Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses.  For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groaning which cannot be uttered. (27) Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. 

The letter to the Romans was written by the apostle Paul and our verses today are all about prayer. Paul is encouraging us to pray and is not talking about technique but rather the content of our prayers.  We do not know the will of God and therefore we do not have a meaningful prayer life so God sent us the Holy Spirit who does know the will of God and intercedes for us.

At the moment of faith we are saved and we are sealed with the presence of the Spirit. We are weak and do not pray enough because we don’t even recognize how fragile we are – Paul includes himself in this weakness. But God has given us the Spirit -who is God – to help us pray and the very fact that the Spirit prays for us show the Spirit is distinct from God the Father to whom He prays. The Spirit and the Father are aligned so prayer is in accordance with the will of the Father.

The Spirit dwells in all the faithful and and translates our deepest emotions – articulates our prayers which come from the heart. The Spirit’s prayers are always according to God’s will and thus are always answered.  We should know that in prayer as in everything we are nothing without God and that God’s power is perfected in our weakness.

I hear a very wise preacher say that when he is struggling to find the right words  he turns to the prayers of Jesus as written in the New Testament.  What better way to learn how to pray.