“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.” Romans 8:26, NIV

We’ve all had those days when what we are facing is so beyond our thinking that it has paralyzed our being, putting all our emotions on hold, as we fall to your knees in weakness over the news or circumstance.  The shock literally overwhelms us. As a believer, we instinctively know who to call out to, but we cannot come up with the words.  Words fail us.  Only the groans from our inner being can be felt and heard.

Paul has had days like this which included whippings and beatings, being jailed, and watching others he loved be maimed for believing in Jesus.  But in times like these, Paul draws his strength from his intimacy with His Master, Jesus.  God’s Holy Spirit intercedes in times that overwhelm Paul with a language of spiritual words through Paul, in the Name of Jesus.  It is in these times, between God and His beloved, that this intimate, loving relationship with God grows into a deep, holy awareness of the Holy Presence of God within us.    

Paul warns believers that this holy intimacy is not for show.  It is for intimate communion with God alone as we grow in His love that is embedded so deep within us that nothing can come between God and us.  “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39, NIV

Hard times come and go but God’s love stays, never fails, never gives up and is unmovable! 

1 Corinthians 14, The Message

^1-3 Go after a life of love as if your life depended on it—because it does. Give yourselves to the gifts God gives you. Most of all, try to proclaim his truth. If you praise him in the private language of tongues, God understands you but no one else does, for you are sharing intimacies just between you and him. But when you proclaim his truth in everyday speech, you’re letting others in on the truth so that they can grow and be strong and experience his presence with you.

^4-5 The one who prays using a private “prayer language” certainly gets a lot out of it, but proclaiming God’s truth to the church in its common language brings the whole church into growth and strength. I want all of you to develop intimacies with God in prayer, but please don’t stop with that. Go on and proclaim his clear truth to others. It’s more important that everyone have access to the knowledge and love of God in language everyone understands than that you go off and cultivate God’s presence in a mysterious prayer language—unless, of course, there is someone who can interpret what you are saying for the benefit of all.

^6-8 Think, friends: If I come to you and all I do is pray privately to God in a way only he can understand, what are you going to get out of that? If I don’t address you plainly with some insight or truth or proclamation or teaching, what help am I to you? If musical instruments—flutes, say, or harps—aren’t played so that each note is distinct and in tune, how will anyone be able to catch the melody and enjoy the music? If the trumpet call can’t be distinguished, will anyone show up for the battle?

^9-12 So if you speak in a way no one can understand, what’s the point of opening your mouth? There are many languages in the world and they all mean something to someone. But if I don’t understand the language, it’s not going to do me much good. It’s no different with you. Since you’re so eager to participate in what God is doing, why don’t you concentrate on doing what helps everyone in the church?

^13-17 So, when you pray in your private prayer language, don’t hoard the experience for yourself. Pray for the insight and ability to bring others into that intimacy. If I pray in tongues, my spirit prays but my mind lies fallow, and all that intelligence is wasted. So what’s the solution? The answer is simple enough. Do both. I should be spiritually free and expressive as I pray, but I should also be thoughtful and mindful as I pray. I should sing with my spirit, and sing with my mind. If you give a blessing using your private prayer language, which no one else understands, how can some outsider who has just shown up and has no idea what’s going on know when to say “Amen”? Your blessing might be beautiful, but you have very effectively cut that person out of it.

^18-19 I’m grateful to God for the gift of praying in tongues that he gives us for praising him, which leads to wonderful intimacies we enjoy with him. I enter into this as much or more than any of you. But when I’m in a church assembled for worship, I’d rather say five words that everyone can understand and learn from than say ten thousand that sound to others like gibberish.

^20-25 To be perfectly frank, I’m getting exasperated with your childish thinking. How long before you grow up and use your head—your adult head? It’s all right to have a childlike unfamiliarity with evil; a simple no is all that’s needed there. But there’s far more to saying yes to something. Only mature and well-exercised intelligence can save you from falling into gullibility. It’s written in Scripture that God said,

In strange tongues
    and from the mouths of strangers
I will preach to this people,
    but they’ll neither listen nor believe.

