — limitations — is the same Greek word translated later — in our verses — as weakness. So we have some natural limitations — weaknesses — that keep us from understanding things accurately. 

• Maybe you’ve just received bad news from your doctor and a bunch of foreign sounding, big words were used during the consultation. You leave the room, walk to your car, open the door, sit down and begin to pray. But you can’t remember any of the technical medical language that was used. You can’t even remember the date of your next appointment because the news has shook you to your core. So there’s so much you don’t know. There’s much you don’t understand. You’ve run headfirst into some of your natural limitations. But don’t let any of that make you think that you can’t pray. You pray with a dependence upon the Spirit of God — and his unlimited power and unlimited knowledge and unlimited understanding — knowing that he is interceding on your behalf.
• Or that friend calls you on the phone. They’re in tears. They’re in shock. They don’t know what the name of the cancer is or if it’s stage 1, 2, 3, or 4. They can’t remember if they’re going to try radiation, chemo, or both. But they ask you to pray for them on the phone right then and there. So you’ve got little to nothing to go on. Do you want to know why your prayer won’t be a waste of time — even though you know so little that you might feel like, “What’s the point? How can I pray for something when I don't even really know what’s going on?” Here’s why your prayer for them isn’t a waste of time. Prayer isn’t about what you know or don’t know — it’s about the one you’re praying to. And because there’s always much that we don’t know — even when we think we do — the Spirit intercedes on our behalf.

But — unfortunately — too often we’re blind to our limitations — especially when the situation isn’t as serious as what I just described. And when the weightiness of a situation is taken away — it becomes way too easy for us to think that we see things clearly — even though we don’t. 

Yet — for the Christian who’s growing in their relationship with Christ — one of the indicators of maturing in the Christian faith is the realization that we don’t understand things nearly as clearly as we think we do. That we can be wrong in our interpretation of things. That we all have biases in the information we’ll readily accept as truth and the information that we’ll reject because there’s no way it can be true. And this lack of understanding — or natural limitations — or weakness — should keep all of us humble as we pray. And should cause us to be patient with our brothers and sisters in Christ who may think they see things more clearly than they really do. 

And — I know, I know — none of us are allowing false information to affect our prayer life, right? None of us think that we know what’s “really going on” while everyone else is being fooled, right? None of us are blind to our natural limitations.

Well — one way to measure if that’s true or not — is by sincerely — and I’ll say that again because it’s easy to say things but hard to say them sincerely — one way to measure this is by sincerely including in our prayers the acknowledgement to God that there’s much we don’t know. Much that we may be praying — thinking that it’s according to God’s will — when it isn’t. And then the real test of our sincerity is not just doing this during private times of prayer — but to do this publicly.

“God, as I’ve been praying, I realize that my understanding is incomplete. That I come with biases in what I want to be true and your will. But I’d be a fool to think that I see things clearly or without sin influencing my view of things. So take what I’ve prayed — Spirit of God — and align my will and purify my prayer so it is pleasing to my Heavenly Father. Amen.”

So are we — are you — able to acknowledge that often you pray for things even though you lack understanding? Can we recognize the fact that we all have natural limitations that are affecting our prayers? Can we see how desperate we are for the Spirit of God to intercede on our behalf so our prayers are acceptable to God?

How might this affect your prayer life? Well I just gave you one example. Maybe a few more will be helpful.

• “Gracious Father, you fully know and understand everything — including my own heart and desires. Unlike you, I neither fully know nor understand anything — including my own heart and desires. Please make it apparent to me if either my heart or desires are not following your will. Keep me humble, so I pray knowing there’s much that I don’t know. Keep me humble, so that I don’t judge others for their weakness or what I see as a lack of understanding — for we are all weak — we all lack understanding. Thank you for not allowing my weakness or lack of understanding to invalidate the desire I have for your will to be done. Spirit guide me in my prayers so they align with your will. And — Father — for the things I haven’t considered and the things that I’ve ignored — I thank you that you have not turned a deaf ear to me but — because both the Spirit and the Son are interceding on my behalf — you hear my prayer. Amen.”
• And if that prayer is way too long — try this one. “Heavenly Father, help. Amen.”

Long or short — these are the kinds of prayers prayed by those who recognize their weakness — including that they lack a full understanding of things — even of what they’re praying for. And that last prayer — “help” — well that may be the most honest prayer any of us will ever pray.

