God’s great grace, His
magnificent mercy, and His powerful peace are yours, now and always, from God
the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
In Christ Jesus:
God’s particular Word to us
this morning…
as contained in
the Second Scripture reading from Romans, chapter 8…
doesn’t have much to say to us---most
of the time---does it?
For
the most part,
Life is good.
Life is fine.
Life is normal.
We
go along from day to day, being taken care of by a good and gracious God, with
only minor problems coming our way.
And then…
Wham…something happens to us…and
suddenly we find ourselves in such a desperate and scary situation that we
don’t know what to say.
And,
even when we try praying about it to God, we don’t know what to pray.
Your spouse came
home one day and told you that he or she had found someone else and that your
marriage was all over.
And
the news hit you in the stomach like a ton of bricks…and you didn’t know what
to say.
And later
on---when you turned to God for help--- you didn’t even know what to
pray.
The
doctor called you into his office and told you that the test results confirmed
his diagnosis that the pain in your body is CANCER.
And
the news hit you in the stomach like a ton of bricks and you didn’t what to
say.
And later on---when you turned to God for help---you
didn’t even know what to pray.
You
received that dreaded phone call to tell you that a closed friend or loved one
had unexpectedly died.
And
the news hit you in the stomach like a ton of bricks and you didn’t know what
to say.
And
later on—when you turned to God for help--you didn’t even know what to
pray!
You
were awakened in the middle of the night to learn that your teenage son or
daughter was being held down at the police station.
And
the news hit you in the stomach like a ton of bricks and you didn’t know what
to say.
And
later on---when you turned to God for help---you didn’t even know what
to pray!
All the pious words…
all the remembered Bible
passages…
all the spiritual thoughts
did not help you, and you found yourself
walking
down there in the valley of fear…
walking
down there in the valley of uncertainty…
walking
down there in the valley of pain…
walking
down there in the valley of frustration
walking
down there even in the valley of the shadow of death.
YOU DIDN’T KNOW WHAT TO
SAY--- AND WORSE—
YOU DIDN’T KNOW EVEN WHAT TO PRAY!
Many
of us have been there. I KNOW I HAVE!
I have had things happen to
me in my life, which, at the time, hit me in the stomach like a ton of bricks,
and I didn’t know what to say—and when I turned to God for help--- I didn’t
even know what to pray.
I know that many of you have experienced that
same
pain and uncertainty and fear….
and you know what I am talking about.
And
let me also be as honest with you as I can:
If you haven’t been there yet, you will
be! You will be!
And not necessarily because of anything you have said
or done--- or through no fault of your own.
It will happen to you because that’s life!
You will find yourself saying with the writer of
Psalm 77, who shares his anguish with us when he writes:
“I cry to the Lord; I call and call to Him. Oh, that He would
listen. I am in deep trouble and I need
His help so much. All night long I pray, lifting my hands to heaven, pleading.
There can be no joy for me until He acts.
I think of God and moan, overwhelmed with longing for His help. You have
kept my eyes from closing. I am too distressed even to pray!
Has the Lord rejected
me forever?
Will He never again be
favorable?
Is His loving-kindness
gone forever?
Has His promise
failed?
Has He forgotten to be
kind to one so undeserving?
Has He slammed the
door in anger on His love?”
Sound familiar?
Sure it does!
There are a lot of
us Christians who can relate to Psalm 77.
Most
of us, at some point in our lives, will find ourselves in situations just like
this. And there are days and nights so
tough that only a Psalm like this will offer any relief. And part of that relief is the realization that
we are not alone in our feeling… that someone else on this planet feels just
like we do!
Now, let’s look at
what this writer is saying and what we often feel:
·
His soul refuses to be
comforted. It doesn’t get any tougher
than this!
Have you ever been there? Sure you have! And so have I!
Then he begins to think some wild thoughts. Thoughts like:
Have you ever thought that…
Have you ever felt that?
Have you ever said that?
Sure you have!
And so have I!
I have had people say to me…
I have had members of our
congregation say to me…
I have had some of you
say to me:
“Pastor,
I don’t know what to pray
for, anymore.
I don’t know what words
to say, anymore!
I don’t know if God if
even hearing my prayers, anymore.
I
don’t know if God is even listening to me, anymore!
They, and you, and me, were
walking down there in the valley of fear!
They, and you, and me, were
walking down there in the valley of uncertainty!
They, and you, and me, were
walking down there in the valley of faith
frustration!
What
was happening in their lives, and your life, and my life was hitting us like a
ton of bricks and they, and we, didn’t know what to pray anymore!
