Groaning in the spirit/ Travailing
26 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 groanings which cannot be uttered.
Of all the various forms
of prayer that there are this is probably the most powerful intercessory form
of prayer.
Many people teach that
speaking in tongues and groaning in the spirit is the same thing. It is not.
Tongues are a language. They can be uttered. They just aren’t understood
naturally. However, this verse tells us that these groanings which are of the
spirit ‘cannot be uttered.’
To understand how this
happens let us look at this verse a bit more;
The word ‘help’ is a
Greek word that means to take hold of something together, to cooperate, and to
assist. It is talking about us being united with the Holy Spirit in
intercession. It is not you doing the intercession alone and it is not the Holy
Spirit doing the intercession alone. It is you praying and the Holy Spirit
taking a hold together with you.
The word weaknesses or
infirmities is a Greek word that means feebleness, weakness, mental frailty. It
is talking about being physically or mentally weak or unable. It is not talking
about sickness. In other places it was translated as weakness and it wasn’t
talking about being sick but being without strength or ability.
And in this case the
infirmity is that ‘we do not know what we
should pray for as we ought,
There are many times in
our lives when we are faced by a situation and we do not know what to pray for
or how to pray for it. Many times we don’t even have the energy or mental
strength to even attempt to pray. We feel weak, defeated already, unable etc.
In these situations as we
come to God in our weakness and begin to pray the Holy Spirit who is our helper
takes a hold of us and empowers us to pray accordingly and appropriately.
Jesus is our example for
this kind of prayer.
In John11 Jesus was faced
with the challenge of raising Lazarus from the dead after he had been dead for
a whole four days. This was no ordinary miracle. This was a big one.
In verse 33 Jesus groaned
in the spirit;
33 Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews
who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.
He wasn’t speaking in
tongues. He was groaning in the spirit. it was an internal thing. You couldn’t
see or hear it.
Again in verse 38 before
He called Lazarus forth He did it again;
38 Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the
tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.
Jesus did not have an
infirmity the way that we understand the word in our present language and
doctrines. He was not sick. He had no sin either. And yet we know that He had
an infirmity. Romans8:26 told us that the Holy Spirit helps us in our
infirmities.
His infirmity was His
natural mind and comprehension. There was no way to naturally understand the
miracle that was about to happen. Raising a person from the dead after four
days. This was big.
Paul also spoke about
this groaning in the spirit. He called it travailing;
Galatians4:19
“My little children, of whom I travail in birth again
until Christ be formed in you”
This would happen as Paul
prayed and interceded for these people who had abandoned the gospel and gone
back into self-righteousness.
This happens to us also. We
come to situations like this as we pray or intercede for others. They are
usually crisis situations or very serious issues.
As we pray the Holy
Spirit takes a hold of the situation together with us. We begin to feel like
our inner man is groaning. We feel deep emotion and passion on the inside.
Sometimes you feel as if your heart is bursting. Groaning is taking place.
You feel aggrieved in
your heart, you feel a groan of anger and resistance against the devil and his
work. You feel like you are roaring on the inside against the situation.
Sadly many times we don’t
discern this. We think it is just us feeling sad and sorry for ourselves or
another person in a terrible situation. So we end up doing what we do best. We
cry and sob.
The best thing to do is
to yield to it and let the Holy Spirit do His work.
You don’t need to say any
words. Just yield to it and let it happen. Yield until you feel complete relief
and freedom.
This happens to all of us
who have the Holy Spirit in us. If you are a Christian this happens to you.
Why do some people speak similar tongues with others?
This has been an issue that causes a lot of confusion and doubt among some people. They feel that everyone should speak a distinct tongue and that there should be no similarities for it to be a genuine language.
However, if we are to think about this a little more there is nothing wrong with such a thing happening. If we believe that tongues are a valid language (which they are), if we believe that is it not just gibberish (which it isn't), if we believe that there is a spiritual world where these languages are spoken (which is true) then there is nothing wrong with this experience.
Think about it. Is there a language you are aware of that is spoken by only one person? Of course not. There are usually many people who speak a language. Tongues are valid spiritual languages. It is therefore possible and perfectly acceptable that the same spiritual languages can be spoken by several people.
Does God want everyone to speak in tongues?
Yes He does. Jesus promised that these new spiritual languages would be available to all who believed in Him;
"And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues" Mark16:17
We have seen the several benefits of being able to pray in tongues. Why would God who is a just God, a fair God, a good God and who has no favoritism with people give this ability to a few people and not to others?
Consider that tongues give me the ability to prophesy my future, discover His plan and purposes for me, unlock His incredible wisdom, edify and build myself up, establish myself in His love, activate all His gifts in me, offer perfect praise and worship and pray perfect prayers. Why would God give me such an incredible ability and not give it to everyone else?
It is His will for all of us to be able to do this and to enjoy these incredible benefits.
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