WEEK 4:  DEVOTIONAL ON PRAYER

“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 with groans that words cannot express.” Romans 8:26

God hears and understands the prayers that are too deep to be expressed within the confines of man’s limited vocabulary. Prayer is not restricted by my ability to put into words the things that rest on my heart or stir deep within my soul. Prayer depends on God’s ability to hear, not my ability to speak. James Montgomery expresses it well in this poem.

“Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire,
Uttered or unexpressed,
The motion of a hidden fire
That trembles in the breast.

Prayer is the burden of a sigh,
The falling of a tear.
The upward glancing of an eye,
When none but God is near.”
James Montgomery

I have a helper in prayer who understands my limitations and weaknesses. The Greek tense here reveals that the Holy Spirit is continually and constantly at work on my behalf. My weaknesses become the arena for the divine work of the Holy Spirit. The supernatural work of God is not limited to human understanding or expression. My narrow understanding of His will does not hinder the working out of His perfect will.

God’s answers to prayer are not limited by my ability to pray, for the Holy Spirit intercedes.  It is the Spirit that prays here, not the Spirit-empowered believer who intercedes to the Father. God is not absent in the life of His children. There is nowhere that God is more present than in the weaknesses of His children. My weakness becomes an opportunity to experience His strength through the Spirit’s work in prayer.