Watch as Ray David opens Romans 8:26-28, and shows us the abounding grace of the Gospel.
Help in your Weakness
The Apostle Paul knows, that during this period, where we are eagerly waiting with hope for the revealing of the glory of God, there will be times of great weakness. Times of weariness, where you will be battle-worn. But God does not abandon you to your own weakness. In the face of your own frailty, the Spirit of God helps you in your weakness. Treasure this fact. Hold it in your heart. Think about it during the course of your week.
These verses are for those who have come to the end of their rope. It is for those who are abundantly aware of their weakness. This passage tells us, that in those times, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. The Spirit of God Himself, in your weakness, will come alongside you and join with you in bearing your burdens. God in you, bears your burdens with you. Your burdens are not for you to carry alone.
He Prays Through You
Prayer is the resource God has given us in the face of our own weakness. Prayer is access to the heavenly throne room; opportunity for us to come before the God of the Universe, who created everything and sustains it all, and who has never slept or slumbered. We can come into the heavenly throne room, not just as beggars, but as sons of God – as heirs with Jesus. When we come to God in prayer, we have as much right to be before the throne room of God as Jesus Himself.
A Changed Heart and Mind
Christians all know that they should pray more. This fact often leads to guilt and shame. But in fact ‘should’ has never been a good motivation for anything. What we actually need is a conversion, a change of heart and mind, where prayer goes from something we should do, to something we long to do. Where we just can’t get enough time in God’s presence – where prayer goes from a last-resort, to a first course of action in our weakness. A changed heart and mind says, ‘there’s no one on earth that can get between me and my Father in prayer. There is nothing in my life that can come between me, my Father, and my inheritance. Sin, disappointments, guilt or shame – nothing is going to keep me from coming to God in prayer.’
A Passion for Prayer
How do you get there? From my experience, the best way to come to a passion for prayer is to pray with other Christians. It’s really hard to come to a passion for prayer on your own.
When you start praying from a place of passion you’ll find that it’s actually not your prayer that really matters – what matters is that the Spirit of God is praying through you in your weakness. God prays through you and for you.
Without Words
When you find yourself in a place of complete desperation, you may run out of words to pray. You won’t know how to pray, but in those moments you will discover a depth of comfort, peace, and care that you could have never known before. You will feel a source of hope and strength that you can’t put into words. In those moments, the Spirit of God will pray through you and for you. Your help in weakness is not found in your own strength – it’s not even found in your own ability to pray. Your strength and help in weakness is found in the Spirit of God, who joins alongside you, bearing your burdens and praying through you.
When you are too weak and you fail to pray, know this – that in Gethsemane, as one of His last acts on earth, the King of the Universe prayed for you. In John 17:20, Jesus prays for all of those who will come to believe. He prayed for you. He prayed that you would believe, that in believing you would have life, and that you would persevere to the end. If you’re too weak to pray for yourself, remember that Jesus prayed for you in Gethsemane.
He Prays For You
Right now the Spirit of God is interceding for you. When you are too weak to pray, God prays for you. What is He praying? Romans 8:27 tells us. He is praying that you would know the will of God. That in the face of tragedy, brokenness and bad news you would know that God has a plan. He has it in hand, whatever ‘it’ is. He has a plan for you. You are not subject to your circumstance – your circumstance is subject to your Good God. The Holy Spirit is praying that you would trust the will of God.
The Great Hope
This is the will of God, that the Spirit is praying for you to know –
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28
Knowing this truth from Romans 8:28 will be a source of strength that is far greater than whatever weakness you’re experiencing. He is working together all things for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purposes. All things? What about my bad diagnosis? What about my marital strife? What about my present tragedy? All things. God is working all things for those who he calls.
His Work
If you read the passage closely, this promise is not predicated on your unwavering love for God. The promise is for those who love him because they have been called according to His purpose. You love because you have been called. God is working everything out for good for every single person He has called. It’s His work, not yours.
God’s Will For You
Here’s God’s will revealed for us from Romans 8 – that there would be no condemnation for us even in the face of our weakness (Rom 8:1). That there would be no fear (Rom 8:15). That there would be no separation from Himself (Rom 8:39), even in the midst of our greatest losses. And it’s all His work – your love for Him is in response.
All Things
God is working all things together for your good. We all really need to know this. We need the Spirit to intercede for us, so that we grasp this truth. Each and every one of us will come to a place in our lives where this promise is all we have. And in that moment you will find that this promise is all you need. Someday, every one of us will face tragedy and loss. Someday, you will stand at the grave of a loved-one. Someday, the doctor will tell you that you have weeks, days, hours to live. And everything in you will cry out and say that this is not good – this is not fair. But in that moment the Spirit of God will pray for you and through you and flood your soul with an unshakable confidence in God’s good will. In that moment you will know that all things work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose.
