Perfected Prayer

 

     The verses I want to share with you today are some of my favorite verses in the entire Bible. (Keep in mind I have many favorites) There are times we don’t know how or what to pray. We feel helpless in our struggles, hopeless in our suffering. God is there with us, in the midst of it, with His understanding and compassionate heart.

In 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. Romans 8:26

      What a beautiful picture of a loving God. He intercedes with wordless groans. Years ago we used this verse in a confirmation class. One girl said the Holy Spirit took her words to God and explained to Him exactly what she meant. I can’t think of a better way to interpret that verse. It gets better. Here are the next two verses:

And 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. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.  Romans 8:27-28

     Trust the Holy Spirit with your prayers, even when or especially when, you don’t know how to ask or what to say. He will bring your requests to the Father through the powerful name of Jesus and do His will. His perfect and pleasing will.  Jesus is not Santa Claus, giving us what we want. He provides what we need.

     Notice in the verses above the words, “in accordance with the will of God” and “called according to His purpose.” He works all things together for good for us as we trust Him to know what we need most. Sometimes in the midst of our greatest suffering, in our times of despair and unanswered questions, we meet Him in intimate ways. We learn to lean on and learn from our Father in heaven.

     Allow the Holy Spirit to perfect your prayers and bring them to God as He groans along with us, as He understands the deepest parts of our hearts.

Dear Father,

The Holy Spirit sits with us through our darkest hours and in our highest highs and everything in between, sifting our prayers and bringing them to You through Jesus. We can’t see it with our earthly eyes, we can’t hear it with our earthly ears, and we don’t know what to say with our earthly lips. But as we lift up our prayers, they rise as incense to the throne room and heaven sees, hears and shouts for joy at each one.

In Jesus name

Amen