Groanings of the Spirit

December 5th, 2024
by Dr. D. Lance Waldie

Romans 8:26-27 In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; 27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
All of God’s creation groans under sin’s curse (vv. 19-23). When God’s sons are revealed at the second coming of Christ, the inanimate creation will be renewed and restored, and God’s children will receive the full redemption of their bodies (8:19-24). Until then, God’s children groan under the curse and hope for what they do not see, knowing that God will deliver (8:25).

During the time of suffering and groaning under the curse, by simple virtue of being a Christian (8:17), God is at work helping His children in their “weakness” (Gr. astheneia) a term used in the NT for both physical and spiritual sickness, even timidity. In this context it concerns the Christian’s limitations for enduring trials and sufferings. This is why the Spirit comes along-side and “helps” (Gr. sunantilambanomai). The tense of the verb speaks of ongoing help, for the Christian is always in a state of weakness. The weakness Paul specifically addresses here is prayer, for God’s children do not always know what to pray for. They lack an understanding of God’s overall purpose when things fail to work. Mankind’s imperfections and finite mind limits his understanding of God’s will. He oftentimes does not even know that he is in grave spiritual danger—like when Christ told Peter and the disciples, “Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail…” (Luke 22:31-32).

Note Paul’s understanding of the Spirit in his letter to the Philippians: “I know that this shall turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:19). “My beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Phil. 2:12-13).

During the life of Jesus on earth, He groaned over the effects of sin (Mark 7:34; John 11:33, 38). Today the Holy Spirit groans over the burdens of His children, praying for them “with groanings too deep for words.” Now Paul does not have ecstatic utterances in mind, or tongues; rather, it is the Spirit who groans, not people. Further, v. 26 says that the groans of the Spirit are not expressed with words. In reality, it is communication among the members of the Trinity that aid God’s children during their times of weakness. Even Christ is interceding on behalf of Christians (Rom. 8:34; cf. Heb. 7:25-26) at the same time the Spirit is. Both are praying to the Father for the sons of God. Without the continual prayers of intercession from the Son and the Spirit to the Father, Christians would fall right back into their separation from God. But if this were possible, their election would be worthless.

In v. 27 Paul says that it is God who “searches the hearts,” meaning that He knows the mind of man (1 Sam. 16:7; Acts 1:24). He also knows the Spirit, for the Spirit “intercedes” (to approach or appeal to) with the Father on behalf of His elect to pray properly for them. Their inability to pray as precisely as they would like is no hindrance to the working out of God’s sovereign will. When they do not know what to pray for, the Spirit does. So He does!

Food for Thought

Why do we as Christians groan? Precisely because we have the Spirit. After all, He demands holiness while our flesh longs for sin. Thus, the Spirit frustrates our desires, daily revealing to us that we fall short of God’s standard. To the question, What are we waiting for? The answer is the “redemption of the body”—being rescued from sin and death when we are raised from the dead.