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Place of Refuge
“Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words. And he who searches the hearts of men knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” Romans 8:26-27
Previous to this verse, Paul talks of living a life in the Spirit. Life in the Spirit is a struggle. St. Paul himself admitted this struggle within his life. He talks of a tension in himself where he knew what is good and yet, he is not able to do it. If this is true for a man of God like Paul, we are much worse. We often fall into sin. Our years of slavery to sin pulls us back - forces us back to our sinful habits. Try as we might, through will power or counseling, we cannot conquer these habits. What makes it worse is that we do not know why we have these habits. This is where the Spirit comes into our life. We do not know why we do what is not good - so we turn ourselves to God's mercy. In this, we let the Spirit pray for us and in us. What is interesting in this verse is that the Spirit is presented as someone who prays FOR us. He is not only someone who speaks for us - He prays for us. What is amazing in this is that when we let the Spirit pray for us, He says exactly what is according to God's will. And these prayers are surely heard and answered by the Lord. To live a life in the Spirit is to live a life where we come before the Lord in our brokenness and allow the Spirit to pray for us AND in us. As we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit, we ask ourselves, what is it that I have to change? What am I struggling at this point in my life? We can come before the Father and allow the Spirit to pray for us so that we will be able to live a life in the Spirit.
http://refuge.conceptsolutionsbc.com
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LIFE
IN THE SPIRIT
