The Spirit Helps in Our Weakness (Romans 8:26-27)

“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” (Rom. 8:26-27, ESV). 

Divine-Human Collaboration

“Likewise” or “in the same manner”—pertaining to “what we do not see” and our “hope” that sustains us with patient endurance in cooperation with God (vv. 24-25)—“the Spirit” (as per vv. 9a, 11, 14, 16) “helps with”¹ “our weakness.” This is yet another divine-human cooperative effort (cf. v. 16),² wherein the Spirit is not doing the praying for us, nor are we praying without the Spirit’s intercession.³

Intercession in Prayer

In contrast to what “we know” (vv. 22, 28), when “we do not know what to pray for as we ought,” whether struggling to identify our deepest needs or to find the right words to express them, or to apprehend the will of God in particular areas of our lives and the lives of others, divine help is available. While we may preface our feeble requests with the qualifier, “your will be done” (cf. 1:10; 15:32),⁴ double-intercession is at work as the Spirit intercedes from within praying hearts and as Christ intercedes at the heavenly throne (v. 34).⁵ This occurs in conjunction with God’s providential care (v. 28). 

The “groanings too deep for words” are different from the “groanings” of creation and of God’s suffering children (vv. 22-23).⁶ The adj. ἀλάλητος, “unexpressed, wordless” (BAGD 34), does not convey the sense of “unintelligible” as much as “unspoken.” “While far from being devoid of content, meaning, and intent, they nevertheless transcend articulated formulation.”⁷ Assurance, then, is given “which the unready of speech may well lay to heart, that all prayer need not be formulated but that the most inarticulate desires (springing from a right motive) may have a shape and a value given to them beyond anything that is present and definable to the consciousness.”⁸

The Divine Will

God “searches hearts”⁹ and “knows what is the mind [φρόνημα] of the Spirit [πνεῦμα],” or perhaps “the mind of the [human] spirit,” synonymous with the human “heart” [καρδία] (cf. vv. 5-8).¹⁰ If “the Spirit” is intended, we are reminded of the perfect unity within the Godhead, inclusive of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (cf. vv. 8-10, 14-17, 32-34; also 1 Cor. 2:10-11, 16). Rather than an explanatory “because,” the conjunction ὅτι here seems more descriptive, “that” the Spirit “intercedes for the saints according to [the will of] God” in that the Spirit’s intercession is in fact God’s will (v. 26), and God always answers prayers in accordance with what he wills (v. 28), and he wills to hear and answer the prayers of those sanctified (1:7; 15:30-32), and the intercession of the Spirit is for those who live and pray in accordance with God’s revealed will (1:10; 12:2). Precision of meaning is not necessary here when all of the above are biblically affirmed.¹¹ 

The “inability to petition God specifically and assuredly is met by God’s Spirit, who himself expresses to God those intercessory petitions that perfectly match the will of God…. our failure to understand God’s purposes and plans, to see ‘the beginning from the end,’ does not mean that effective, powerful prayer for our specific needs is absent.”¹² See 1:10; 10:1; 12:12; 15:30; Eph. 3:20; Phil. 4:6-7; Jas. 4:13-18; and compare Psa. 88:1-2, 13.

--Kevin L. Moore

Endnotes:

     ¹ The compound συναντιλαμβάνομαι (also occurring in Luke 10:40) is comprised of two prepositions, σύν ("together with") + ἀντί ("over against" or "corresponding to") and the verbal λαμβάνω ("take hold of").

     ² Note also “with” Christ (vv. 17, 32), and the providential working of God (v. 28).

     ³ Paul uses two different words that essentially convey the same meaning: ὑπερεντυγχάνω, to “plead” or “intercede” (v. 26), and ἐντυγχάνω, to “appeal,” “entreat,” “petition” (vv. 27, 34; 11:2). See BAGD 270, 840. 

     ⁴ Cf. Matt. 6:10; 26:39, 42; Mark 14:36; Luke 22:42; John 12:27; Acts 18:21; 21:14; 1 Cor. 4:19; 16:7; Heb. 6:3; Jas. 4:15; 1 John 5:14.  

     ⁵ See also Heb. 4:14-16; 7:24; 9:24; 1 John 2:1.

     ⁶ Against the popular glossolalia interpretation, see D. J. Moo, Romans 524-25; E. F. Harrison, “Romans” 96. Whatever biblical tongue-speaking entails, it was not intended for every Christian (1 Cor. 12:7-11, 28-30), whereas the Spirit’s intercession in prayer is. 

     ⁷ J. Murray, Romans 1:312. “Even though we’re unable to verbalize our deepest desires, God knows them …” (R. Mohrlang, Romans 139). 

     ⁸ W. Sanday and A. C. Headlam, Romans 213-14.

     ⁹ 1 Sam. 16:7; 1 Kings 8:39; 1 Chron. 28:9; Psa. 7:9; 17:3; 139:1, 23; Jer. 11:20; 17:10; Acts 1:24; 15:8; 1 Cor. 4:5; Rev. 2:23.

     ¹⁰ The term “heart” [καρδία] represents a person’s physical, mental, and spiritual core, involving the cognitive (10:6, 8-10), emotional (9:2), and impetus of action (6:17). 

     ¹¹ Matt. 6:9-10; 7:20-21; 12:50; Eph. 3:20; 5:10, 17; 6:6; 1 Thess. 4:3; Heb. 6:3; 10:7, 9, 36; Jas. 4:15; 1 Pet. 1:12; 3:17; 1 John 2:17; 5:11-15.

