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Daily Devotion. In this episode of "Warfare Prayers," Pastor Derrick Crosby reflects on Romans 8:22-28, focusing on the theme "grace for every groan." Addressing the reality of suffering, Pastor Derrick Crosby reassures listeners that God’s grace is present in every hardship. Emphasizing the Holy Spirit’s role as our helper in spiritual warfare, the episode encourages listeners to trust that even unspoken prayers are heard. With daily prayer, prayer guidance, and daily scripture, Pastor Derrick Crosby draws on the example of Jesus’ anguish, highlighting hope, faith, and surrender to God’s will. Through bible study and spiritual warfare, the episode concludes with a prayer of gratitude for God’s understanding and the Holy Spirit’s support during life’s challenges.
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Today's ScriptureRomans 8:26-28
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.
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Main Takeaways- Exploration of Romans 8:22-28 and its themes
- The concept of suffering and its origins in the curse of sin
- The availability of grace for every groan experienced in life
- The idea of hope as a confident expectation, likened to a pregnant woman's experience
- The role of the Holy Spirit as a helper and intercessor in prayer
- Challenges of articulating pain and connecting with God during struggles
- The understanding that God hears our unexpressed groans and knows our needs
- Jesus' experience of anguish and submission to God's will as a model for believers
- Encouragement to engage in prayer despite feelings of inadequacy
- The importance of leaning on divine support and trusting in God's guidance through life's challenges
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Key Devotional Moment. 00:03:21, "Thank God that my fallen nature can't stop God from understanding me. My fallen nature sometimes can prevent me from understanding God, but my fallen nature cannot stop God from understanding me. My groans can't stop God from getting to me.
00:06:34, "We thank you, Father, for the Holy Spirit who empowers us, who leads us, who strengthens us, who takes our pain and interprets it for us.
00:06:34, "We thank you, Lord, for being our advocate and our High Priest who has gone through everything that we go through, who has already walked the path of the worst sufferings and the biggest challenges. You died on a rugged cross for us, that we may have life, and you left a helper for us, a comforter that is the Holy Spirit."
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Warfare Prayers Transcription# Introduction
Welcome to Warfare Prayers. The podcast where you will find guidance and strength for life's toughest battles. Here you'll be inspired and spiritually grounded through my daily devotions, discovering the power of deliverance and peace that comes from God's Word.
We're in Romans 8:22 through 28, and our topic is based on this: that there is grace for every groan, and the groanings of life are the sufferings that we go through. Romans 8:22 through 28 mentions "groan" three times, because our groanings come from the curse of the first sin that was ever committed upon the earth, and we're still feeling the effects of that curse. So we have groanings. We experience pain, sorrow, and suffering. But in the midst of our pain, sorrow, and suffering, there's grace for every groan because of what Jesus Christ did upon the cross for us.
# Hope in Suffering
The first thing that Paul talks about that we have in verse 24 is that we have hope. We have an expected hope, the same hope that a pregnant woman would have—even though she can't see the baby, she can feel it on the inside of her, and she has an expectant hope that she will birth what's on the inside of her.
This is the kind of hope we have. Not a hope that it might happen, but a hope that it will happen.
# Grace for Every Groan: The Holy Spirit
But we also have in verses 26 and 27, which is my topic for today: grace for every groan. We have the Holy Spirit. We not only have hope, but we have the Holy Spirit. Whenever we can't connect, we have the Holy Spirit. But in order to make things work, we need a connection with the Holy Spirit. There lies the problem. Because oftentimes, because of our groanings, we can't connect. Because we have this thing that's called a fallen nature. Our fallen nature is that part of us that's prone to make mistakes, that's prone to fall, that's prone to sin. It is the imperfect part of us.
And because of this fallen nature, we sometimes lack power to concentrate in prayer. We lack power to avoid distractions in prayer. We lack power to stop wandering thoughts in prayer. We lack power to prevent emotional changes in prayer. All because of this fallen nature which comes from the first sin that was committed.
# God Understands Our Groanings
But thank God that my fallen nature can't stop God from understanding me. My fallen nature sometimes can prevent me from understanding God, but my fallen nature cannot stop God from understanding me. My groans can't stop God from getting to me.
But here's the thing: you must engage in prayer. You must come to God in prayer. Because even if you can't get your words right in prayer, the Bible says that the Holy Spirit makes intercession for us.
Let's read verses 26 and 27 real quick. It says:
> "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 heart knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God."
See, the Holy Spirit makes intercession for us. Intercession in Greek means to be present with anyone for the purpose of aiding. He aids us not only by praying for us, but He aids us in our prayers with what the Bible says—with groanings, the burden of your heart which cannot be uttered—that is, emotions too deep for language or articulation.
# The Intelligence and Direction of the Spirit
The Spirit takes your groanings and interprets them for you. Understand that the Spirit has intelligence, but the Spirit leads you somewhere. It leads you towards the will of God, according to the Bible here, according to the will of God.
See, we all have groanings. Jesus even had groanings. He said, "Take this cup of suffering away from me." These were the groanings of going to the cross. But then He said, "Not my will, but your will be done."
So we have the Holy Spirit for every groan, that even when we go through suffering and when we go through pain and we can't articulate what we want to say, the Spirit can interpret our sufferings and our pains and direct us towards God's will.
So we understand the intelligence of the Spirit and the direction of the Spirit. The Spirit is intelligent enough to interpret our pain, and it has the direction to guide us in that pain towards God's will.
Brothers and sisters, there's grace for everything you go through—for every groan.
# Conclusion and Prayer
For every groan, because we have hope, expectation, and we also have the Holy Spirit—God Himself—that can interpret us, lead, and guide us.
Let us pray.
Father, we thank you today that your understanding is unlimited. Your wisdom is infinite. Your knowledge is beyond what we can even understand. And we thank you today, Father, that when we go through things in life, when we lack the power to concentrate, when we lack power to avoid distractions, when we lack power, that is when your grace kicks in and it gives us everything that we don't have.
We thank you, Father, for the Holy Spirit who empowers us, who leads us, who strengthens us, who takes our pain and interprets it for us. We thank you, Lord, for being our advocate and our High Priest who has went through everything that we go through, who has already walked the path of the worst sufferings and the biggest challenges. You died on a rugged cross for us, that we may have life, and you left a helper for us, a comforter that is the Holy Spirit.
And so we pray, Father, to lean upon what you left for us, to follow it with our whole hearts, minds, and with our souls. To have a sensitive ear and a sensitive eye. To hear the word, to see the word, and a heart to obey the word.
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
