No Know How

There is a passage of Scripture that is popularly used by the Charismatic and Pentecostal groups to argue for what they call "a prayer language". They see it as a part of "speaking in tongues" (although I can find no biblical examples of anyone who ever spoke in "a prayer language"). Here's the "proof text":

For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it. In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. (Rom 8:24-27)

I suspect if you're not familiar with the "prayer language" argument you might be scratching your head right now. "What did Paul say that argued for a prayer language?" Well, it says that "the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words." See?

Okay, I think that anyone who is thinking clearly about this would have to admit that this could only vaguely argue for anything like a "speaking-in-tongues prayer language" concept, and only if you start with the premise that the modern Pentecostal "speaking in tongues" thing exists at all. The truth is the text is talking about the Spirit interceding for us and a "prayer language" is too oblique to be considered the point of the passage.

Still, I find the text startling at first glance. Did you see what Paul claimed? "We do not know how to pray as we should." Now, wait. What? What do you mean, "We do not know how to pray as we should"? In what sense? We know how to pray just fine. I mean, we have the Lord's Prayer and Jesus's High Priestly Prayer and we have biblical prayers and we pray on a regular basis. We surely know what we want and what we need and we are certainly commanded to pray ... with consistency (e.g., 1 Thess 5:17, etc.) and persistence (e.g., Luke 18:1-8; Luke 11:5-10, etc.). Come on! We know how to pray. So it has to be a bit confusing when Paul says we don't.

Note that Paul doesn't offer us an out, a "mediated version". He does not say, "Sometimes we don't know how to pray." There are no "weasel words" here. It is a cold, solid, "We do not know how to pray as we should." So while we are commanded to pray without ceasing and to pray persistently and to make our requests known (Phil 4:6) and we are told to be confident that He answers, we can be equally sure that we don't know how to pray as we ought.

Thus, it serves as a real relief that we have the Holy Spirit at work in us interceding for us "according to the will of God". Because we can be sure "that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us." (1 John 5:14) God anwers our prayers even when we don't know how to pray because the Spirit is interceding for us. We don't know how to pray because of our weakness (Rom 8:26). We do not know how to pray because we don't know the will of God (Rom 8:27). Weak and blinded, we can still have the confidence that the Spirit is on our side in prayer.

I think, if you think about it, you'd have to see it's true. We pray, "Lord, please heal this person" and God intends to take them home, which is better (Phil 1:23). We plead with God to take away our pain when He's using it as discipline (Heb 12:5-11). We ask God to do or not do all sorts of things that, as it turns out, would, if He did other than we prayed, work out for the best. We just don't know. It shouldn't really come as a shock. It does.

So it is a good thing that the Spirit intercedes for us. I think it's a good thing that He does so "behind the scenes" ... in terms that are "too deep for words". It is a good thing to be so utterly dependent on God that we even depend on Him to pray on our behalf ... to Him. It's a humbling thing to know that we do not know how to pray as we ought. It's a joy to know He has taken care of it.

I would like to point out, as an afterthought, that if we do not know how to pray as we ought, we might also recognize that we don't likely know perfectly what we need, what is best, what is good for us. Trusting the Spirit to intercede on our behalf according to the will of God is comforting. Trusting God to work all things -- even the unpleasant and bad things -- together for good should be equally comforting for the very same reasons.