     ¹² D. J. Moo, Romans 526. 

Related Posts: Rom 8:28-39

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Paul’s Thorn in the Flesh

     In the twelfth chapter of 2 Corinthians, Paul speaks of “visions and revelations of the Lord” (v. 1) and briefly describes a remarkable heavenly experience (vv. 2-4). He then confesses, “that I should not be exalted by the surpassing excellence of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me …” (v. 7a).¹ It is depicted here as a “messenger” [aggelos] of Satan, the purpose of which, “that it might maltreat [kolaphizō] me that I should not become exalted” (v. 7b). Paul pleaded with the Lord three times that it might be taken away (v. 8), yet it persisted.

     A “thorn” [skolops]² signifies a sharp affliction, while “flesh” is indicative of something physical (cf. 2 Cor. 5:16; 10:2-3; 11:18). This follows the lengthy account of Paul’s vexations that included beatings, imprisonments, stoning, and various perils (11:23-26). As Satan’s aggelos, readers are reminded of the preceding warnings about “false apostles” (11:13) exposed as masquerading “servants” of Satan (11:15), who himself masquerades as an aggelos of light (11:14). Moreover, these troublemakers were prone to violence (11:20), and the word used here for the maltreatment inflicted on Paul is kolaphizō, which literally means to “strike with the fist” (cf. 1 Cor. 4:11).³

     Contextually, therefore, Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” seems to be a veiled allusion to the incessant opposition he was facing, particularly “persecutions … for Christ” (12:10; cf. 1:8-10; 7:5; 4:8-12; 6:4-9; 11:23-26). This interpretation is consistent with similar imagery in the OT (Num. 33:55; Josh. 23:13; Ezek. 28:24) and is confirmed by what is known about the persistent challenges he endured throughout his ministry (see Acts 9:16, 23, 29; 13:8, 45, 50; 14:2, 5, 19, 22; 15:1-2; 16:19-24, 37, 39; 17:5, 13, 32; 18:6, 12; 19:9, 23-31; 20:23, 29-31; 21:11, 27-33; 22:22, 25; 23:2, 10, 12; 24:27; 25:2-3; 26:21; 28:17, 30; 1 Cor. 15:30; Gal. 5:11; 1 Tim. 1:20; 2 Tim. 2:17; 4:14; cf. Rom. 5:3; 8:35-36).

     Other suggestions have included some type of physical malady (cf. Gal. 4:13), such as headaches, malaria, epilepsy, poor eyesight (cf. Gal. 4:15; 6:11), or a speech impediment (cf. 1 Cor. 2:1-4; 2 Cor. 10:10); perhaps a psychological disorder. At the end of the day, the observation of P. E. Hughes is worth noting: “the plain fact is that it is impossible to escape from the realm of conjecture, which is by its nature the realm of inconclusiveness. Presumably those to whom the Apostle wrote knew well enough the character of this particular infirmity with which he was afflicted, but there is an absence of any firm tradition which might enable us to identify it” (Second Corinthians 442).

     “And [the Lord] said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you; for the power is perfected in weakness’” (2 Cor. 12:9a). In the Lord’s response to Paul, the verb arkeō (“suffice”) in the Greek text is the first word of the sentence, placing emphasis on the sufficiency of divine grace. Though employed with a variety of nuances, “grace” has a heavy emphasis in Paul’s writings, particularly in the letters sent to Corinth.⁴ As he has stated earlier, “But [by the] grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been worthless, but I labored more abundantly than all of them, yet not I but the grace of God that [was] with me” (1 Cor. 15:10).

     “Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ might dwell upon me” (2 Cor. 12:9b). This “boasting” started at 11:16, in response to unjustified attacks, and “weakness” was introduced at 10:10 as an insult from antagonists. But Paul has shown it to be a virtue in the Lord’s service (11:21, 29, 30; 12:5, 9, 10; 13:3, 4, 9). Divine power is more clearly evident in the face of human frailty (see 3:5; 4:7; 6:7; 13:4; cf. 1 Cor. 2:1-5).

     “Therefore I am well pleased in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, and difficulties for Christ; for when I might be weak, then I am strong” (12:10). This strength-out-of-weakness paradox clashes with man’s infatuation with achievement, prosperity, status, notability, power, and success. Nevertheless, adversity is inevitable for everyone in this imperfect world, and especially for servants of Christ (John 16:33; Acts 14:22; 2 Tim. 3:12). Paul, through his “thorn in the flesh,” teaches us that humility and greater dependence on God are constructive benefits to be appreciated and utilized. Let us be thankful, therefore, no matter what challenges we face, that we still have access to the same source of comfort and strength!

--Kevin L. Moore

Endnotes:

     ¹ Scripture quotations are the author’s own translation.

     ² This is the only occurrence of the word skolops in the NT. It refers to anything with a sharp point that causes pain, like a stake, thorn, or splinter. See Num. 33:55; Ezek. 28:24; Hos. 2:6 (LXX).

     ³ The present tense indicates ongoing abuse (see also Matt. 26:67; 1 Pet. 2:20).

     ⁴ Charis (“grace”) appears 156 times in the Greek NT; 100 times in Paul, and 28 times in the Corinthian correspondence: 1 Cor. 1:3, 4; 3:10; 10:30; 15:10; [15:57; 16:3]; 16:23; 2 Cor. 1:2, 12, 15; [2:14]; 4:15; 6:1; 8:1, 4, 6, 7, [16], 19; 9:8, 14, [15]; 12:9; 13:14.

Related Posts: Why Does God Allow Suffering?

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