“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. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God” (Romans 8:26-27).
Sometimes students of the Bible must satisfy themselves with less information about a topic under scrutiny than they prefer. This is true about the intercession of the Holy Spirit. Little is recorded in Scripture respecting the intercessory ministry of the Spirit. Deuteronomy 29:29 advises us to search the things provided man by God and not tamper with or speculate about the rest. This attitude must be adopted regarding the intercession of the Holy Spirit. “The fact of the Spirit’s intercession is taught in the Bible. We may not know much more than the fact of it, but we may believe the word of God” (L’Roy 91). There are, though, certain points that can be extracted from the limited statement or deduced about the intercession of the Spirit. “(1) A mediator stands between two while an intercessor stands by one pleading to another. (2) A mediator represents both parties; the intercessor represents one” (L’Roy 91). “The Holy Spirit aids us in our infirmities (weakness)… we do not know what, or how, to pray as we ought… the Spirit makes intercession for us “with groanings which cannot be uttered’” (Woods 72). “This is not a work done in us nor upon us, but is something done for us before the throne of God” (Sweeney 135 emphasis added).
…this passage has no relevance to any discussion regarding the manner or mode of the Spirit’s indwelling in view of the fact that it deals with what the Spirit does for us, not to us, and describes an action which occurs in heaven, not on earth—an influence wrought upon God and not upon man! It is a gross perversion of this passage to cite it in support of any theory of “indwelling” of the Spirit. (Woods 72-73 emphasis added)
Putting Romans 8:26-27 in its proper perspective is essential to understanding it properly. “…it is not the Spirit, but the burdened Christian who groans, and these groans are by the Spirit borne to our heavenly Father and used by the Spirit as the instrument of intercession” (Woods 72). Surely, every child of God can relate to dire circumstances in life for which we lack adequate expression of our emotions. “Every man who is devoted to the Lord finds times when deep down in his heart there are vague desires and longings, and a sense of need, that he is unable to put in words. These are the groanings which cannot be uttered; these are the groanings which the Holy Spirit conveys to the Father in our prayers” (R.L. Whiteside from Annual Lesson Commentary for 1941 qtd. in Woods).
Grief, sorrow or distress may inhibit the full expression of ourselves in prayer for that for which we should pray. Through the intercession of the Spirit, those prayers are complemented and presented to God. However, the fact the Holy Spirit intercedes for saints in this way is not license for lazy or careless Christians to defer to the Spirit.
Works Cited
L’Roy, Elmer. The Holy Spirit. Shreveport: Lambert, 1966.
Sweeney, Z.T. The Spirit and the Word. Nashville: Gospel Advocate, n.d.
Woods, Guy N. Questions and Answers. Henderson: Freed-Hardeman College, 1976.
