Not Home Yet: The Spirit Groans

“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)

We ended last’s weeks devo’s on a kind of down – but honest – note: We will experience frustration and pain until the Day that we finally stand in God’s presence in eternity. For now, we wait and hope.

nothome_350But we do not wait alone. And we do not struggle on in our own puny weakness. Nothing is the same as it was before we knew Jesus. We’ll keep reading Romans 8 this week and notice how God has turned our lives inside out, how he provides everything we need as we look forward to the Day.

For starters, the Spirit talks to the Father for us. All of creation groans. We groan. And the Spirit groans for us, making the case for us, making up for the fact that we don’t know the words or how to say them. It’s as if God has installed himself in our hearts to send himself messages from us about exactly what we need. (Kind of.)

Think: Have you ever felt frustrated because you didn’t know how to pray, what to say to God about your circumstances? Does knowing that the Spirit intercedes for us in those moments help?

Pray: Thank God that the Spirit intercedes for you with groans that words can’t express, even when you don’t how to pray.

Do: Pay attention to your prayers this week and believe that when you run out of the right words the Spirit is communicating exactly the right things to God.