Read Romans 8:26-27
As we go through life and live in a world that is “subjected to futility” and “waiting patiently for the revelation of the glory of the sons of God”, it is assumed that we will feel acute weakness. Human weakness is not necessarily a bad thing as we are created with certain weaknesses in terms of our dependence on God for sustenance and provision. However, we also have weakness that is the direct result of sin and the consequences of sin, and Paul is concerned with all types of weakness when he encourages us that the Spirit helps us in our weakness.
The Spirit helps us in our weakness specifically in our relation to God. As we cry out in prayer and seek God in the midst of fallen bodies and a fallen world, we have help. Our perspective is limited by our inability to see God working, to know how he will work, and our inability to know what is best for us at times. The Spirit has no such limits! The Spirit knows all of this and cries out to God on our behalf. This is what it means for him to intercede for us, he takes our place in prayer and communicates to God for us as we are praying. The “deep things of the Spirit” cry out to God in prayer in ways that words cannot describe because the Spirit is not limited by language, but communicates on a deeper level with God our Father.
The importance of the Spirit interceding for us is also helpful to align our prayers and our wills with God’s will. There are many times in our lives when the will of God seems unclear. We will fail to know how or what to pray for and can become stuck. However, because the Spirit is God just as the Father is God, the unity of God is ours because the Spirit is ours. This all comes to us from the will of God. It is God’s desire to give himself to us in this deeply personal and relational way. God wants to draw us further into his mind and his care for us and he does this through the Spirit in the weakness of our prayers.
Questions
How does the Spirit’s help in our weakness show off the strength of the Gospel?
Have you ever experienced a time when you were aware that the Spirit was interceding for you in prayer?
How does the Spirit help to align us with God’s will?
What do we learn about God when we consider his will for us in these two verses?