And
I shared with them, and
I share with you, and
I shared with myself these
words of Romans 8:
“The Holy Spirit comes to help us, weak
as we are. For when we do not know how
we ought to pray, the Spirit Himself pleads with God for us in groans that
words cannot express.”
Today’s word from St. Paul is for those of
us
who don’t know what to
pray sometimes…
who find ourselves down
there in the valleys of life----
who GROAN, as it
were---even in our prayers-- because of what is happening
to us.
Listen again to what Paul
reminds us this morning:
22We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains
of childbirth right up to the present time. 23Not only so, but we
ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait
eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.”… And then
this….”the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For when we do not know what we
ought to pray for, the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words
cannot express. 27And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of
the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with
God's will.
3 times in this section of God’s Word Paul uses the
word “GROAN.”
“The whole creation groans…”
“We ourselves groan…” And even
“The Holy Spirit of God
intercedes with God for us in groans.”
Why all this “groaning”?
Because …
We live in a
fallen and sinful world!
We are a fallen
people and fallen individuals, and, as such,
We experience the
pain of living life that is distorted by sin.
And
even we, Paul reminds us,
Even we, who are redeemed in
Jesus Christ…
Even we, who have been
adopted by God as His children through Jesus
Christ…
Even we, who have the Holy
Spirit dwelling within us because of Jesus Christ,
we too, sometimes, groan
as we wait for our redemption to be
complete!
It is for people, like
us, who groan inwardly when life’s problems and
complications and pain become so great, that
Paul has written these
words.
It is for people like
us…God’s people….God’s faithful people…God’s often-
times strong people…who
sometimes, because of what is happening
in
our lives don’t even have the words to pray anymore…that Paul
shares these words
with us.
It is for people, like us,
who can only groan because of what
is happening to
us…that these words are so important for us.
And
today St. Paul wants us to know that God hears not just our prayers, but
he hears even our “groans”.
Listen again:
“For when we do not know how we ought to
pray; the Spirit Himself pleads with God for us in groans that words
cannot express.”
This is great news!
This is marvelous news!
This is wonderful news beyond
our expectations!
When our faith is tested…
When the pain in our life
dulls our understanding of what is happening to us….
When we do not know how
to pray anymore or when we do not know what to
pray
for anymore…
THEN THE SPIRIT OF GOD
INTERCEDES WITH GOD ON OUR BEHALF!
Imagine
that!
The
Holy Spirit of God
takes our thoughts…
takes our prayers…
takes even our “groans” before the throne of Almighty
God on our behalf!
What this is saying to you and me is that
God searches our hearts in those times and those moments when we are unable even
to put our prayers into words.
When we can’t find the words to pray, even
our groans are
heard by God and
understood by God and
answered by God.
Do
you realize and understand what is being said here?
Almighty God knows you!
He has not
forsaken you, no matter how tough or scary things become.
He has not closed
His eyes or ears to you.
He is not unaware
or unconcerned about your pain or your problems.
Just
think about that and
remember that and
marvel as a result of that, -------and then
thank God because of that.
From the very beginning of your life to the
very end, God
knows you intimately and
loves you dearly, and
cares for you greatly!
From the womb to the tomb,
from the cradle to the
grave,
from embryo in Your mother’s
body to the dust and the ashes of the earth---
during this time and far into eternity---
God
knows you and
God
loves you and
God
cares about you!
Over and over we have affirmed the truth of God’s Word
which says that God---because of Jesus---does care about each of us and all of
us.
Time
and time again we are reminded…
from this pulpit or
in a Bible Study classroom
or
at a hospital bedside
that
God is not far away…
that
God is not removed…
that
God is not distant… but right there with you wherever you are and
wherever
you go!
Our God knows us in our
greatness need and in our greatest weakness. Our God knows us when we are at our wit’s end and don’t know
how or what
to pray.
Our God knows us when we are down in the pits and deep holes of life.
And
when that happens, the Spirit Himself pleads with God for US in groans
that words cannot express.
God knows when we are facing a difficult decision and we
don’t know how or what to pray. And
when that happens, the Spirit Himself pleads with God for you in groans that
words cannot express.
God knows when we are scared stiff waiting in the
doctor’s office for the test results and you don’t know what to pray. And when that happens, the Spirit Himself
pleads with God for you in groans that words cannot express.
God knows our fears when
terminal illness and death comes to us or to those we love. And when that happens, the Spirit Himself
pleads with God for us in groans that words cannot express.
God hears all our
prayers. And more. God hears even the groans when we
don’t know what to pray or how to pray.
Oh…how I need to remember that! And so do you.
God hears even the groans
when we don’t know what to pray or how to pray.
PLEASE, never forget that.
Amen.