THE SPIRIT INTERCEDES

And — our weakness would leave us hopeless — without the good news that Paul tells us — what we’ve been soaking in today. “Likewise 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. 27 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.” (Romans 8:26-27 ESV)

One Bible scholar has called our two verses our “Hope in Prayer.” And our hope in prayer follows the hope of the promised new creation that comes in the verses prior to ours. And our hope in prayer comes before our hope of glory that comes in the verses after ours. So our verses are in the middle of a message of hope — and the hope for us — is that God’s Spirit is interceding on our behalf. The Spirit approaches the Father — on our behalf — in prayer. And a few verses later — Paul tells us that “Christ Jesus is the one who died — more than that, who was raised — who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.”

• So — if you’re a follower of Christ — know that you have both the Spirit of God and the Son of God interceding on your behalf. 
• If you’re a follower of Christ — rest in the comforting news that — when you realize you don’t know what’s going on — you have the Spirit and the Son — and their infinite knowledge — praying on your behalf. 
• When you’re weak — their power is interceding on your behalf. 
• And if you find yourself lost for words — having no idea how you should pray at any given moment — know that the Spirit and the Son are interceding on your behalf. For — as Paul reminds us — “no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.” So the Spirit of God knows exactly what your Heavenly Father is thinking when he prays on your behalf.

What great news! What comforting news! What assurance that our prayers — as imperfect as they are — are presented to the Father by the Spirit and the Son who know his will and thoughts perfectly. This should give you comfort in the midst of uncertainty. This should give you peace in the midst of confusing times. And this should give you hope in the midst of pain and sorrow. 

CONCLUSION

Now my last question for you is gonna feel like a bit of a curve ball — but I promise it connects to what we’ve been looking at today. Here’s the question. Have you ever been driving in your car and realize that there’s a fly buzzing around inside the car with you? Told you — curve ball. It’s flying around — hitting the windows — trying to get outside. Sometimes — it will just stay right on a window — sort of walking around — trying to figure out “how to get to the great outdoors?”

So what do we do? First, we get annoyed — you know that’s what you do. But what about after that? We roll down a window, right? Try to encourage the fly to get out of our car. We swat at it. We’ve got wind blowing inside our vehicle — it’s messing up our hair — maybe it’s raining outside — rain’s getting in your car — and you’re moving from annoyed to angry because this fly can’t understand the obvious instructions you’re trying to give it. Fly out the stupid window! 

You know something we forget in our annoyance and anger? We forget that the fly wants outside! Both you and the fly have the same goal. Yet the fly is completely unaware that you — in swatting at it — and allowing a rush of what must seem like hurricane level winds into the car — that your will and desire is for the fly to get outside. And the fly has no idea how dependent it is upon you to get outside. I mean — it’s not going to escape your car on its own — it doesn’t know how to roll down the window. And even when you offer it a solution so it can be set free — and give it a clear indication of your will — the fly refuses to follow your guidance.

Do you see where I’m going here? The fly is weak compared to the situation it’s in. The fly lacks understanding. It can’t properly assess the situation and how your will — will lead to its freedom. But — if it doesn’t submit itself to your will — it won’t ever find the freedom it’s looking for — the great outdoors. 

Now — I bet you’re waiting for me to compare us to the fly. I’m not gonna to do that. I think you get the point. When it comes to our prayer life, do we see how dependent upon God we are? Can we acknowledge our weakness? Can we admit that there’s much we don’t know and understand? And — yet — do you see how none of this should result in you praying less — but should stir in us a desire to pray more? Because we — the people of God — pray knowing that we’re desperate for the Spirit of God to intercede on our behalf and are thankful that that’s exactly what the Spirit is doing. Let’s pray. 

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, thank you for your mercies that are new every morning. Including the mercy we’ve learned today — that the Holy Spirit intercedes on our behalf.

Holy Spirit, we humbly ask you to help us to admit our weakness and our lack of understanding of things as we pray. And we thank you for interceding on our behalf. Refine our prayers so they align with the will of our Heavenly Father. And keep us humble as we pray — remembering how dependent we are on you.

And Jesus, we thank you. For without you interceding on our behalf — in the giving of your life, death, and resurrection — we wouldn’t know, or have confidence in, or experience the sweet comfort and joy that’s found in the truth we’ve discovered today. That both you and the Holy Spirit are praying for us. May this good news give us great joy, comfort, and hope in our lives this week. And we pray all of this, in your name, Jesus. Amen.

BENEDICTION

May you go trusting in the Spirit of God — who is interceding on your behalf as you pray. Amen.

God loves you. I love you. You are sent.