FOCUS Day Thirty-Six | Romans 8:26-39
DAY THIRTY-SIX | Romans 8:26-39
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. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written:
“For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”
Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The Culture of Heaven
I had never really thought about it this way before, but if when Jesus walked the earth, He only did what He saw His Father doing, then heaven must be full of prayer. Prayer was one of the most consistent things that we saw in the life of Christ. From times of deep intercession over cities and generations, to times of personal communion with the Father, we regularly find Jesus in prayer.
From the time that Jesus is the 12-year-old in the temple, it was obvious that He was aware of His Father’s intentions and wanted to be at the center of His will. We find prayer being a regular occurrence at the beginning of His ministry, and it remains consistent all the way through. Even on the night before He was arrested, the last thing that we find Him doing was spending time with the Father in prayer. And don’t forget that He prayed for us while He hung on the cross.
But back to my original thought about prayer in heaven, what does it mean in Hebrews 7:25, where it says that He ever lives to make intercession for us? I think that it is important for us to pay attention to the several scriptures that speak of Jesus’s ongoing prayer life for His people. This passage in Romans 8 gives us a good picture of the way that Jesus, and in fact the whole Trinity, engage in a culture of intercession.
It is comforting to think that the Godhead is engaged in prayer for us. In this passage, we clearly see that there are times when we simply do not know how to pray, but the Holy Spirit is there helping us pray in those moments, praying with groaning that can’t be uttered. I love the way that Romans 8:27 describes this.
Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
There are many times that I am not sure how or what to pray, but in those moments, I am covered by heaven’s prayers that are according to His will for me. The Spirit is interceding, checking in with the heart of the Father’s will. We also see that Christ Himself is praying for us.
It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.
This is so reassuring! Immediately following this Scripture the question is asked, Who shall separate us from the love of God? Paul provides a short list of seeming threats, but then also provides a clear, decisive answer.
Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
The culture of heaven is a culture of victory. The atmosphere of the throne room is one of praise and intercession. Jesus taught us to pray with our eyes and our hearts focused on heaven, releasing the throne room desires of God onto the earth.
This type of prayer and intercession that is mindful of our victory through His love can and should be normal and native for your prayer life. This kind of lifestyle is not normal in this earth realm, but it can be cultivated and become the norm in your own life. The word culture is directly linked to this type of cultivation.
I experienced this growing up as a child. It was my parents’ norm to start and end their day with prayer together. I especially remember hearing them pray as I was waking up to get ready for school in the mornings. I would hear them seek God for direction, trust Him for provision, and ask Him for His blessing over our lives.
In the evenings, my parents led my sisters and me in family prayer before we all went to bed. In those times, they were real with us, letting us know about requests that we needed to see God answer. We prayed for people to come to Jesus, for sick family members, and for finances to meet our needs.
This way of prayer seemed so natural for me, because they had cultivated an atmosphere where it was normal. But my dad didn’t grow up in a Christian culture. The things that he was leading our family in did not look anything like the home that he had grown up in.
As we look at the life of Jesus, we can chose to cultivate prayer in our lives. Jesus taught His friends to pray for His kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth just like it is in heaven. In heaven, there is a culture of prayer and intercession. Jesus lived out that culture when He walked the earth. As His followers, prayer should be second nature to us.
It’s not as if there is a pressure on us to pray impressive prayers that show off our theological prowess, but it is important that we know how to come to our Father. We were made for His presence. He is the holy God and King of all, but He is our Father. His throne that is established forever and ever, is our Dad‘s chair.
As we look at the life of Jesus, it could be easy to think that He spent a lot of time in prayer because He was modeling how we can handle the adversities of this world. While I am not denying that we do have a great need to cry out to God for strength and for His help, viewing prayer as only a necessary task to deal with the problems of this life misses out on the culture of heaven. The fact is, prayer is just a part of God’s heart. It is a part of our homeland. We need to grow in our devotion to practicing this sacred rhythm of heaven.
I pray that your heart would be encouraged at the thought that Jesus, the One who is able to save to the uttermost, ever lives to intercede for you. I pray that you would recognize that the pattern of prayer in His life, both while He walked on the earth and from His place at the Father’s right hand, is a pattern that we can follow today. And I pray that on your pilgrimage here in this life, that your homesick heart would long for His presence in the place of prayer, and that your regular encounters with Him would fuel your journey home.