So where does it get you, all this speaking in tongues no one understands? It doesn’t help believers, and it only gives unbelievers something to gawk at. Plain truth-speaking, on the other hand, goes straight to the heart of believers and doesn’t get in the way of unbelievers. If you come together as a congregation and some unbelieving outsiders walk in on you as you’re all praying in tongues, unintelligible to each other and to them, won’t they assume you’ve taken leave of your senses and get out of there as fast as they can? But if some unbelieving outsiders walk in on a service where people are speaking out God’s truth, the plain words will bring them up against the truth and probe their hearts. Before you know it, they’re going to be on their faces before God, recognizing that God is among you.

^26-33 So here’s what I want you to do. When you gather for worship, each one of you be prepared with something that will be useful for all: Sing a hymn, teach a lesson, tell a story, lead a prayer, provide an insight. If prayers are offered in tongues, two or three’s the limit, and then only if someone is present who can interpret what you’re saying. Otherwise, keep it between God and yourself. And no more than two or three speakers at a meeting, with the rest of you listening and taking it to heart. Take your turn, no one person taking over. Then each speaker gets a chance to say something special from God, and you all learn from each other. If you choose to speak, you’re also responsible for how and when you speak. When we worship the right way, God doesn’t stir us up into confusion; he brings us into harmony. This goes for all the churches—no exceptions.

^34-36 Wives must not disrupt worship, talking when they should be listening, asking questions that could more appropriately be asked of their husbands at home. God’s Book of the law guides our manners and customs here. Wives have no license to use the time of worship for unwarranted speaking. Do you—both women and men—imagine that you’re a sacred oracle determining what’s right and wrong? Do you think everything revolves around you?

^37-38 If any one of you thinks God has something for you to say or has inspired you to do something, pay close attention to what I have written. This is the way the Master wants it. If you won’t play by these rules, God can’t use you. Sorry.

^39-40 Three things, then, to sum this up: When you speak forth God’s truth, speak your heart out. Don’t tell people how they should or shouldn’t pray when they’re praying in tongues that you don’t understand. Be courteous and considerate in everything.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

The Corinthian believers were so impressed by the glitz and wonder of spiritual gifts that they lost their perspective and forgot the purpose of these gifts.  Spiritual gifts glorify God and build up the body of Christ. Gifts should never be misused, envied, or cause division.  Paul is teaching us that this gift of speaking in prayer language is equal to all of God’s gifts to us. Not one gift is more important than another. 

IT’S PERSONAL

I have not had the experience where my intimacy with God included speaking in a language of words I did not know.  But I have had times of shocking circumstances that brought me to my knees.  I didn’t know what or how to pray so I merely sat in silence before God. Only the groans from the depths of my being could be heard.  God had my full attention.  Then God spoke into me, reminding me of His love for me.  He spoke words of peace in ways that are hard to describe.  The circumstance did not change in that moment but the way I was to react toward it was transformed.  Each encounter, calling out in Jesus Name, was different as all of me waited on all that God had to say.  I would rise with more strength, more love and awe, as the Presence of God was seen and felt in and all around me.   

I asked my friend, a fellow respected believer, who did speak in this prayer language about her encounter with God in this way.  Her reply helped me to understand the most important part—intimacy with God alone.  She said;

“When I cannot come up with the words to say, it is usually in times of deep despair over circumstances beyond my normal understanding and give me great sadness. So, I go to my “prayer closet” for a private time to speak to God.  I know with a doubt He will meet me there by His promise to always be with us.  At first, there is silence.  Then the Holy Spirit intercedes with words that flow from my lips to God’s heart.  This is a very intimate time with God where I know He knows and understands.  I trust Him to bring healing, wisdom, care, and restoration for my broken heart. The words cease and then I am at peace, the kind of peace that only Jesus delivers.” 

She went on to say, “If I did this during a gathering of believers, it would not be very useful for others, and even more importantly, she felt it would minimize the awe of her personal intimacy with God.”

We must prayer for discernment consistently.  God will answer.

MOST IMPORTANTLY…

God Gives.  We thank Him in grateful praise, honoring God alone, privately and corporately, in an attitude of awe for the Giver!

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16, NIV

All because He loved us first!  (1 John 4:19)

The fundamental Truth is Jesus died and rose again so that we could have eternal life with Him.  Believe, repent in surrender, and be saved forever!

Lord,

There are so many things that hinder, disrupt, distract, us from the work of salvation you are doing in and through us as your church.  Lead us not into temptations but deliver us from evil and evil’s schemes to destroy or faith in You. We pray for discernment, your leading and guiding, for we need you every hour of every day.

In Jesus Name, Amen