Sermon Romans 8:22-27 “Praying in the Spirit”
Presbyterian Church of Easton
May 23, 2021
This morning we celebrate Pentecost Sunday. I am wearing a red stole signifying the coming of the Holy Spirit, as tongues of fire, on the first Pentecost, just ten days after Jesus ascended to heaven.
Pentecost was an ancient festival celebrating the first barley harvest of the season. Barley was planted at the Passover and then seven weeks or 50 days later it was ready for harvest. This festival became known as the festival of weeks and became a holy convocation when no work was to be done and everyone was to come for worship. It was there that the congregation gave thanks for the grain harvest.
So as Christians we approach Pentecost in thanksgiving for the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. And it is this work of the Spirit of God that we will be looking at today. But first let’s pray.
Holy Spirit, come upon us as you did that day with the disciples of Jesus. Make my tongue proclaim God’s words for this congregation. May our ears be receptive to what God is saying to us today. And help us to proclaim these words to others in our community. We pray this with you, the Son and the Father. Amen.
Romans 8:22-27 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; 23 and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. 26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. 27 And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
In my office, I have a computer which I use on the internet. Inside the computer is an adapter that allows the computer to attach to the internet. The computer and the adapter themselves cannot connect to the internet without first attaching the computer to Easton Utilities and the internet. Most of the time, it all works.
In addition to the adapter which connects it to the internet, my computer must also be able to communicate properly. It has to use what is called a protocol, or way of communicating. All computers that want to use the internet must use the internet protocol or IP.
There is still one more thing that has to happen for my computer to connect to the internet. It must have the permission of an internet service provider, in our case, Easton Utilities. When my computer has the appropriate connection, is communicating properly, and has permission to use the internet then I am then able to check my email, read today’s news, and do research for Bible studies and sermons.
This procedure for connecting a computer to the internet is similar to what happens when we pray. We have to have the physical ability to communicate with God. We have to use the correct protocol. And we need God’s permission to communicate with him. Physical Ability, Correct Protocol, God’s Permission, let’s go.
Let’s start with physical ability. Have you ever thought about the absolute absurdity of being able to pray? We are finite creatures with very limited abilities. What makes us think that we have the ability to communicate with God, the creator of the universe? Would God pay attention at all to what comes out of our mouths? The theologian Paul Tillich said that it is humanly impossible to pray. Here is what he said.
“This we should never forget when we pray: We do something humanly impossible. We talk to somebody who is not somebody else, but who is nearer to us than we ourselves are. We address somebody who can never become an object of our address because he is always subject, always acting, always creating. We tell something to Him who knows not only what we tell Him but also all the unconscious tendencies out of which our conscious words grow. This is the reason why prayer is humanly impossible.” (http://www.religion-online.org/showchapter.asp?title=375&C=31)
But the Bible tells us that we must pray. Prayer is vital for our own spirituality. So how can we pray as we should when we are unable to pray at all? The Apostle Paul puts it this way.
Roman 8:26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought.
The Apostle Paul tells us that reason we can pray is that God is already praying through us. God sends his own spirit the Holy Spirit to enter us and speak for us back to God. So the Holy Spirit is the adapter that in us and allows us to connect to the God-net.
With the coming of the Holy Spirit we now have the physical ability to pray to God, but what protocol should we use? How should we talk with God? Humans have two ways of forming prayers. These are the liturgical prayer and the improvisational prayer.
We use liturgical prayers in our worship services. Liturgical prayers are those that are written down and are sometimes said in unison or responsively. Many of these prayers were written by great Christian writers and poets. They can communicate the great majesty and mystery of our God. They remind us of our need to pray praises, thanksgiving, confessions, intercession, illuminations, and dedications. Jesus gave us a liturgical prayer which we say every Sunday, The Lord’s Prayer.
But if we use liturgical prayers over and over again they may become mechanical; we say the words but the words have no meaning. So we have to be careful when using only this protocol to communicate on the God-net.
In addition to liturgical prayers, we also use improvisational prayers. These prayers are not written down; rather they are spoken from the heart. These prayers are directed to a person called “God”. They are in the form of a conversation. In improvisational prayers, we offer up our joys and concerns to God. We express our most fundamental needs and desires and we trust that our creator God will hear us.
I use improvisational prayer whenever I am praying with someone privately. I also use them when praying for the church each morning and in our prayer services. Improvisational prayers are important, but if all we used were improvisational prayers we might be lowering God to the level of a best friend who listens to our complaints. We also need liturgical prayers to remind us of the glory and honor that are required for God.
So, we have the physical ability to connect to the God-net through the Holy Spirit. And we use liturgical and improvisation prayers. But what makes us think that God hears these prayers and acts upon them? Are we using the correct protocol so that God hears our prayers? Paul said it works this way.
Romans 8:26b That very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.
The answer that Paul gives us is that these prayers are translated by the Holy Spirit into a God-net protocol describing this work as “sighs too deep for words.” So the Holy Spirit takes what we pray and converts those prayers into something we cannot understand, but makes perfect sense to God. Therefore we need the Holy Spirit in our hearts for our words, and thoughts, and feelings to be communicated to God.
So God sent the Holy Spirit into our hearts giving us the ability to pray and connecting us to the God-net. And this Holy Spirit communicates our prayers over this God-net and uses a protocol called “sighs too deep for words”. Two of our questions are answered. But what about the third? Does God give us permission to use the God-net? This permission would be necessary for God to hear and act upon our prayers.
For my computer to work on the church’s internet service, I need permission from Easton Utilities. We get this permission by subscribing to their service. We have a router to connect us to the Easton Utilities’ servers. For my computer to work it has to connect through this router. My computer needs permission to use the router. The router needs permission to use the servers. And these permissions are granted through the use of passwords. Just as we need permission to use the internet we also need permission to use the God-net. Where do we get this permission? The Apostle puts it this way.
Romans 8:27 And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
Our permission to use the God-net and communicate with God was given to us by God according to God’s will.
Jesus paid the cost of this connection to the God-net with his life, and he assured eternal God-net service with his resurrection. So the God-net will be always on. And Christ sent his Spirit to us to assure us that our connection with God will never go down. So all we have to do to pray is believe in Jesus Christ and accept his Spirit the rest is automatic and our prayers are heard by God.
So I urge you to order your God-net service today. To subscribe to this free service just believe in Jesus Christ. All that you need will be sent to you. The Holy Spirit will come and connect you to the God-net. Pray by yourself or with others and the Holy Spirit will convert and transmit those prayers to God. God has already given us permission to do this. And the service was bought and paid for by Jesus Christ. It is that easy. Order today. Let’s pray.
Father in heaven, we are testing the God-net we just ordered. Please have your Holy Spirit take the prayers of this congregation and bring them to you. We thank you and praise you for letting us pray to you. And we pray in the name of your Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
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