Read Verses: Romans 8:22-27
Key Verse: We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.
If you are like me, or like most people in fact, you struggle in prayer. It's not that you really struggle with the words, or with God...prayer itself is a mystery. You hears other people say "God said this to me" or "God told me to..." And you wonder, why doesn't God say that to me. Or we meditate on God's will and we just aren't sure what God wants us to do. It all seems so trite sometimes. We get lost in the feeling that prayer just doesn't do anything. Or maybe it would, but I don't know how to do it right. It all comes down to "discouragement". Sometimes prayer discourages us because it just seems to be fruitless and unjoyful (had to make that word up just for the experience of struggling in prayer).
Now sometimes, its not a problem with prayer...it's a problem with our expectations. We want to hear God like we do a preacher on Sunday mornings. We want a prayer experience with God that gets rid of all the doubts we have. Don't we? We want prayer to be our secret door into the garden of God where we can find assurances of His reality. In prayer, we want all our questions answered, our doubts removed, our fears relieved. We want clarity of purpose, clarity of His will, clarity of mind and spirit. We are really looking for an out of this world experience in prayer which lifts us up and gives us a mystical proof for God. And when prayer isn't that supremely mystical experience, when our prayers are met by the silence of faith. We wonder "Why pray." Are our expectations of what prayer really is too "spiritual"?
Well, be discouraged no longer. I know, that's easy to say...but this passage was designed by Paul through the Holy Spirit to teach us a great truth about prayer...it works, but not the way we think it does. We come to God in prayer "discouraged". Our hearts are groaning, experiencing the pain of not knowing his will completely or perfectly. We have doubts, the future is cloudy. We aren't sure what God really wants from us. We aren't used to living by faith day in and day out without a nice "scooby snack" once in a while. BUT, WE CAN BE. The Holy Spirit hears our heart...he hears all the groaning we do as we wrestle with the uncertainties of growing as a Christian. And the Spirit takes all of our mis-information and yearnings and desires and puts them on the potters wheel. He spins all that clay into a beautiful prayer to the Father...he knows what you need before you ask. And the Holy Spirit himself takes it all and prays for you on your behalf. Every time you pray, the Holy Spirit unscrambles it, readjusts it, re-purposes it just for your life. Your prayer does something, and you might not even be aware what it is. One commentator says this: "Paul is saying … that our failure to know God’s will and consequent inability to petition God specifically and assuredly is met by God’s Spirit, who himself expresses to God those intercessory petitions that perfectly match the will of God. When we do not know what to pray for—yes, even when we pray for things that are not best for us—we need not despair, for we can depend on the Spirit’s ministry of perfect intercession “on our behalf.”..."
Now I don't know about you, but I really really really am thankful that the Holy Spirit is constantly praying with me sorting out my mistakes as we pray. He's like the perfect editor...he listens to what we say, fixes the grammar, adds some edits and extra notes...and takes the finished copy to the Father and says..."Here is what we are asking for."
Prayer does some marvelous things. Don't cease praying for we always have a helper who is filling in when you are weak. We benefit from His ministry when we take time out of our day to go to God and say "I don't know what I need today, but you do Abba Father...listen to my heart." I once was at the bedside of my mother as she lay dying. I really stink at prayer, so no fancy words came out, just a simple prayer that went something like this..."Lord you know how much I love my mother, save her, I'm not ready for that kind of grief today, have mercy on me." Now, I don't know what God heard, but that night He basically brought my mother back from the dead. Her organs started functioning again, her blood cleared up. Her skin which had long turned black and splotchy because pink again. A miracle happened overnight...The Holy Spirit had used someone's prayer and a miracle occurred. God is that awesome. He knows what we need, and if we'd spend time in prayer, even asking for stupid things...he'll even fix our prayer and do something wonderful. Do you believe?
Prayer is a supernatural dose of a mystical experience that goes beyond human limitation to describe and put into words...perhaps we have to grow more before we really understand. But, trust God to grow you as you continue to do what you "ALREADY KNOW TO BE HIS WILL....PRAY"
Heavenly Father, I won't even try to put this prayer into words...you know what is on each of our hearts today...Holy Spirit, mold our prayer into a masterpiece of Your choosing. For each of us, listen to our hearts and begin providing what we are really needing today, and everyday. AMEN
Key Verse: We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.
