The Spirit Helps You
Bible Readings
Take a few minutes to read the Bible verses listed and ask the Holy Spirit to lead you in how this verse applies to you this week.
23 The Spirit makes us sure about what we will be in the future. But now we groan silently, while we wait for God to show that we are his children. This means that our bodies will also be set free. 24 And this hope is what saves us. But if we already have what we hope for, there is no need to keep on hoping. 25 However, we hope for something we have not yet seen, and we patiently wait for it. 26 In certain ways we are weak, but the Spirit is here to help us. For example, when we don't know what to pray for, the Spirit prays for us in ways that cannot be put into words. 27 All of our thoughts are known to God. He can understand what is in the mind of the Spirit, as the Spirit prays for God's people. 28 We know that God is always at work for the good of everyone who loves him. They are the ones God has chosen for his purpose, 29 and he has always known who his chosen ones would be. He had decided to let them become like his own Son, so his Son would be the first of many children. 30 God then accepted the people he had already decided to choose, and he has shared his glory with them. 31 What can we say about all this? If God is on our side, can anyone be against us? 32 God did not keep back his own Son, but he gave him for us. If God did this, won't he freely give us everything else? 33 If God says his chosen ones are acceptable to him, can anyone bring charges against them? 34 Or can anyone condemn them? No indeed! Christ died and was raised to life, and now he is at God's right side, speaking to him for us. 35 Can anything separate us from the love of Christ? Can trouble, suffering, and hard times, or hunger and nakedness, or danger and death? 36 It is exactly as the Scriptures say, “For you we face death all day long. We are like sheep on their way to be butchered.” 37 In everything we have won more than a victory because of Christ who loves us. 38 I am sure that nothing can separate us from God's love—not life or death, not angels or spirits, not the present or the future, 39 and not powers above or powers below. Nothing in all creation can separate us from God's love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord!
Romans 8:23-39
Memory Verse
Romans 8:26
26 In certain ways we are weak, but the Spirit is here to help us. For example, when we don't know what to pray for, the Spirit prays for us in ways that cannot be put into words.
Brian felt nervous. The teacher had just asked him to pray at the end of Sunday School. All he knew about prayer was that he had to keep his eyes closed and hands folded for a very long time. He didn’t really know how to pray, what to pray for, or if he even knew the right words. Maybe you have felt the same way.
Has someone ever asked you to pray for something? What was it? How did you feel when they asked you? How did you feel after you said, “Amen”?
In the book of Romans, the apostle Paul comforts us when we feel nervous about praying. He reminds us that God knows what we are praying for, even when we can not think of the words to say. Even when we’re so frustrated that all we can do is stomp our feet, or we’re so sad that all we can do is cry, God knows what we want to say! Even when we say the wrong things or the wrong name when we pray, God knows what we meant and interprets our words correctly!
God knows you and your heart; you do not have to figure everything out before you pray. You can just start praying whenever! God already knows what is going on in your life and what you want to say, so you do not have to worry about confusing him or praying for the wrong thing. The next time somebody asks you to pray, just let God know what you are thinking, and do not worry about saying the “right” things.
Prayer
Dear God, Thank you for listening to me no matter what and knowing what I am trying to say even when it is hard. Amen.Related Resources
Philip Vander Windt
Philip VanderWindt is the pastor at Champlain Valley Christian Reformed Church. In his free time he enjoys building “tall-tall towers” with his kids, analyzing worldviews of films and music with his wife, photographing the beauty of God’s creation, dabbling in leathercraft and woodwork, and writing.