Here Paul tells us that His spirit helps us in our infirmities, that is, our weaknesses. He gives us the strength to bear our weaknesses and gives us truths that help us to endure them. One specific way that the Spirit helps us is by making intercession, when we don’t know how to pray. This is a crucial part of the help that the Spirit gives us. Sometimes we don’t know how to pray. That may be because we don’t know what is best for us, or because we don’t know what God might be willing to do for us. We aren’t sure who God is and we don’t understand His character. We know we are suffering, but we don’t know how to help ourselves. When that happens, we need an intercessor. The Holy Spirit becomes our advocate. He knows how to voice our needs. He reads the recesses of our hearts and transmits that the Father, in a way we cannot. These groanings are often in a heavenly language that only God can understand. It becomes a kind of code that allows our hearts to bypass our minds and go straight to the heart of God. The Holy Spirit becomes our interpreter, translating our deepest needs to the language of God.
And we pray:
Father, I thank You for Your Spirit praying for me when I can’t pray for myself. Sometimes I just don’t have the words to express my needs and desires to You. Your Holy Spirit becomes my intercessor and takes my needs directly to You. Thank You for providing Your Spirit to help me when I am in need. Amen.