The Spirit himself intercedes for us with groaning too deep for words. And….the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:26-27)

Praying and reading your Bible are inextricably connected. The Spirit of God often uses the Word of God when you pray. When I pray about something, Scripture often comes to mind, and I immediately open my Bible to the passage I believe the Spirit of God brought to my attention. I see this as God guiding me by His Word. As I pray about a particular matter, the Spirit of God takes the Word of God and applies it to my heart and mind to reveal the truth of the situation for which I am praying.

God’s Word tells us that we have a divine intercession- the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:26-27). The Spirit has the advantage over us- He already knows God’s will- and when He intercedes for us, He is in absolute agreement with God’s will and helps us know the will of God as we pray.

The Holy Spirit “will not speak on His own, but He will speak whatever He hears. He will also declare to you what is to come.”(John 16:13) When you pray, anticipate that the Holy Spirit already knows what He has prepared for you. The Spirit does not guide you on His own initiative; He tells you what He hears from the Father and guides you to pray for what He knows the Father wants to do in your life.

When I review what I have journaled that God is saying to me when I pray and read His Word, I begin to see what God is telling me about Himself, His purposes, and His ways. I often see a pattern develop. As I watch the direction the Spirit is leading me to pray, I get an indication of what God is saying to me.

When the Holy Spirit reveals a truth to you in prayer, He is present and actively working in your life. This kind of prayer is a divine encounter.

Henry and Richard Blackaby

I’m sure there are those times when you might wish that you knew someone was praying for you. Often, especially in extremely difficult times, we may feel so isolated and alone and wonder if there’s anyone who is standing with us in prayer. We may have made our request known and we may hope that when someone says they are praying for us, they actually are. I want to give us some words of encouragement. When no one else in the world is praying for you and when you don’t feel like you’re praying effective prayers; you always have two intercession who bring your need and desire before the Father.

Christ Jesus is the one and the Holy Spirit is the other. Both of these always intercede on your behalf and both of these always ask according to the will of the Father. Their track record is that whatever they ask is always granted.

Therefore He (Jesus) is able also to save forever (completely, perfectly, for eternity) those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede and intervene on their behalf [with God].

Hebrews 7:25

So every time we come before the throne of grace to offer our requests, Christ pleads our case before the Father on our behalf. What an advocate we have. Though we may not always know that other humans take our needs seriously and may not even be able to know and pray according to the will of the Father, we know that as the children of God everything that touches us touches Him. His love for us is immeasurable and has a depth beyond our comprehension. Hebrews tells us that Christ “lives to make intercession for us.”

Now Jesus taught that “if any two of you agree… whatsoever you ask in my name it shall be done.”

“Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

Matthew 18:19-20

If God will answer when two humans ask in agreement, how much more then will He answer when Jesus and the Holy Spirit ask in agreement.

Blackaby reminds us that the Holy Spirit intercedes on our behalf and always asks according to the will of the Father. Now I don’t know about you but I want that kind of intercession. I want someone who can bring my need before God and always comes back with the right answer for me. Paul says in Romans that when we don’t know what to pray or how to pray the Spirit prays for us through us.

If you’re struggling with your prayer life why not ask Jesus, the great Intercessor to give you the Holy Spirit so that He may pray for you through you. Why not say to the Holy Spirit, “Please pray through me for me. I yield to You my mind, my heart ,my soul and my tongue. Please work through them to make intercession for me.”

Then let us also say, “Holy Spirit, when you have made my request known to the Father, please also make known to me His answer and give me ears to hear and faith to believe what You say to me.

Let our hearts be encouraged today to know that God has provided us two Great Intercessors who are constantly keeping us and our needs before the throne of God. Let us remember that they also are those who bring us the answer and make know to us the Father’s plans and desires for us as His children. Let us rejoice in the knowledge that we can never be overcome by life since we are constantly being lifted up in prayer.

Dr. John Thompson