The Holy Spirit intercedes for us

Romans 8:26-27 (NIV)

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. 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.

Christians agree that prayer is a necessary discipline of a dedicated Christian life.  Yet, most of us struggle in how to pray and what to pray for.  We often don’t know what words to use or exactly what we should be specifically praying for.  For example, how do you pray for someone close to you or even someone not so close who is seriously sick?  What words do you use to express exactly how you feel for that person and what you hope that God will do?  And, if you are asked to pray publicly, your stress level significantly increases, as you want to say the right words, yet don’t really know what to say.  And because of these struggles, many Christians do not pray as much or as fervently as we should and certainly avoid public prayer.  Be honest, how much time do you pray each day?  How difficult is it to pray specifically for prayer concerns you know exist around you?  Do you like or dread praying in the presence of others? 

This passage addresses these struggles of knowing how to pray and what to pray for.  The verse starts “in the same way” where Paul is referring to the groaning of creation that started when Adam and Eve committed original sin that, in turn, caused groaning of humankind because of God’s penalty for sin.  We groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for eternal reunification with our Creator and the ultimate redemption of our bodies to incorruptible and eternal bodies. 

The Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness.  Oh my, we know that we are weak in so many ways—physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  Yet, the weakness Paul is referring to here is our weakness in knowing intellectually what to ask God as we pray.  I have already indicated one area of weakness in knowing how to pray for someone to be healed when we know that death eventually occurs for everyone.  How do you pray for needs versus wants, especially in the use of your finances?  How do you pray for someone when you are not exactly sure what he/she is going through?  How do you pray for wisdom to make right decisions?   Indeed, the main concern in many of your prayers is saying the right words for something to happen or not happen in the future of which you have no control over.

The beauty of the promise of this passage is that the Holy Spirit will intercede for you to pray the right words.  To intercede means to speak and/or do on your behalf.   The Holy Spirit will interpret what is in your heart that words many times cannot describe.  You don’t need to worry about what words to say.  Many times, I have prayed something like, “Lord you know what the situation is with (provide person’s name) and you know what I am trying to say but don’t know how”.  The groaning that the Holy Spirit provides may not be words at all.  Think about it……..does God really hear your words in English or whatever your language is?  The Holy Spirit in you takes your words and the thoughts of your heart and translates those words/thoughts into some kind of prayer language that God understands.

Note also that the Holy Spirit prays in accordance to God’s will so you don’t need to worry about this.  Often you need to make a decision and want it to be the right decision (within God’s will) but you don’t know how to pray effectively for that right decision.  Don’t worry about it; the Holy Spirit takes care of this for you.   He knows God’s plan for your life and knows what needs to be done in order for that plan to be carried out.

God knows that you have limited capabilities and perspective about your future and the future of those for whom you are praying.  Yet you are to pray and with your prayers the Holy Spirit augments or supplements what you are saying or even thinking and properly interprets those prayers to God.  The purpose of prayer is to communicate with our Father in Heaven and for your will to conform to His will.  Prayer changes you with the Holy Spirit helping to make this happen.  God loves to answer prayer, but according to His will and His timing.  You do not need to worry about how to pray or what to pray for, but simply to open your heart to the Lord and through His Spirit in you and interceding for you, your prayers will be heard.  This is why, after you pray, you always feel so much better.  What you may not have known until studying these verses is that everything you pray about is being augmented, supplemented and presented by the Holy Spirit.

May you feel great blessings from now on as you pray knowing that you have a spiritual helper who intercedes on your behalf to allow what is really on your heart to be clearly and effectively communicated to almighty God.

Sleep in peace

Psalm 4:8 (NASB)

I will lie down and sleep in peace, for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

Sleep in peace.......how many adults in this world sleep in peace?  Insomnia and other sleep disorders affect over one-half of the United States adult population.  There are a variety of reasons for insomnia and sleep disorders, but a major reason is a hyperactive mind caused by excessive responsibilities and activities…….plus a mind burdened by fear and worry. 

Why can the Psalmist say that he can lie down and sleep in peace?  Because the Lord enables him to dwell in safety.  How can the Lord do this?  Because the Bible is clear that the Lord is the three “big Os”— omniscient (all knowing, Psalm 147:5, Romans 11:33), omnipresent (present everywhere, Psalm 139:7-12), and omnipotent (all powerful, Matthew 19:26, Jeremiah 32:17, 27).  The Lord has the power to make anything happen, including allowing His children to dwell in safety.

What other passage of Scripture does this verse remind you of?  The 23^rd Psalm.  Psalm 23:2-3:  “He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me besides still waters, He restores my soul……”.  What does the last verse of Psalm 23 say?  “And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” (23:6).  Dwelling in the house of the Lord is a dwelling of safety.  We are divinely guided and protected when we put our faith and trust in the Lord and Him alone.

Living for Christ, dying is even better

Philippians 1:21, 24 (NLT)

For to me, living means living for Christ and dying is even better……But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live.

 

Paul summarizes his faith here by stating that as long as he lives, he lives for the purpose of glorifying Christ, yet his greater desire is to leave this world and be home with Christ.  He is still living because God wants him to fulfill a ministry of spreading the gospel and then God will bring him home and have someone else continue that role.  That someone else is not just one person, but every person Paul’s ministry affects. 

