The Spirit Presents My Case

I know how you could work this out, Lord— 

bringing some particular pressure to bear,

inserting in their mind this realization,

convicting them of sin and errors.

But you have not been taking my advice!

My hours in prayer, my carefully concocted plots,

have seemed to come to nothing, just so much

dust in light beams, dissipating, gone.

I’m growing a suspicion that you’ve smiled

at my smart strategies, my wishful webs,

seeing through them to the driving underlying

heartthrob in each one, the true main thing.

And, Spirit interceding for each need, each goal,

you’ve been about your business all along,

accomplishing your purposes your way,

working in each instance for my good!

Once more I’ve had an inkling of  

your crisis management, the way you draw on

resources I can’t know about, can’t work into my plans.

Who has ever told you something new, unknown?

Who has clarified your thinking, made you wise?

My Father, once again I’m mesmerized  

by how you do your weaving, subtle but intense,

and in your timing wisely work things out—

not always how I thought you would,

but you do give me strength when I am weak.

I hear you urging me to watch and wait. Your Spirit

guides, consoles me, tells you what is at stake.

The interconnectedness of the Trinity is a truth that changes everything for those of us who are attached to our God. He made us and watches over us, he is with us always, he lives in us, and at the same time he rules the universe. He rescued us fallen humans by becoming human and dying for us, but lives forever, and never left his throne while accomplishing that plan. He then made a way for us to have constant comfort and guidance and also instant access to his throne: his Spirit lives in each of his children. He coaches us, and consoles us when we are hurting. But as part of the Trinity, he also communicates instantly with God the Father; they are always on the same wavelength, with nothing ever interrupting them.

We humans are made “in his image” (Genesis 1:27). We have a physical aspect and a spiritual one, and our mind and “heart” work together, each majoring on certain tasks. But we are each one person. The different parts of our person work together.

Imagine we could witness the intercommunication happening in our own person:

My eyes see a post or an action, my heart leaps in compassion or anxiety, my mind thinks: how on earth can I take care of this? what should I do? respond? intervene?, my spirit cries out to Yahweh: Abba, help! Then, I respond as I am guided: I speak words out loud or write them and send/post them, or else wait in silence as I’ve been told to do. Depending on what happened my arms may reach out to act.

Thinking this through helps me understand better the astonishing revelation that the Holy Spirit, living in us, is actually our Advocate. He presents our case, our petition, to the Judge and pleads on our behalf—but does it in a way aligned with that Ruler’s will. He knows the Lord’s ultimate purpose and how that applies in the moment. He also  knows the supplicant’s need and what is really at stake so is advocating for their good.

This is the Scripture that most clearly explains the process:

²⁶ 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. ²⁷ And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. ²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. ²⁹ For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. (Rom. 8:26-29 NIV)

There are moments when we turn to our Lord and cry out for him to intervene, but are at a loss when it comes to seeing how our prayer could actually be answered. We find ourselves pleading, babbling. What we are unaware of is that the Spirit living in us is reinterpreting our petition and passing it on to the Father in a way that we cannot hear (passionately, without words), but he communicates the true need of the pray-er as understood by the One who directs all things for the good of his children. And that person, Yahweh, is searching our hearts to connect with the Spirit and hear what’s up.

And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. (Rom. 8:27 NIV)

And his ultimate purpose is that we become like Jesus. That is not usually our focus when we cry out in desperation. We want a certain outcome in this world. A mother praying for her wandering child wants to see them choose the Way, the Truth and the Life rather than the call of the culture or their wrong desires. When a man’s wife is severely injured in an accident he desperately wants to see her healed. When a conflict between factions erupts in war in a person’s country, they cry out for peaceful resolution and personal protection.

So what if the answer does not come right away, or the way they thought it would? That is one of our toughest struggles, waiting longer, or accepting a different outcome than what we longed to see. Our one solid comfort is knowing that we are loved by the Sovereign, and have direct communication with him at all times because of this union with him: his Spirit inhabiting us and advocating for us. We are never cut off from God. He is never unaware of our prayer, or of our weakness or need when we cannot even articulate a prayer.

He is for us, he is not against us. He is completely good, and he is love. He loves us with unending love that has no limits. Because of that, he wants us to grow beyond our current frailties into completely healthy strong sons and daughters like his Son, Jesus. Looking at it that way, our response must be to trust him. We don’t need to be afraid to let him know what we are dealing with and what we long to see happen—he wants us to tell him, at least to open ourselves to him when we cannot find words. The Spirit will interpret what is in our hearts and communicate it. We can run to him with gratitude because he always listens, his purposes for us are excellent, and he is our loving Abba. These truths allow us to be glad we have this close relationship with him, no matter what else we are dealing with:

Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray continually, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thess. 5:16 NIV)