Romans 8:26

Romans 8:26

Romans 8:26-27 says, "Likewise the spirit also helps our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the spirit itself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searches the hearts knows what is the mind of the spirit; because he makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God."

When we come to know Jesus Christ as our Savior, we are given the Holy Spirit who abides within us. There are many advantages to having the Holy Spirit within us. We have the advantage of having the leading of the Spirit. We do not have to go our own way and suffer the consequences. We can go God’s way because "As many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God."

Also, because we have the Spirit of Christ within us, He gives us assurance that we are the children of God. This is not a small benefit when you consider that we live in a world that can be full of so many sources of insecurity and anxiety. Jesus told us that He would not leave us comfortless. The Comforter has come and He dwells within us. Because of the Spirit within us, we can look to God with confidence and call Him "Father" knowing that we enjoy all the benefits of having such an all-powerful and all-loving Father.

Another benefit of having the Spirit of God within us is in regard to prayer. Prayer is more than just talking to God: it is communicating with God, and a very important part of that communication involves something that goes much deeper than words. Humans are not very good at praying. Praying does not come naturally. The disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray. One of the natural weaknesses of mankind is the inability to communicate with God the way that is needed: with an intimate and meaningful and close communication. If you have the Spirit of God within you, you will have the assistance that you need in regard to this weakness and inability of yours to be able to pray as you really need to. Romans 8:26 says that the Spirit helps our infirmities.

If you really think about it, there is no way that anyone could pray about all the things that he really needs to have God do for him. We need God’s involvement in every detail of our lives, and the lives of others around us. We need His sustaining power at every beat of our heart, and every breath that we take. We do not usually pray about these mundane things or countless other things; yet He is at work in them. Even in other things that we do pray about, we do not really know what is best. That is one of the reasons that we sometimes do not get what we ask for. God is not some genie, who is there to give to us based upon our every whim and desire. All that we can really do is to ask for God’s will. That is one of the things that Jesus said should make up our prayers: the request "thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." You may find your prayers to be much more in line with the Spirit of God if, instead of asking for things to be done the way that you think they should, you ask for God’s will only. Then when things are over, you thank God for how He chose to let things happen. You would then spend more time thanking God and less time wishing that things would happen your way.

There is an element to the most spiritual prayers that does not involve words or the speaking of words. That is why verse 26 says that the Spirit makes intercession for us with sighings that cannot be spoken. More than anything else prayer is an attitude that you have towards God. Everything that you do can be a prayer. You can pray without even speaking. As a matter of fact some prayers that are vocalized are not even prayers at all. Prayers that are simply the rote recitation of memorized and repeated words are usually not prayers. Jesus said that we should not use vain repetitions when we pray. Some prayers that are said in public are not prayers, because the person that is praying knows that humans hear what is said, and therefore what is said is altered for the sake of the humans, knowing that they hear what is said. If the words are not meant for God and God alone, then they are not prayer. Jesus said that such a failure in prayer could be avoided by making sure that we pray in secret.

Prayer symbolizes the bringing of our hopes and our dreams into the presence of God. Sometimes in the sphere of human endeavors, the petitions of one party are presented to another party by an intermediary. That is one of the things that the Holy Spirit does for us. The Bible says in both Romans 8:26 and 27 that the Spirit makes intercession for us. We do not always pray about all the things that we should, and we are not even aware of all of the dangers and difficulties in which we constantly require assistance from God. But the Holy Spirit knows, and He makes intercession for us.

Jesus said to the disciples, "Whatsoever you shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you." This is not a statement in which Jesus meant to imply that God the Father would give us whatever we want. To ask for something in the name of Jesus means much more than to simply mention the name of Jesus in the prayer. It means to ask in spiritual connection with who Jesus is and what Jesus stands for. In addition to being the Savior from our sins, Jesus is also the ultimate example of surrendering His own will and accepting the will of the Father.

The more that we understand the moving of the Spirit in our hearts, the better that we will know what to pray about, and the more that we will see the fulfillment of our prayers. One thing is for sure, the Spirit will help us with our prayers, because He makes intercession for us. Out of the longings and innermost sighings of our hearts, the Spirit of God says things for us that we ourselves do not even know to say.

Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose." Our inability to pray as we ought will work out for good, because we have the Spirit of God who makes intercession for us. And once we become the children of God all things will work out for good. Why will all things work together for good in the lives of believers? Because God is all-powerful. Because God has promised. Because God has a plan and He will accomplish His plan in the lives of His children. It is sometimes difficult to see now, but when we get to heaven we will see how everything worked together for good to those that love God.

When the Bible says that all things work together for good to those that love God, it means that even the worst things that happen to us also work together for good. There are positive things that can come out of any negative. When anything bad happens to you, make sure that you keep your eyes open to try and find the good purpose that God meant to come out of it. Whenever a bad thing happens, it is an opportunity to learn a lesson, or it provides a change in circumstances that will prove to be important in the glorifying of God and the ultimate accomplishing of good. Even our own failures are turned by God into good. That is what happened in the life of Peter. Peter horribly failed in denying the Lord at the time of the crucifixion; but the Lord used Peter’s failure to teach Peter a lesson about himself, and to teach Peter about the great love of God for him.

