“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.”
We have been reading in the preceding verses about how we and all creation are groaning, waiting for our glorification. Here we have another key that helps us to wait patiently (Rom. 8:25) for that day: the Holy Spirit with us.
The Holy Spirit is our helper and our comforter (John 14:16-17). He knows our weaknesses and helps us in them: to resist temptation, to stand when the heat is on; He gives us power and boldness to witness to others, He reminds us of the Scriptures and will guide us in all righteousness if we let Him. In this verse we find another aspect by which He helps us: in our prayer lives. Commentators generally agree that the Spirit does not pray to God on our behalf, but He assists us when we pray. In those times when we don’t know how to articulate a deep hurt or emotion and all we can do is groan in our spirit, or those times when the will of God is not clear to us and we don’t know how to pray, this is when the Holy Spirit steps in to help. God knows what is in our hearts. He can understand our unspoken prayers (c.f. 1 Sam. 1:13). We don’t need to be eloquent in our prayers for God to take notice. Sometimes we cannot find the words. It is indeed comforting to know that He hears us all the same.
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