How Does the Holy Spirit Help Us in our Weakness?

Do you sometimes feel that life is so overwhelming and complicated that you don’t know how to pray?

Do you worry that your prayers are ineffective and muddled?

If you do not know how or what to pray, here is some good news:

In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. (Romans 8:26)

We are frail creatures, often broken, discouraged, clueless, in despair, infirm, weary, and ailing. What is God’s response to our weaknesses? He helps us. “The Spirit also helps.”

The Holy Spirit is not a fault-finder who condemns your weaknesses. He is the Comforter and the Encourager who gives you grace in your hour of need. You have a great Helper in the Holy Spirit. You will never have a need greater than his ability to help.

But how, exactly, does the Holy Spirit help us?

How does the Spirit help us in our weakness?

He intercedes for us.

To intercede is to plead or make an appeal on behalf of another. He speaks up for you. And if that weren’t enough, Paul adds that Jesus also intercedes for us (Rom. 8:34). You have a personal intercessory team speaking up for you – Jesus and the Holy Spirit! What a team!

For those of you taking notes, the original verb hyperentygchanō is a compound word made up of the words entygchanō (intercede) and hyper (super). The Holy Spirit is our super-interceder. We don’t know how to pray as we should, but he prays or speaks on our behalf.

And he’s really, really good at it. Interceding on your behalf is his super-power.

No prayer books in heaven

I know many people find comfort in prayer books, but you don’t need one to pray effectively. You just need to realize that the Holy Spirit is in you and with you interceding on your behalf.

Which is really something.

You may be terrible at praying, but he’s really good.

You may not know what to pray, but he intercedes on your behalf with perfect knowledge.

People sometimes ask me to write prayers for them. I’m happy to help those who have never prayed before, but Christian, if you need help with your praying let me introduce you to the Super-Interceder!

So please, no more worrying about praying the right way or with the right words. Even the best pray-er you ever heard only had a partial understanding of the circumstances. The Holy Spirit, in contrast, has the complete picture. He helps us to pray for things we don’t yet know or see. He aligns our prayers with the Father’s will (Rom. 8:27).

With groanings too deep for words

Creation groans (verse 22), we groan (verse 23), and the Spirit groans (verse 26) because the world is not as it should be. Creation is enslaved, our friends and families are hurting, and our bodies are failing with age. We groan for all that is wrong with the world, and we yearn for the restoration of all things.

The Spirit groans because he cares for you. He knows the trials you are going through and the glory that is coming. He groans as if in the pains of labor until Christ is fully revealed in you (Gal. 4:19).

Prayer is talking with your heavenly Father. Prayer is the antidote to fear and worry. But don’t ever think that God won’t hear you because you are praying wrong or not praying enough.

You may not know what to pray, but you never pray alone. You can trust the Holy Spirit, the Super-Interceder to speak for you with perfect knowledge and perfect love. He knows what to say and he is interceding on your behalf.

Trust him. He’s got this.

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Parts of this article came from my commentary on Romans. My new book on The Parables of Jesus comes out next month, but advance copies are available now on Patreon.