There are countless stories of how something that seemed to be a tragedy, ultimately resulted in something that was good and beneficial. Many years ago there was a young couple who had a baby that was born blind. As their child grew and they learned to do things with him, they realized that there were not enough activities geared for children like theirs. They started a Bible summer camp for blind children, and over the years thousands of blind children came to know the wonders of riding horses and other joys of the outdoors, and at the same time hearing good things about God. What appeared to be a tragedy turned out to be a magnificent work for the glory of God and the benefit of thousands of people. Why? - because all things work together for good to those that love God, and to those that are the called according to His purpose. The things that happen in your life may not be as dramatic, but they will be just as real and just as important to the purposes God.

The main thing that God is trying to do in the lives of each of us, and the principal thing that He is trying to accomplish in all that He allows to happen to us is mentioned in Romans 8:29. It says, "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers." The Lord is changing us, transforming us. God wants us to be more like Jesus, and He allows certain things to happen to us so that our character will be improved and so that our spiritual capacity will be enhanced. It is not what you possess that is important to God, but what you are as a person. Jesus said, "A man’s life does not consist of the things that he does possess." It is not what you have, but it is what kind of person you are that counts.

Your example to follow is Jesus. It should be your goal to be like Jesus: to have compassion on the unfortunate and especially on those who are lost souls, for they are in a condition of the worst possible fortune. Your goal should be to learn about God so that you can teach others, and to have your religion be based upon true faith and the power of the Spirit, instead of the hypocrisy that is easily found in human religious organizations. Some teachers and preachers make the mistake of using themselves as examples. But Jesus should be the example that is constantly held up because God has predestined us to be like Jesus. He has predestined us to be conformed to the image of His Son.

The word "predestine" means to know before or to decide before. The word is used in five different passages in the New Testament, and refers to two different things. There are only two things that the Bible says God has decided beforehand. The first thing is the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross for the sins of the world. It is true that evil, wicked, and cruel men took Jesus and unjustifiably had Him condemned to death. But it was all planned by God from the beginning of the world. It had to happen, and it was going to happen no matter what; because God decided beforehand. It says in Acts 4:26-28, "The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against His Christ. For of a truth against your holy child Jesus whom you have anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, In order to do whatever God’s hand and God’s council determined before to be done." That which is translated "determined before" is the same Greek word that is translated here in Romans Chapter 8 as "predestined". First Corinthians 2:7-8 uses the same Greek word: and again in reference to Jesus and His crucifixion. It says, "But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." The word "ordained" is the Greek work for "predestined" or “predetermined”.

The second thing and last thing that is mentioned in the New Testament as being predetermined by God is that which is mentioned right here in Romans Chapter 8. God has predestined that whoever accepts Jesus Christ will eventually become conformed to the image of Jesus. Who it is that accepts Jesus is not predestined, but once individuals accept Jesus they then become predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son. It was predetermined by God that whoever would accept Jesus as their Savior, would become conformed to the image of His Son. What is important to God is what kind of people that we are. It is so important that He arranges everything that happens to us so that we will learn from each circumstance a little bit more how we can become like Jesus. Once you become a believer in Jesus, God starts putting you through a process in which He is changing you to be more like Jesus. And when we leave this world and enter the Kingdom of God, the final transformation will take place, because the transformation of believers into the image of Christ was predestined by God.

Most things in life are not predetermined by God. In the decisions that you make, you have options. You can go to the left hand or to the right. The choice is yours. Wisdom involves making the right choices. Receiving Jesus as Savior is one of those choices. That is the only explanation for the many Bible verses that say things like "Whosoever will may come," or "Choose you this day whom you will serve." It was predestined that Jesus would die for you. And then once you have chosen Jesus, you enter into a relationship with the Father whereby it is predestined that you will be conformed to the image of His Son. He will not give up on you. You will be conformed to the image of His Son, because He has already determined that it will happen. Even your failures will be used to teach you lessons that will lead to you being conformed to the image of His Son.

Romans 8:30 says, "Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified." There is a wonderful and comforting progression to what happens to believers in the context of their salvation. We can have a complete spiritual rest in the work that God has done in regards to our salvation. He planned it before we were even born. And when the time was just right, He came to us by His Spirit and spoke to our hearts (that is the calling of God); and once we responded to His calling, we were justified by Him. Justification is by faith: that is the theme of the book of Romans and the essential point to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Whoever God called, He justified, and whoever He justified, He will also glorify. To be glorified speaks of the future: it speaks of our entrance into the Kingdom of God, where we will share God’s glory.

This verse contains all the assurance that you should ever need. Salvation involves the fact that God has a plan, and if you have become a part of that plan, then you are very fortunate indeed. God will do it all. He planned it beforehand. He called you. When you responded, He justified you. And the next major thing that will happen to you is that you will be glorified. You will end up in glory. That is past, present, and future: all taken care of by God. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Romans 8:31 says, "What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?" Once we have been justified by faith in Christ, we enter into a relationship with God whereby everything that happens to us is for our benefit and the glory of God. Therefore, in reality we have no enemies. Because God uses everything to accomplish His will in our lives; even those who appear to oppose us. They can only oppose us if God allows them to, and He will only allow them to do so, if He is planning to accomplish something in our lives by that particular circumstance. Remember that Jesus told us to pray for those who are our enemies. They are the ones who are going to suffer because of their sins; but we can only gain because God is using them to accomplish His will in our lives. It is truly a tremendous privilege to be a child of God.

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