Daily Affirmations - Day 4 - Spirit Language - The Language of Prayer

Day 4: The language of prayer

By the Spirit of God we cry, "Abba, Father"

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us through wordless groans (Romans 8:26).

O Lord, great and holy, sovereign and mighty, the psalmist prayed, In the morning, Lord, You hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before You and wait expectantly (Psalm 5:3).

Throughout Your word You give the assurance that You hear the prayers of Your people. You hear not only our spoken prayers, but also the heart of the deeply troubled like Hannah—wordlessly pouring out [their] soul to the Lord out of... great anguish and grief (1 Samuel 1:12-16). And You look on the plight of those like David, whose spirit cried, I am feeble and utterly crushed; I groan in anguish of heart. All my longings lie open before You, Lord; my sighing is not hidden from You (Psalm 38:8-9).

You are the God who told Moses, “I have indeed seen the misery of My people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering (Exodus 3:7). And You are the God who said to King Hezekiah, “I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you” (2 Kings 20:5).

But in spite of all that we experience, and know, and understand—all that we feel and pour out before You, our prayers are bounded by our humanity—incomplete, naive, limited. But we have an Intercessor and an Advocate in the Lord Jesus Christ (Hebrews 7:25, 1 John 2:1), and another Advocate in the Holy Spirit (John 14:16, 26; 15:26, 16:7). The apostle Paul shows us how the Holy Spirit helps us in our prayers:

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God (Romans 8:26-27).

Father, we thank You for all the ways You hear the language of prayer. Thank You that You hear the desire of the afflicted; You encourage them, and You listen to their cry (Psalm 10:17). Thank You for hearing our deep troubles, our groans, our anguish, our grief, our tears, our longings.

But thank You most of all that the unbounded, unfettered, infinite Spirit of God intercedes for us with wordless groans—in the language of heaven, in accordance with the will of God. Thank You that our deepest emotion, our deepest need, our greatest good, are uncovered by the One who searches our hearts (vs. 27).

Lord help us to pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests

(Ephesians 6:18). Help us to trust in the love, the wisdom, and the goodness of a God who prays for us and with us, and in all things works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28).

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