WHERE THERE'S A WILL, THERE'S A WAY
Notes
Transcript
Romans 8:26-28
Romans 8:26-28
Romans 8:26–28 (NLT)
26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. 27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. 28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
VERSE TWENTY-SIX
Have you ever felt like you just didn’t know what to pray or how to pray? By being filled with the Holy Spirit and led by the Holy Spirit, we are able to pray the perfect will of God. It’s a cheat code to the will of God being accomplished in you and through you.
The role of the Holy Spirit is to bring us into all truth (John 14:17). The truth is brought through His guidance that we receive through yielding to Him in prayer. You don’t have to understand the perfect will of God to pray it.
VERSE TWENTY-SEVEN
God responds to prayer that is in agreement with His perfect will.
1 John 5:14 (NLT)
14 And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him.
Is God obligated to answer your prayers? Can you pray a prayer of faith that’s not according to His will? There’s a lot of margin for error here. The best way to pray is to pray in the Spirit. That requires faith, because it’s just babbling without engaged faith. When we pray in the Spirit by faith, we allow Him to pray in harmony with God’s will on our behalf.
He can’t do that alone. We’re told in Romans and Hebrews that Jesus intercedes for us, but the more accurate way of reading this passage is to say that the Holy Spirit is praying by us. That means He is praying the perfect will of God through the authority of your mouth. Mark 11 tells us that we are to speak to the mountain. What if you don’t know the mountain’s name? What if you don’t know where the mountain is? By yielding your tongue to the Holy Spirit, you can speak to the mountain and know that your prayer is one of authority and precision in the will of God.
1 Corinthians 14:2 (ESV)
2 For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit.
This tells us that our prayers in tongues are of the Spirit directly to God. The mysteries we speak are not mysterious to Him. Our groanings in the Spirit reach Him directly. Even though we don’t know what we’re saying, He does. It requires faith (which pleases Him) and connects us to His perfect will for our lives.
How do you know if your prayers in the Spirit are real? Ask yourself where those prayers lead you and keep you.
Jude 20–21 (NLT)
20 But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, 21 and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love.
Praying in the Spirit should lead you to the love of God. You can’t pray God’s will with hate in your heart. You can’t pray bitter tongues. You can’t pray in the Spirit in strife. Get rid of it. If you have something that needs to be settled with someone, do it. Your prayer life will immediately be more effective. If you’re struggling to love someone, pray in the Spirit. God’s love for them will invade your heart if you’ll let it. It’ll be hard to hate someone when you’re allowing God’s love for them to come out of you.
VERSE TWENTY-EIGHT
Because of this, we know that all things are working together for us. We can be confident that things are coming together for our good, because we’re praying it by the Spirit who knows exactly what we need to be praying.
There are two qualifications for receiving this benefit of praying the perfect will of God. You have to love Him, and you have to be called according to His purpose.
One part of that equation is done for you. You are called according to His purpose. He’s the one that does all the calling and He’s not doing it for anyone’s purposes but His own. Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that He has good plans for us. Psalm 23 tells us that he guides us and leads us for His name’s sake. God is calling you to live for Him. Check.
The other part of that equation is your choice. It’s your part to love Him. What’s the proof of your love for Him?
John 14:15 (NLT)
15 “If you love me, obey my commandments.”
John 13:35 (NLT)
35 “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
Praying in the Spirit should lead us to love for one another and for God. When we love Him, the natural byproduct is a love for others. If you’re struggling with love for God or for others, there is a cheat code that exists in praying in the Spirit.
ALTAR CALL
Prayer for the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues
Prayer for an impartation of the love of God for God and others