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Ambassador Baptist Church
1926 Babcock Blvd
Pittsburgh, PA 15209
(412)477-3210
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   You Are Here: Bridge / Galley / Pastor's Pen / Pathways Through Paul
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Pathways Through Paul Daily Devotional
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Pathways Through Paul
Daily Devotional

March 13
Click on verses for Full Scripture
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Today's Pathway:


 Romans 8:26-27
  1. Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
  2. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

His Majesty's Service

 Over the past few days Paul has discussed the fact that both creation and the believer are groaning while awaiting the return of Christ. He adds something very interesting to this in verse 26: the Holy Spirit also groans. By his use of the term "likewise" he indicates that the groaning of the Spirit happens in the same way that nature and the believer groan. Of course, the Spirit is not under the curse that nature and humanity are. However, He joins with them in the desire to see Christ return and establish His righteous kingdom. Though the Spirit is not tainted by sin, He clearly is grieved by it and longs for the day to come when the curse is lifted and the Lord's rule is established.

 The key part of verse 26 is that the Spirit is given to the believer to help him as he goes through this life. The word "helpeth" is an interesting word. In Greek this is a compound word which means "to take the hold of the opposite together". The idea is this: a man needs to move a heavy piece of furniture, and his buddy comes along and picks up the opposite end and together they move the furniture. The buddy isn't doing all the work, he is just helping. But without him, the job would be much more difficult to accomplish, if not impossible. This is what the Holy Spirit is doing. He does not "do" everything for us. We have a responsibility to be obedient to the Word of God. It is our duty to pray, and to stand fast in the evil day. But we can't do it alone. We need the Spirit to assist us. The verse states that He assists us with our "infirmities". That word literally means, "to be without strength". Why would the Christian be strengthless? Because he still has a sin nature and still lives in a sin-cursed world. The temptation to give up is always present. However, Jesus told His disciples that "men ought always to pray, and not to faint" (Luke 18:1).

 With that in mind, notice that in verses 26-27 the thing that the Spirit specifically assists with is the believer's prayer life. We ought to pray instead of giving up, but we don't always know how we should pray. There are some things in life that we know that we should pray for: people to get saved, workers to go into the harvest field, believers to walk with the Lord, etc. But we don't always know what the Lord's will is in certain circumstances. This can be seen in the area of trials. Is it God's will for the problems to go away, or is for us to continue to have them so that we can grow closer to Him? I don't necessarily know the answer, but the Holy Spirit does. He intercedes (to bring a petition to a king on behalf of someone else) for us with the Father, but He always does so "according to the will of God." He does this with "groanings which cannot be uttered". Some have said that this refers to speaking in tongues or making groaning sounds when you pray. This can not be the case because it says "which cannot be uttered". These are not sounds that humans make; this is the Holy Spirit talking to our Heavenly Father. God is the One Who searches the hearts (vs. 27), and He understands the intercessions made for us by the Spirit, and those intercessions are always in total accord with His loving desires for us.

 So, don't ever give up. Don't let the wicked world, or your own sin nature, drive you away from the Lord. Pray, and know that when you do the Holy Spirit is at work interceding for you even when you don't know what to say.

Pastor Mark J Montgomery

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His Majesty's Service
Home of Ambassador Baptist Church
1926 Babcock Blvd
Pittsburgh, PA 15209
(412)477-3210
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