Yesterday in worship we looked at Paul’s 8th chapter of Romans. This chapter is called “the Bible in a nutshell.” In it we find the heart and soul of God’s message to us of hope and victory in Jesus Christ.
In particular, Paul states his claim in these verses that prayer is essential in our relationship with God and each other. Prayer in the name of Jesus can be a challenge for us, though. I mean, who are we to approach the mighty throne of God? Yet, Paul tells us the good news that the Holy Spirit is there to help us appeal to God. We don’t have to fully explain or comprehend prayer in order for us to pray. The Holy Spirit teaches us, and emboldens us, and substitutes our inadequate utterances with “sighs too deep for words.”
Our primary way of experiencing Holy Spirit-induced communication with God is through prayer. Without this helpful, evocative, revealing Holy Spirit we are at complete loss for how to speak with God.
Sometimes in prayer we find that we do not get what we want out of God, but it’s the opposite…God gets what God wants out of us! I think of all those instances when people have told me what they prayed for actually fell short of what God delivered. It was a surprise to them that their cries for answers were superseded with assurances of hope and salvation. The Holy Spirit, said Paul, assists us to listen to our God who so desperately wants to speak to us. Isn’t it wonderful to know that God loves us enough to never leave us on our own? Peace, Pastor Gary
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