If you are like me, or like most people in fact, you struggle in prayer. It's not that you really struggle with the words, or with God...prayer itself is a mystery. You hears other people say "God said this to me" or "God told me to..." And you wonder, why doesn't God say that to me. Or we meditate on God's will and we just aren't sure what God wants us to do. It all seems so trite sometimes. We get lost in the feeling that prayer just doesn't do anything. Or maybe it would, but I don't know how to do it right. It all comes down to "discouragement". Sometimes prayer discourages us because it just seems to be fruitless and unjoyful (had to make that word up just for the experience of struggling in prayer).
Now sometimes, its not a problem with prayer...it's a problem with our expectations. We want to hear God like we do a preacher on Sunday mornings. We want a prayer experience with God that gets rid of all the doubts we have. Don't we? We want prayer to be our secret door into the garden of God where we can find assurances of His reality. In prayer, we want all our questions answered, our doubts removed, our fears relieved. We want clarity of purpose, clarity of His will, clarity of mind and spirit. We are really looking for an out of this world experience in prayer which lifts us up and gives us a mystical proof for God. And when prayer isn't that supremely mystical experience, when our prayers are met by the silence of faith. We wonder "Why pray." Are our expectations of what prayer really is too "spiritual"?
Well, be discouraged no longer. I know, that's easy to say...but this passage was designed by Paul through the Holy Spirit to teach us a great truth about prayer...it works, but not the way we think it does. We come to God in prayer "discouraged". Our hearts are groaning, experiencing the pain of not knowing his will completely or perfectly. We have doubts, the future is cloudy. We aren't sure what God really wants from us. We aren't used to living by faith day in and day out without a nice "scooby snack" once in a while. BUT, WE CAN BE. The Holy Spirit hears our heart...he hears all the groaning we do as we wrestle with the uncertainties of growing as a Christian. And the Spirit takes all of our mis-information and yearnings and desires and puts them on the potters wheel. He spins all that clay into a beautiful prayer to the Father...he knows what you need before you ask. And the Holy Spirit himself takes it all and prays for you on your behalf. Every time you pray, the Holy Spirit unscrambles it, readjusts it, re-purposes it just for your life. Your prayer does something, and you might not even be aware what it is. One commentator says this: "Paul is saying … that our failure to know God’s will and consequent inability to petition God specifically and assuredly is met by God’s Spirit, who himself expresses to God those intercessory petitions that perfectly match the will of God. When we do not know what to pray for—yes, even when we pray for things that are not best for us—we need not despair, for we can depend on the Spirit’s ministry of perfect intercession “on our behalf.”..."
Now I don't know about you, but I really really really am thankful that the Holy Spirit is constantly praying with me sorting out my mistakes as we pray. He's like the perfect editor...he listens to what we say, fixes the grammar, adds some edits and extra notes...and takes the finished copy to the Father and says..."Here is what we are asking for."
Prayer does some marvelous things. Don't cease praying for we always have a helper who is filling in when you are weak. We benefit from His ministry when we take time out of our day to go to God and say "I don't know what I need today, but you do Abba Father...listen to my heart." I once was at the bedside of my mother as she lay dying. I really stink at prayer, so no fancy words came out, just a simple prayer that went something like this..."Lord you know how much I love my mother, save her, I'm not ready for that kind of grief today, have mercy on me." Now, I don't know what God heard, but that night He basically brought my mother back from the dead. Her organs started functioning again, her blood cleared up. Her skin which had long turned black and splotchy because pink again. A miracle happened overnight...The Holy Spirit had used someone's prayer and a miracle occurred. God is that awesome. He knows what we need, and if we'd spend time in prayer, even asking for stupid things...he'll even fix our prayer and do something wonderful. Do you believe?
Prayer is a supernatural dose of a mystical experience that goes beyond human limitation to describe and put into words...perhaps we have to grow more before we really understand. But, trust God to grow you as you continue to do what you "ALREADY KNOW TO BE HIS WILL....PRAY"
Heavenly Father, I won't even try to put this prayer into words...you know what is on each of our hearts today...Holy Spirit, mold our prayer into a masterpiece of Your choosing. For each of us, listen to our hearts and begin providing what we are really needing today, and everyday. AMEN
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