(By Rachel Joyce)
Do you ever feel like you are praying alone about something? Even though it might feel like that sometimes, the truth is that you always have two powerful intercessors joining with you as you pray.
In Romans, Paul teaches us about how God’s Holy Spirit intercedes for us as we are praying: “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God” (Romans 8:26-27).
We never need to worry about having the perfect words or expressing our concerns in just the right way. God knows our limitations and He has us covered. He has provided just what we need - His Holy Spirit. As we pray, His Holy Spirit takes our prayers, lines them up with the will of God, and presents them to the Father. His prayers go deeper than any words in our vocabulary. We can rest in His sufficiency and know that our God not only hears the cries of our hearts but will work for our blessing and His glory.
Our Saviour also pleads our cause with the Father. We know from Hebrews 7:25 that He lives forever to intercede with God on the behalf of those who have trusted Him. This truth is also in the Old Testament; Isaiah 51:22 says, “Thus says your Lord, the LORD, your God who pleads the cause of his people.” He is our Lord (master), our LORD (Jehovah--the covenant-keeping God), and our God (creator--who made and knows us intimately).
He is the One who is our master and He will never break covenant with us. His love is everlasting. Because He made us, He knows our weakness, our frailty, and so He intercedes on our behalf. The commentators Keil and Delitzsch interpret this phrase “pleads our cause” as conducting the cause of God’s people as their “advocate” or “defender.”
Despite the fact that He never condones sin, He does defend us righteously. His steadfast love is upon us and He appeals to the Father on our behalf. Jeremiah 50:34 reaffirms this, “Their Redeemer is strong; the Lord of Hosts is His name; He shall thoroughly plead their cause.”
May we take comfort in the truth that while we pray our Lord is praying along with us and His strength will never fail as He pleads our cause before the throne of Almighty God.