So, Pray. Groan. Cry. Sigh.

Church Family: One thing that I love watching is the communication that goes on between parents and their young children who cannot yet form words. You know when you see the child who is making sounds, unable to form words, and yet both the Mom and Dad know exactly what the child is saying. There is no confusion in the grunts, groans and sounds of the child as to what they are saying to the parents and the parents respond with perfect accuracy as to the need of the child. All the while, nobody else in the room could have translated that wordless dialog. Another amazing encounter is when a Mom or Dad is in a crowded, loud, bustling room and from across the crowd the parents hear the sigh, cry or groan of the child which moves them to action. The whole thing is a beautiful experience of the parent knowing intimately what the child needs even when they cannot verbalize what they need.

In the same way, as God's precious children, He hears our sighs and groans and cries no matter our situation and hardship. The Bible tells us that we will be a people of suffering. We will suffer in the daily battle with this world, we will suffer with our bodies getting old, we will suffer with excruciating diagnosis, we will suffer with unthinkable tragedy, we will suffer with broken relationships. And when we sigh, groan, and cry out during these times the Holy Spirit of God hears our wordless words when we do not know how to pray. The Holy Spirit then prays for us to God the Father on the basis of the work of God the Son. The totality of our trinitarian God is interacting for us in our prayer life. Church, hear this loud and clear, God completely intercedes for you in your time of suffering knowing exactly what you need even when yo do not. As His child, He never misses not even one of your groans, none of your sighs and none of your cries. He cares about every one and intercedes with perfection.

What is your role in your suffering? Pray. Even when you do not know what to say, pray. Your role is to open your heart to the Holy Spirit and He will intercede for you not by giving you tips and advice but by completely taking care of you and the suffering. The Spirit intercedes for you knowing your every need better than you do. At the same time He looks into the Father’s will with complete clarity and makes requests perfectly in obedience to that will (Rom. 8:26-28). Those requests of the Holy Spirit are also echoed by Jesus Christ who is at the right hand of the Father who is also making intercession for you based upon His finished work on the cross (Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:25). The Holy Spirit and Christ both discuss with the Father your suffering and God’s perfect purpose prevails always for your good and His glory.

So, Pray. Groan. Cry, Sigh.

See you Sunday, with God interceding, Steve