Groanings

 DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS

GROANINGS

Rom 8:26-27

26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.

NIV

This sounds a bit like Paul might be a Pentecostal, or at least is advocating we need to allow the Spirit to pray through us. These groans that words cannot express would seem to be a more direct line to God than our eloquent long-winded repetitive prays. There is something about tradition, especially in a worship service where everything is preplanned so there is some order to the service. However, when it comes to our prayers, they are weak in comparison to the prayers of the Spirit within us. When we pray, are we sure that we are praying in the direct will of God, or are we just praying for a particular event, or person because we think that is what is expected of us? But how effective are our weak prayers generated by our heart and mind without consultation with the Spirit? What are these groans that words cannot express? Is this what Paul is referring to speaking in an unknown language, or speaking in tongues? We know the day the Spirit arrived on the scene, that Day of Pentecost, the disciples spoke in words or groanings that their own words could not express. Of course, there were people from many different languages in Jerusalem who did hear the groaning of the Spirit and understood the Spirit praising God. This might be why some doctrines are against what appears to be the Pentecostal prayers as simple babbling. The question that has always been a core issue, is if we believe in the gifts of the Spirit, but only a select number of them, excluding the gift of tongues and interpretation, are we doing an injustice to God? Have we replaced the groaning of the Spirit that our words cannot express, with our weak words that are understandable, but unexpressive? This comes back to another core issue of whether we have replaced truth with tradition. What is the truth about the Spirit who intercedes for us in accordance with God’s will, and have we forfeited his power with our own weak words that may or may not be in accordance with God’s will? What we know is that without the Spirit, we have no power whatsoever. Let us always be in cooperation with the Spirit and his groanings.