Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Romans 8:26 KJV
Context:
Paul writes to the church in Rome, teaching about the value of faith in Christ and the benefits it brings. We are called into a new relationship with Christ, and brought into a good standing with him. Our sins are forgiven and washed away, and it is a whole new start, free from condemnation and guilt. That is what the law of the Spirit of life in Christ has secured for me and it will be unfortunate if I do not take advantage of these benefits. God has played his part; as we always say, the choice of response is mine to sort out.
The one person that is critical to my walk with God is the Holy Spirit. He is the third person of the Trinity, and he is the One promised to us by Jesus before he left the world physically. His earthly assignment has been laid out; He is not just to validate my feelings, but to reveal God's mind to me so I can align and always be at the centre of God's will. He is the divine presence that helps man impact the earthly phase. If I will ever be of use to God, I need the Holy Spirit. There is no work of God that can be done without him, no matter the applause it generates or the recognition you get for it. There are quite a lot of functions the Holy Spirit performs, but today's extract only looks at a few of them.
Message and Response:
The first one today's extract speaks on is to help our infirmities. The best of us is weak. We build up physical muscles, but realise we do not really need them for the work that has eternal value. Physical exercise helps me keep fit and has some value for this present life but it has no place in my spiritual walk. I am weak; that is not negotiable. God knows my frame, and that is why he provides help from someone who is not limited by the human nature. He understands the things that make me weary, but is not limited by them.
How was Elijah able to tuck his clothes into his belt and outrun a whole chariot if he was not helped? How did 5 loaves of bread and 2 fishes feed over 5,000 people if God's hand was not on the food? How did Peter, a reed that denied Jesus 3 times a few days before, later preach a sermon where 3,000 people were saved, if God was not involved? There is nothing a mortal man can achieve in working for God, if he doesn't first have God working in him. It is my inner state that defines my outer impact. The natural man will always threaten to emerge, and its desires and priorities are always against what the Spirit wants. If I will please God, I have to find a way to keep the natural man and its desires under perpetual subjection.
One of the ways I keep my natural man under subjection is by prayer. I am telling God that I cannot run my life by myself; I need his help to be able to please him. Even when I pray, my own personal desires and dreams may seek priority over those of God. That is why I need the help of the Holy Spirit: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought. There is a what and a how. We ask for things to make us feel good, or to make us better than the other person, forgetting that in God's school, there is no superior or inferior person, just vessels. It is in prayer that I tell God I need his help. The Holy Spirit, because He is God, knows how to channel my desires to reflect God's perfect will. He makes sure that my heart seeks after that which glorifies and promotes God. There is no room for selfish desires or self-promotion. I lay my life down on the altar of God's service, asking him to deal with me as he pleases.
I tell myself to think very deeply about what this means before I desire it. The Spirit of God will not contend with me for control. He will offer me grace and help, and seek to show me what I stand to gain if I surrender all to him, but the decision to submit to him is mine alone to make. I will not turn around later on, and claim that I was forced. When I submit to the total control of the Holy Spirit, I get his full help, which is captured like this: He makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Interceding means standing in for someone else. Imagine then that God is already pleading your case; how would I not get what I need when it is God who is both pleading my case and also providing the answer? He does not stand aloof; he is involved in my daily life. He is not unaware of the times I live in; his help is always current, the ever-present help in trouble.
He knows and sees my tears. He knows and sees my secret troubles. He is able to identify with my weaknesses. He supplies all that I lack, and stands in when I am unable to. The help of the Holy Spirit is central to all that I can ever become in the hands of God. If I know God's mind when I pray, I will spend less time struggling with my desires. If I know what God wants me to do, where and how he wants it done, I am free from any sense of comparison or competition with anyone. It is a personal walk with God, as well as a personal dealing by the Holy Spirit. I ask God again to help me, so that I can be all that he can make me. His time of favour is here.
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