"The Spirit Prays"

There are times when we don’t know what to pray. Sorrow, fatigue, sickness, and all kinds of things can get in the way of our communication with God. So often we think that we have to keep the conversation going with Him to constitute prayer. But, just sitting in His presence is the best thing we can do.

The throne room of God is an active place full of the power and the presence of the Holy One. So, in this place we come to be restored and strengthened. Sometimes we need to be quiet and listen to the voice of God as we are bathed in His presence. Maybe the reason we don’t know what to pray at times, is because God wants us to be quiet and rest in Him. He does the talking. God provides His Holy Spirit to search our hearts and He does the communicating for us.

1. Read Romans 8:26 & 27. (NIV) Fill in the blanks:

“In the same way, the _____________ helps us in our _________________. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself ________________ for us with _____________ that ______________ cannot express. And He who ________________
our ____________ knows the mind of the Spirit because the Spirit intercedes for the _____________ in _______________________ with God’s will.”

There have been times in my life when I couldn’t pray. Sometimes I was so down that all I could do was lay my head in God’s lap and allow Him to pray for me. I have woken up in the middle of the night with irrational fear and just like a child frightened in the night cries out for their mother or father, I cry out to God. He immediately sends me comfort through a song or scripture that fits the situation. God sends His Spirit to intercede on my behalf. He does the praying for me. He places His holy hand on my head and soothes me back to sleep. When I try to work the fear out on my own, I struggle all night and can’t rest. But, when I go to Him and trust Him, I can rest easily.

I remember when my mother lay in ICU gravely ill and my brothers and I were there with her late one night. I don’t remember who started the song, but we all joined in and sang the most perfect harmony I had ever heard. I recognized our voices, but there was something very different about them. These voices came from a place that was not of this earth. God’s Holy Spirit was singing for us. We sang in the midst of the sounds of respirators and alarms in the ICU which seemed to miraculously become silent. The song we sang was this:

Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me.

Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me.

Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me.

Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me.

(Daniel Iverson. Copyright © 1935)

The Holy Spirit entered into the lives of my brothers and me and gave us the words to pray through the harmonies of one of my mother’s favorite hymns. As the song wafted down the hall of the ICU that night, I know that the Spirit ministered to my mother, the other patients, nurses, doctors and anyone close by. That’s how God works. He wants to communicate with us all. After we finished, we kissed Mama and left silently. There was nothing left to say. The Holy Spirit said it all and He said it perfectly.

2. Read Romans 8:34-35. What is Christ doing for us in the Throne Room?

Who or what can separate us from the love of Christ?

Nothing, nothing, nothing can come between you and Jesus. He won’t stop loving you and is interceding on your behalf at the right hand of God. In other words, He bridges the gap between those who love Him and God the Father. Through God the Holy Spirit we have direct communication to God the Father because of what God the Son accomplished on the cross. He doesn’t read between the lines of our prayers, but digs deep into our soul revealing our true need. His power interprets and intercedes on our behalf before God the Father. In His love we lack for nothing.

Some folks say that they don’t know how to pray. But, all God wants is your heart and wants to include us in holy conversation. He provides the words. Remember, prayer is our response to God. If you open your heart to Him, He supplies the words and reveals the true hope of our hearts.

2. Read Psalm 5:1-3. (NIV) Fill in the blanks:

“Give __________ to my words, O Lord, _______________________ my ___________________. Listen to my ________ for ___________, my King and my God, for to You I pray. In the morning, O Lord, You ______________ my voice; in the morning I ______ my _____________ before You and __________ in expectation.”

We can rest in the knowledge that God hears and listens to our prayers. Part of our prayers involve our waiting in expectation of God’s voice. We want God’s answer and not just any old answer will do.

I just heard someone say that they had been praying to God, but each time they got God’s answering machine. Know this, God takes His own calls. He hears and listens. He answers us and even gives us the words to say through His Holy Spirit. We must, however, wait on Him. God wants the best for us. He knows what we need and when it is appropriate He gives the answer to us. Trust Him.

Prayer Time
Sit in the presence of the Holy One and allow His Spirit to speak for you. Write out anything you hear from Him. God speaks to our hearts. Open your heart to Him and allow Him to speak for you and speak to you.

Discussion Questions
1. There are times when we don’t know what to pray. Sorrow, fatigue, sickness, and all kinds of things can get in the way of our communication with God. So often we think that we have to keep the conversation going with Him to constitute prayer. But, just sitting in His presence is a vital part of prayer, especially when words escape us. How do you view being silent before God in prayer?

2. Nothing, nothing, nothing can come between you and Jesus. He won’t stop loving you and is interceding on your behalf at the right hand of God. In other words, He bridges the gap between those who love Him and God the Father. Do you ever feel like your prayers never go anywhere and there is a great chasm between you and God? How does Jesus bridge the chasm?

3.How does it feel to you to sit in silence in the presence of the Lord?