The Help of the Holy Spirit

[Romans 8:26-27]

Look at Romans 8:26-27: “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.”

Our Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God who helps us. How grateful and joyful we should be to have the Holy Spirit, who is full of grace, comfort, and omnipotence, helping us! Because the Holy Spirit helps us, we are satisfied without any lack.

First, who does the Holy Spirit help?

The Holy Spirit helps those of us who have already been adopted. We, whom the Holy Spirit helps, have received the Spirit of adoption, and we cry out, “Abba, Father!” (Romans 8:15). The Holy Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children (v. 16). The Holy Spirit helps us, not only because we have been adopted, but because we are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ (v. 17). The Holy Spirit also helps us as we wait to be fully adopted, that is, as we await the redemption of our bodies (v. 23). This “redemption of our bodies” (v. 23) refers to what will happen when Jesus returns. The Holy Spirit will raise our mortal bodies (v. 11). When the last trumpet sounds, the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will all be transformed in the twinkling of an eye (1 Corinthians 15:52, Modern Translation). When the Lord descends from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, the dead in Christ will rise first (1 Thessalonians 4:16, Modern Translation). This is the redemption of our bodies. Afterward, we who are alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and we will be with Him forever (v. 17, Modern Translation).

Second, what does the Holy Spirit help us with?

The Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness (Romans 8:26). We are people weak in both body and mind. Originally, God created us strong, but we became weak because of the sin of the first Adam. Even Jesus experienced weakness in His body. When Jesus was in a boat with His disciples, a great storm suddenly arose, and the waves covered the boat, threatening to sink it (Mark 4:37). However, Jesus, being tired, was sleeping on a cushion in the back of the boat (v. 38). Jesus also fasted for 40 days and became very hungry (Matthew 4:2). When Jesus was physically weak, Satan tempted Him, but He overcame the temptation with the word of God.

We must deeply realize our own weakness. We should realize that it’s not just our bodies that are weak, but our minds and our decisions as well. I am reminded of the third verse of hymn 214 from the new hymnal, “I seek the help of the Lord”: “My strength and resolve are weak, always prone to break…” We need to recognize our weakness even through suffering and hardship. We must recognize how powerless and helpless we truly are. When we do this, we can experience how God’s power is made perfect in our weakness, just as the apostle Paul did (2 Corinthians 12:9). When we are weak, the Holy Spirit works powerfully in us. Therefore, like Paul, we must boast in our weaknesses. The reason for this is so that the power of Christ may rest upon us (v. 9).

We must keep in mind that when we are weak, Satan tempts us. We must overcome his temptations with the help of the Holy Spirit, who assists us when we are weak. To do this, we must pray. Look at Matthew 26:41: “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Also, like Jesus, we must overcome the temptations of Satan with the word of God (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10).

The Holy Spirit helps us in our prayers (Romans 8:26). Prayer is like breathing. If we cannot breathe, we die. In the same way, prayer, which is our spiritual breathing, is extremely important.

We have many things to pray for, but often, we cannot pray. There are times when we struggle and groan in prayer. What should we do in such moments? We should long for the help of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit helps us in our prayers by interceding for us with groans that cannot be expressed (v. 26). Most of the time, when we pray, we cannot discern whether it is God's will or not. Therefore, we often pray according to what we see and according to our own will. This is like striking the air in our prayers (1 Corinthians 9:26).

Because the Holy Spirit knows the will of God, when we are weak and do not know what we should pray for, He intercedes for us according to God's will (Romans 8:26-27). Moreover, the Holy Spirit helps us understand God's will so that we can pray according to it.

Therefore, we should not be discouraged but, by the help of the Holy Spirit who intercedes for us with groans that cannot be expressed, we should pray to God, "Abba, Father." We should also believe that Jesus is interceding for us even now (Hebrews 7:25), and, with the help of the Holy Spirit, we should pray to God the Father.

The Bible tells us to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17). To obey this command, we can pray in various ways, such as praying regularly at set times, early morning prayers, Wednesday prayers, intercessory prayers, fasting prayers, etc. My personal suggestion is to make prayer a part of daily life. Just as we live by breathing, we should live by praying, which is our spiritual breath. We should strive to make every moment of our lives a prayer to God. We need to have countless moments of conversation with our "Abba, Father." In particular, I believe it is good to have the habit of praying with praise.

The Holy Spirit helps us! The Holy Spirit helps our weakness and aids us in our prayers. The Holy Spirit intercedes for us with groans that cannot be expressed. The Holy Spirit is interceding for us, the saints, according to God's will. We have come this far by the help of the Holy Spirit (Ebenezer, 1 Samuel 7:12). Even now, and until the day we meet the Lord, we must live a victorious life by experiencing the powerful work of the Holy Spirit as we pray, especially in our weakness. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we can intercede, experiencing His mighty work in our lives.