Romans 8:26-27 “Pray-ers?”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

²⁶but in the same way also the Spirit helps in our weakness, for we do not know what we should pray for as it is necessary, but the Spirit Himself intercedes on our behalf with groans unspoken, ²⁷but the One searching the heart knows what [is] the mind of the Spirit because He intercedes in accordance with God in behalf of [the] saints.

This is, of course, a wonderful passage of Scripture. It starts with something like, “in the same way,” or “likewise.” The question is asked, “In the same way as what? What is this referring back to?” Many suggestions are offered, but I think it is simply the “hope” which has been being discussed in the previous two verses. In support of this, I like what Charles Simeon (ca.1800) said:

“Hope of eternal happiness is as an anchor to the troubled soul; it enables a person to bear up under the heaviest afflictions; but the mind of a believer would soon faint, if it were not strengthened from above. God therefore communicates his Spirit to His people under their trials. By His Spirit He enables them to go forward in the way of duty. St. Paul has been speaking of sufferings as the Christian’s portion here [Note: ver. 17, 18.]. He has mentioned “hope” as a principal support to the soul under them [Note: ver. 24.]. He now specifies the Holy Spirit’s agency as another means of confirming and establishing the soul.”

I agree with Simeon. Hope is a wonderful thing, but, if that was all we had, we would no doubt fail completely under our troubles. The Lord “knows our frame, that we are but dust,” and “pities His children.” Therefore, the risen Jesus sent to us His Spirit. We probably have no idea just how much of our “successes” are actually His power sustaining us! Simeon adds, “There is no trial so small but it would overcome us, if we were left to ourselves; and they who have endured heavy trials, often faint under small ones.” We need hope, but we also need His Spirit. As the father replied to Jesus, “Lord, I do believe; help my unbelief!”

And so, God sends His Spirit to help the weakness of His people. This is underscored in the next few words, “In the same way, the Spirit helps us with our weakness…” The word translated “helps” is actually what we might call a “together” word. It pictures two people carrying the opposite ends of a heavy log or the wounded soldier being helped by his friend to make it back to camp. The older I get, it seems the more often my mind would tell me, “I can’t do this.” Actually that has always been the case, I just couldn’t see it when I had endless energy, a strong back, and a sharp mind. I suppose, when we’re young, it would take a lot of humility to truly recognize our “weakness.” Take away the strengths of youth, and it seems to become a constant refrain in our heads, “I can’t do this.”

Of course what we all, young or old, need to recognize is that it is true. We can’t. Jesus warned us, “Without Me, you can do nothing” (John 15:5). He wasn’t wasting His breath when He said that. Our hope, though, is that He gave us His Spirit for exactly this reason. I can’t, but if I’ll just try, He picks up “the other end of the log,” so to speak, and suddenly we’re looking back realizing, “But I did!”

Realizing that, my mind goes immediately to prayer! How much more I need to pray over everything I do! Then notice, what is exactly the weakness being addressed in the two verses before us? “We don’t know how to pray for what we ought”! We aren’t even good pray-ers!

Before I think more about that, I want to notice the profound beauty of these simple words, “The Spirit helps us in our weakness.” The whole world imagines God to be a vindictive, angry bully who sits in heaven disgusted at us all and always ready to throw a lightning bolt at our failures. Yet look again at these simple words, “The Spirit helps us in our weakness.” He does what? Helps us. Now, it is true that our “weakness” is contemptible. God created us perfect and yet where does He find us? Filthy, dirty, emaciated, rotten remnants of His perfect creation. Yet what does this verse say is His response to our wretchedness and failure? He sends His Spirit to help us in that very weakness! He sent His Son “not to condemn the world, but that world might be saved through Him” (Jn. 3:17). It is an enormous comfort, of which we need constantly to be reminded, that our Father loves us! What about our “weakness”? Rather than being disgusted by it, He helps us in it

Now back to this matter of prayer. How crazy is it that we aren’t even good pray-ers? You would think the simplest undertaking of our existence would be to shoot up prayers to God. Yet what do we find here in Romans 8:26,27? Our prayer is the very weakness being considered! And what does it tell us? “We do not know how to pray for what we ought.” Sometimes we think we do know what we’re praying about, but, on the other hand, it seems the older I get, the more aware I am that I “darken counsel without knowledge.” What I mean is that I am more and more aware that God is running the universe and doing a good job of it! The fact is I don’t know what He's up to, I don’t know why things are happening or how He will make them all work together in His great eternal plan.

It leaves me feeling like Job, wanting to simply say, “I put my hand over my mouth … Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.” And yet, He is the very One who calls me to prayer: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Phil. 4:6). He tells us that “the prayers of the upright are His delight” (Prov. 15:8). The ministry of the Holy Spirit is the key to all of this. Our passage tells us “the Spirit Himself intercedes for us.” I am a lousy pray-er, but I have Someone who picks up the other end and lifts my feeble, ignorant prayers to God!

What a tremendous encouragement it is to know that, even as I pray deeply aware of my foolishness, those prayers do make it to the Father and, in fact, they are His delight! I guess I just want to appreciate more that this is possible only because of the Holy Spirit in me.