“Likewise the Spirit also helps in
our weaknesses. For we do not know what
we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for
us with groaning which cannot be uttered.”—Romans 8:26
The Scripture tells us that Jesus
was friends with Lazarus and his sister, Mary and Martha. In fact, Jesus spent times with them in their
home and eating with them. However, Jesus
was in another town when word reached Him that Lazarus was sick and that his
sister’s wanted Him to come and see their brother. When Jesus arrived Mary came out to meet him,
she fell down at his feet crying and saying that her brother would not have
died if He had been there. Then we read
a most amazing statement, “Therefore,
when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled”
(John 11:33 emphasis added). The
word “groaned” as translated here
expresses that Jesus was deeply moved, but not necessarily with sorrow. It was more of a groan of anger at Satan who
had caused all the grief and sorrow that He was seeing around Him. Jesus came to, “…destroy
him that had the power of death, that is, the devil” (Hebrews 2:14), and He
was grieved to see the pain His enemy had inflicted on those He loved.
This is the type of groaning that
the Holy Spirit does for us that Paul wrote about in Romans 8:26. It is not just the Holy Spirit sympathizing
with us, but it is the Holy Spirit doing
battle for us when we do not know how to pray.
In the case of Lazarus, the Holy Spirit used Jesus to do battle
against death and for Lazarus to be released from the grave.
Everyone who has the Holy Spirit in
them either has, or will have this experience.
The groaning of the Holy Spirit is not just grief but righteous anger
and resistance against Satan’s devices in our lives. Many times Christians do not discern this
because they think that they are just grieved over their situation, but the
Holy Spirit is moving them into intercession with Him against their common
enemy, Satan.
Although the groaning of the Holy
Spirit inside of you is not uttered, you can react to it with audible groans or
physical movement of some kind, like someone who is grieving. There is nothing wrong with this as long as
you do not confuse your reaction with the Holy Spirit’s action. Notice in Romans 8:26 that you are responding
to the Holy Spirit’s silent groaning inside of you. “Likewise
the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray
for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groaning
which cannot be uttered”.
The genuine groaning in the Spirit is priceless and always produces
good fruit in your life, so when this happens, just flow with the Holy
Spirit.
Prayer—Father
I thank You for the Holy Spirit in my life.
Together Lord, we are doing big business with you—kingdom business, in
Jesus Name. Amen.
