Key Truth: The Holy Spirit intercedes in prayer on behalf of the saints as evidence of God’s sovereignty and faithfulness to bring to glorious fulfillment the redemptive work that He began.

Introduction:

Q: What comes to your mind when the topic of prayer comes up? Are you immediately encouraged or discouraged?

“It is easy to become discouraged in our praying, for we are conscious that we do it so badly. But here, too, we are not left to our own devices. The Spirit intercedes for us.”
Leon Morris, The Epistle to the Romans

Text: The Holy Spirit Prays:

8:26-27: The Holy Spirit Helps and Intercedes in Prayer According to God’s Will:

“Well might the sun grow dark or the universe turn into chaos, but this one thing you can know for sure: The Holy Spirit is interceding before God’s throne on your behalf, and He will not fail in His work of intercession.”
Francis A. Schaeffer, The Finished Work of Christ: The Truth of Romans 1-8

Q: What is God’s will for His children? Do you find any comfort in knowing that the Spirit is working according to this reality?

8:28-30: Working Together for Good in the Fullness of Salvation:

“The ‘good’ of which Paul spoke is not necessarily what we think is best, but as the following verse implies, the good is conformity to the likeness of Christ. With this in mind it is easier to see how our difficulties are part of God’s total plan for changing us from what we are by nature to what he intends us to be.”
Robert H. Mounce, Romans

“God’s love is not passive emotion; it is active volition and it moves determinatively to nothing less than the highest goal for his adopted children, conformity to the image of the only-begotten Son.”
John Murray, The Epistle to the Romans

Q: What are some difficult circumstances in your life that God has used to further shape you into the image of Christ for your good? What was your prayer life like during these times? Did you consider the Spirit’s prayerful intercession on your behalf?

Application:

“(W)e must not lose sight of Paul’s main point, namely, to assure believers that God has a plan he is unfolding, one that provides fully for our future glory. He wants us to come away from this text not with theological questions but with a renewed sense of assurance: that the God who began a good work in us will indeed bring it to completion in the day of Christ Jesus.”
Douglas J. Moo, The NIV Application Commentary: Romans

The Holy Spirit interceding on our behalf in prayer means that:

-we are weak and will often not know what to pray

-God in His sovereign and loving provision provides the Spirit to redemptively intercede

-God will bring to glorious fulfillment the good work that He started in His children according to His will, plan, and provision

Q: How might this truth affect you in future situations where you find yourself struggling to pray or see how it could turn out for any good purpose?

Benediction: Romans 15:13