JC Blog

Do you know what God's will for your life is? The Holy Spirit does, he is the one who actively intercedes for you so that God's will may be fulfilled in your life. He searches your heart and knows every intimate detail about you. David spoke of this in Psalms 139, "O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD. You hem me in-behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?" ( Psalm 139:1-7 ). David paints of wonderful picture of the intensity of God's love for you. He is engrossed with every detail of your life. So it is only fitting that the Holy Spirit who understands your heart and who knows the mind of God is the one to intercede for you in accordance with God's will.

God has a plan for your life. He created you for a purpose. The Holy Spirit is the one to speak to your spirit this plan. Paul advised us in today's passage that "he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will." ( Romans 8:27 ). The Holy Spirit is the translation piece between our spirit and God's spirit. Being flesh and blood, the Holy Sprit helps us by interceding for us with groans and utterances that words cannot express ( Romans 8:26 ).

This is one of the amazing things that we as born again believers experience in life. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit, who is fully God, to us to help us on this earth. He reminds us of everything that Jesus said and shows us the constant love of the father. He speaks these truths to our hearts so that we can experience boldness before God. This wasn't always the case, it is because of what Jesus did that we can have this kind of relationship with God. Jesus turn our connection with Him from an outside observer to intimate fellowship.

Jesus revealed an amazing truth to the women at the well, he told her, "God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth" ( John 4:24 ). Up until this time worship was ritualistic following guidelines and rules. But Jesus expanded worship to include relationship and intimate knowledge of God. Being a spirit, we connect with God on an entirely different level than the patriarchs did. We connect with him spirit to spirit. This is why it is so important to understand office of the Holy Spirit. He helps our spirit communicate with God's Spirit in an uninhibited and unrestrained way.

The Holy Spirit knows God's will, he also knows our intent. So it is his job to take our heart and communicate that to God and take God's will and communicate that to our hearts, so that it will be fulfilled in us. The Amplified Bible puts it best, "And He Who searches the hearts of men knows what is in the mind of the [Holy] Spirit [what His intent is], because the Spirit intercedes and pleads [before God] in behalf of the saints according to and in harmony with God's will" ( Romans 8:27 ). It is amazing to know that we have intercession before the Father who makes perfect our requests before him. It is wonderful to know that he knows our heart and God's heart and helps us in our weaknesses. It is encouraging to know that our prayers are not offered in limitation but carry the full power of God. Today may you find joy in understanding this tremendous truth, Amen!

It is amazing to have such a partner in life. Throughout the entire chapter of Romans 8, Paul is teaching us about the marvelous companionship we have with the Holy Spirit. Jesus said in John 16 that it was expedient for him to return to the Father in order to send to us the Holy Spirit ( John 16:7 ). He went on to explain how important He would be to us. "But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come" ( John 16:13 ). The Holy Spirit was given to guide us into all truth and to be a helpmate for us while we navigate this life.

Paul has revealed to us several things in Romans 8 concerning the Holy Spirit. First, that those who are in Christ Jesus and walk according to the Spirit will face no condemnation in life ( Romans 8:1 ). Second, those who are controlled by the Spirit will experience life and soul peace in the midst of trouble (Romans 8:6). Third, the Spirit living inside of us will give life to our mortal bodies and we will live forever ( Romans 8:11 ). Fourth, those who live by the Spirit are children of God ( Romans 8:14 ) and He testifies and confirms with our spirit this very truth ( Romans 8:16 ). And today he reveals that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us when we pray ( Romans 8:26 ). He turns our prayers into acceptable, powerful utterances before the Lord. All of these things are wonderful alone, but we have received the entire package through faith Jesus.

Prayer is a powerful tool. Prayer releases the power of God upon the earth. John talks about praying in faith according to the will of God. "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us-whatever we ask-we know that we have what we asked of him" ( I John 5:14-15 ). If we pray in faith and pray according to Gods will, then know and have confidence that God will answer us. The problem with this is a lot of times we don't understand God's will or we don't ask in faith. Paul concurred with this when he said "...the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for..." ( Romans 8:26 ). The amazing thing about this is that we have the Holy Spirit to help us in our weaknesses when we pray. Paul said the Holy Spirit takes the words we speak and translates them into powerful supplication before the Lord on our behalf. The Amplified Bible puts it this way, "So too the [Holy] Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance" ( Romans 8:26 Amp ).The Holy Spirit is our prayer partner, helping us to release the power of God to act in our behalf.

James said, "...The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective" ( James 5:16b ). Through faith in Jesus we have been made righteous in his sight ( Romans 3:22 ). So we know our prayers yield tremendous power. To release this power, we must pray and allow the Holy Spirit to join with us and help us on our behalf.

Today, I am so blessed to know all the ways that the Holy Spirits helps us. What a great reminder to know that we are not alone but that we have this amazing gift living on the inside of us to show us and remind us the truth. Today, may you take this word and join with the Holy Spirit in release the power of prayer in your life, Amen.

Prayer changes circumstances! Can you imagine how the Apostle Paul must have felt going to Jerusalem knowing that the people there intended to take his life? This did not sway him from going as he entreated the Romans to join with him in prayer, knowing that the unity of their intercession would change the outcome of his journey.

Paul wrote earlier in this letter, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28). This verse comes immediately on the heels of the criteria of this statement, "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 with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will" ( Romans 8:26-27 ). Paul knew that God was capable of bringing about good in every circumstance when His people join together in prayer. This is because the Holy Spirit partners with us and prays in accordance with God's will. Good comes from it because God is able to work in the midst of our intercession. So as we pray we can be confident knowing that all things will work out for our good when we are united together with God in His purpose and will.

This is why Paul was not afraid to go to Jerusalem even though he was walking into hostile territory. He was tasked with taking the offering to the believers there. One can only imagine that he also desired to go and preach Christ among the Jews one more time, hoping to sway them into believing that Christ was the Messiah. This is why he asked the Romans to join with him in praying for safety and protection while in Jerusalem. What a marvelous vote of confidence that Paul had in this church who he had never met. He had heard about their faith ( Romans 1:8 ) and knew that these believers would join in his struggle, interceding for him in accordance with God's will.

How exciting it is to know that our prayers are answered. What a great reminder today that we can join with the Holy Spirit in praying in accordance with the will of God knowing that it will change the outcome. Just as Paul wrote, may the "God of peace be with you all", may our Lord Jesus Christ give you heart peace today as you intercede and pray with the Holy Spirit as your helper. Be confident that your circumstances will change because God is able to work all things out for your good when you come to him in prayer.