Billy Graham’s article in the Indianapolis Star on April 25, 2009, touched on this verse.  He was asked by a Christian person if it is wrong to hate thinking about death.  Graham’s answers included the following points:

·  God does not want you to be morbid or constantly burdened with the thoughts of death.

·  He wants you to rejoice with all the good gifts He has given you until the moment that He calls you home.

·  You must not live only for the moment or ignore death.  Life is short and the longer you live, the more you realize how quickly it passes. 

·  Eternity is forever and now is the time to prepare for it.  That is why the most important decision any person needs to make is to accept the salvation that God offers through Jesus Christ.

·  If you know Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord, you don’t need to fear death. 

·  You want your family to remember you after you are gone not only your love for them, but also your love for Jesus.

The purpose for your life is to live for Christ so that when you die, you leave behind people who will remember you for what you did for them and for the Lord.  There is a haunting scene at the end of the Jack Nicholson movie, “About Schmidt” where a voiceover says that when he dies and his immediate family die, no one will ever know that he ever lived.  Don’t live your life in such a way where that could be true for you.  Memories about you and your legacy won’t be what you did for yourself.  The primary desire/goal of your life is to be motivated by what you can do to serve and help others.  And because you are doing so, you are fulfilling the purpose for which the Lord called you.  And because you are fulfilling His purpose for your life, you never need to fear death.

Two greatest commandments

Matthew 22:36-39 (LB)

“Which is the most important command?” Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment. The second most important is similar: Love your neighbor as much as you love yourself.”

This question to Jesus, like many other questions He was asked, was an attempt to cause Him to stumble.  Note that this lawyer asked Jesus a question “to test Him” (verse 35).  The motive of this lawyer’s question likely was more egotistical to show that he could embarrass Jesus rather than a sincere question to learn from the answer.  Someone has determined that there are 613 commandments in Jewish Law so this lawyer thought that he could entrap Jesus by forcing Him to select just one that would give the crowd reasons to dispute, even laugh, at Jesus.

Jesus’ answer actually quotes the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 6:5 about loving God and Leviticus 19:18 about loving your neighbor).  In loving God first, you must love Him

·  with all your heart (your desires and affections)

·  with all your soul (your spiritual nature)

·  with all your mind (your intellect)

In loving your neighbor, you must love him/her

·  with agape love, the highest form of love

·  always have his/her best interests at heart

·  no more, but no less than you love yourself

What does it mean to love the Lord your God?  There is a direct relationship between loving God and keeping His commandments (John 14:21 and 23).  Did you know that the first four commandments of the Ten Commandments focus on the proper love of God and the other six commandments focus on the proper love of your neighbor?  So to love the Lord your God means that you obey the first four commandments:

1.  We should love, honor and respect Him so much that He alone is the supreme authority and model in your life.  Is there anything (work, money, sports, pleasure, interests, etc) or anyone (friend, family member, teacher, employer, etc) preventing you from serving and obeying Him?

2.  Are you sharing your love for God equally or more with anyone else, especially meaningless idols (work, money, other people, etc)?  How are you worshipping Him?  Are you spending more time with and money on other idols than God?  

3.  Do you respect God and not use His name in vain?  How is your speech, your attitude and your behavior toward God?  Do others see in you your respect for and honor of God?  Do you misuse His name in any way? 

4.  Do you remember the Sabbath?  Do you take one day a week and rest from what you do the other six days of the week?  Do you take special time to love and worship God?  Do you ignore the Sabbath?

The remaining six commandments focus on your love for your neighbor (see also Romans 13:8-10).  These commandments focus on standards of conduct toward individuals, families, and society:

5.     Do you respect your parents?  If you do not have parents (death, divorce) or their wickedness does not allow you to respect one or both, how well do you submit to authority, how well do you listen to mentors in your life? 

6.     Do you respect other human beings?  Our next devotional will focus on this commandment that you love and not hate others, even those who might hate you. 

7.     Is there any kind of sexual immorality in your life?  While this commandment speaks of adultery, it is also speaking about all human relationships.  However, the main thrust is that there must be no sexual relationship outside of a marriage.

8.     Do you love and respect others by not stealing what belongs to others?  Is there any cheating in your life?  Is there any dishonesty in your life?  Is there more generosity than greed in your life?

9.     To love others means that you never deceive them or lie to them.  Telling the truth is emphasized so much in the Bible.  Do you have any problem with lying or telling partial truths, or deceiving anyone?   

10.  The sin of covetousness is bad because it leads to greater sin.  Do you covet something that is not yours?  Do you rejoice or feel sorry for yourself when you see others blessed or prosper?  The sin of coveting is both a sin of the heart and sin of the mind.  All relationships you have with others should be focused on rejoicing for them, not coveting what they have.     

Think through all these qualities of loving God and loving others.  Where are you strong?  Where are you weak?  What help do you need from God and from others to help you overcome your weaknesses?  Praise God for His blessings to you for the areas of love where you are strong and following His commandments.