Romans 8:26 – Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
This verse has been very special to me for many years. In it I find the secret to tapping in to God’s help in my life in everyday situations. First, you have to settle in your heart that this passage is definitely speaking about your prayer language. Many scholars and other Christians will say that this is not talking about the prayer language, why the contradiction? It is impossible for those not baptized with the Holy Spirit with the Biblical evidence of speaking in tongues to understand the things of the Spirit. How could someone who has not received this gift be qualified to teach about the prayer language? When you enter into praying in the Holy Spirit the Lord begins to groan inside of you with heavenly sounds. Here is a quote from Kenneth Hagin describing P. C. Nelson and his understanding of this verse.
“The late P. C. Nelson was a noted linguist. Some 30 years ago, a secular magazine called him the leading authority of the day on Greek and the second-ranked authority on Hebrew. He could read and write 32 languages. Nelson said that the Greek in Romans 8:26 actually implies, “with groanings that cannot be uttered in articulate speech.” They are uttered — but not in articulate speech. Articulate speech is your regular speech.”
So praying in the Spirit is actually yielding to the Holy Spirit and allowing Him to pray through you for you and for others. I love to zero in on the word help in this passage. The word help is classic Paul, combining words together to describe the indescribable. In the Greek it is sunantilambanomai. This word actually means to join together with someone to pull against some other force. It is easily understood by thinking of a game of tug of war. Someone joins together to pull with you to defeat the other side. Now this is where this gets interesting, the Lord helps us by joining together with us to pay for our weaknesses. If you are struggling or failing in any area of life the Holy Spirit is there to help in a practical way. Praying in the Spirit is the way to overcome addictions or any other thing that attacks you.
