In prayer we gain the confidence that, in the midst of all that is happening, God is at work bringing about a good that we can never anticipate (Romans 8:28). If we feel God-forsaken (and there will be such times), prayer will drive away that despair. In prayer we experience the indescribable assurance of the Holy Spirit that all will be well. I love the verse that reads, “For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God," (Romans 8:15-16 NRSV). But the best news of all comes from the same eighth chapter of Romans -- the promise and confidence that all things will work together for an incomprehensible good. It's a promise that we know will be realized, because the Holy Spirit -- that crucial third member of the Trinity -- prays to the heavenly Father on our behalf, thus overcoming our own limitations in prayer.
“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:26-28 NRSV)
-- Tony Campolo in “Following Jesus Without Embarrassing God”
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