Now He who is searching the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
Truth to Learn
The Holy Spirit knows what to say and how to say it when He prays to the Father for us.
Behind the Words
The word translated “searching” is the Greek verb ereunaō, which means “to investigate, explore, or make inquiry.”
“Mind” is translated from phronema, a derivative of the verb phroneō, meaning “to think or to have a mind set.” Hence, phronema means “the thinking or mindset” that is to say “the tendency or inclination of the mind.”
“Intercedes” is translated from the Greek word enthugchanō. We looked at a form of this word in yesterday’s verse. It is a compound word made up of en, meaning “in” and thugchanō, which literally means “to strike an opponent with a weapon.” When these two words are combined, however, the word has the meaning of “to fall in with or in behalf of another” or “to make a defense or appeal with another person.”
The word translated “saints” is the Greek word hagios, which means “a holy one” or “sanctified (set-apart) one.” Contrary to the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church, you don’t have to be canonized in order to be a saint. Anyone who has accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior has been justified and cleansed of all sins, has been set-apart (sanctified) by God as His own, and is referred to as a “saint” in the New Testament.
Meaning Explained
In the previous verse Paul told us that the Spirit of God within us prays for us when we are spiritually or physically weak. There are many who believe that this verse applies to us any time we are praying since, compared to God, we are always weak. But whether it is in those times when we think we are weak or at all times since we are spiritually weak compared to Him, the Holy Spirit is our perfect prayer partner.
Notice that the words “the will of” are in italics in our translation. We have inserted these words to make more sense to us; there are no equivalent words in the Greek text. A more literal translation of the last phrase of the current verse would be: “because He makes intercession for the saints according to God.” That is to say, the intercessory work of the Holy Spirit is according to what God has determined, not according to our wants or desires.
When we put this all together we see why the Holy Spirit is such a perfect prayer partner. It is because He (God, who is the one who searches our hearts and knows us even better than we know ourselves) also knows what His own thinking is and, therefore, can speak directly to the Father for us in the most effective way and in perfect keeping with the will and purpose of God the Father.
Application
I have heard Christians say, “I’m not very good at praying.” What Paul is telling us is that we don’t have to be. In Phillipians 4:6 he tells us, “let your requests be made known to God.” We don’t have to use a lot of theological words, with an occasional “Thee” and “Thou” sprinkled in. We simply have to open our hearts and talk directly to God. Then, the Holy Spirit will be our interpreter, our representative, our legal mouthpiece to the Father.
In God's service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved
