The Person and the work of the Holy Spirit Lesson 17 question 4

All right, we are, you know, I think, I'm kind of looking at the lesson. I think at the bottom of the lesson we're 17, but I think on the top of the lesson it says 16. So I think we're in 17. So anyway, yeah, I just went up to the top to see what lesson it was. You want to be blinded? Oh yeah, if you can, Yeah, they're getting... Yep. Oh, it's you two. All right. Yes, we are starting in question four. We're struggling with blinds here. All right, question four, lesson 17, the person work of the Holy Spirit class.

So question four, when you don't have the capacity for prayer, what does the Holy Spirit do in this case? So I basically, when I read this question, I think there has to be some clarification of the question, or the concept of not having the capacity for prayer. The question I have, is there ever a time when you cannot pray to the Father? No. Is there ever a prayer topic that is too small or too large to bring to the Father?

Okay, so I think the, well, some of the ones, verses on that is Philippians 4, 6, and 7, which is one I love. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will what? Will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. What comfort that is. Anything you bring to the Father, He will comfort your heart. He will guard your heart.

The second one is 1 John 5, 14 and 15. This is the confidence which we have before Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the request which we have asked from Him. So again, if we ask anything, It isn't a pre-qualifier.

One of the biggest things I think is, and the question I always have with people is, is it too small or too big? A lot of times, oh, it's too small for him to be concerned about this. No, this is way too big. Usually that's not the problem. It's usually the small end. We have big problems and we bring it to them.

But the small ones where it's just Lord, you know, going through the day, whatever. And I think sometimes we just don't think we should bring it before the father because it's just too small for him to be be concerned about. Is he concerned about you every minute of every day, every second of every day? Is he always concerned about you and knows about you? Well, that one you may have to take up with the father on that one.

That's the answer in prayers. That's, I think, the guarding the heart. I think as you mature in Christ, it's easier to understand the answers, that it's not warped. It's actually better. I always go back to the fact that do we know better than God? No. And we think we have the great answers, we request these things, but he knows better. And the guarding of the heart, I think, is to understand that we can accept any answer to him, from him.

But I think the key is, and just the way the question was, and I think he was from Rideout, basically, when we don't have the capacity. And so I just want to say that wasn't that we have You know, we can't go before them. Well, I say the point of this question is directed at those times where we just don't know how or what to pray for in certain instances. At these times, we need to fully rely upon the Holy Spirit to direct us on how to pray.

Michael, you gonna say something? Well, why not? and the I'm not on video, sorry. Yeah, now we're getting turned on his mic, which I'll go ahead and read that same quote, which I have an expanded one. So, yeah, he basically brings out about, well, one, he said that I'm He thinks I'm telling write-outs of second-class Christians. I don't think that's it. It's just a clarification of the question, I think. And again, it's one of those ones that I find with believers. It's just, you know, again, I can't bring it before the Lord.

Well, He knows everything about you. Remember about the Romans 8? He searches your heart and then he searches the mind of the indwelling Holy Spirit. You can't hide anything from him. He knows already. So you can bring anything before him. I go back to the position of he wants us to come with such intimacy we can call him daddy. So you're not hiding anything from him. He wants us to come before him, and he wants that intimacy with him. So much that we can call, Daddy, Daddy, I don't understand this. What we're going through, why? You can bring those before him. And then it's to the will. That was the first John point, is if it's in accordance to his will, he hears us. So again, we can ask anything. That's the point.

And from right out, as I said, the point of this question is directed to those times where we just don't know how or what to pray for in certain instances. At these times, we need to fully rely on the Holy Spirit to direct us on how to pray. And then right out says, and I'll expand on since Mike wasn't on. On earth, there are sighs and groans as we feebly, in much ignorance, lift our hearts to God. But there is a mighty intercessor within, lending us unconsciously to prayer. I like that. And our blessed God understands these inarticulate groanings.

Have you ever felt your inability for prayer? Words have failed and under pressure of groaning creation in which we live, you have been mute. You had no words to frame the deep yearnings of your heart over a lost world, over a Christless crowd passing on to eternity. or the loads pressed heavily. And as you have bowed before God, there are more groanings than speaking. Well, beloved, these were doubtless the intercession of the spirit, leading you out in prayer beyond yourself and giving voice in a language understood by God alone.

I think God really summarized it. It's just, you just don't know what to say, what to do. And that's why I love the passage where we, in Philippians, or in Romans, excuse me, in Romans, where he intercedes for us. I love that. We don't know what to pray for, but God searches our heart. But he really searches the mind of the spirit. What's the best for? What's God's will for us? And he lays that upon the Holy Spirit. And then he directs us.

So I think it's just, again, the capacity. It's when you just don't know what to say, I think that's what he's getting at here. You just don't know what to do. Could be limb. I just don't know what to pray for. I just don't know. And guess what? You rely upon the Holy Spirit at that point. Yeah? I wondered about the word groanings. You want to hit your mic? Just push. I should see the green light on. He's got it.

About the word groanings. We all groan, but what words are communicated through that? But I was reading Constable and he says that groanings or groans express feelings of compassion for our weak condition. And I just like that definition, because I can groan a lot, but what does it mean? Yeah. What I think of this, too, I think the groanings are just that inexpressible feeling.

Well, I mean, this is what the Holy Spirit is doing. Right. Yeah. Well, yeah. Well, let me go back up to that. He intercedes for us with groanings. And the Holy Spirit requests the Father's help for us with deep compassion. Yeah. Anyway, I was just interested in that word. In the groanings? Yeah. Yeah, I didn't look into that. I can't. That's just what Constable said.

To me, when I, at least without looking at further information, the groanings to me are just when I can't say anything. But isn't this talking about the Holy Spirit? Yes, it's the Holy Spirit, but I'm talking about when we can't express ourselves. The same groanings. Yes, the verse says about the groanings of the Holy Spirit, and that's where he searches the mind of them. But I think what Rite Out's bringing out here is our capacity.

When we can't say anything, it's an emotion. And I think that's what you're saying, where we just can't, what do I say? What do I do? When you're so distressed, you can't even put it into words. Right. It's an emotion for, you know, brought out like a priceless crown or somebody. It's just, you just, you have that aching in your heart, but you can't express it. That's what I think our groanings are. Yeah, you're right.

Yeah. Yeah, I was just going to say, I heard Jeremy Thomas teaching on that one time, and he said that the word Geronimo is kind of a hard word to translate, but it has something to do with almost a fraternal password or something. It was referred to as sort of something that no one else understood, but the speaker and the hearer. It was kind of almost like a secret channel through which the Holy Spirit communicates to the Father that we're not privy to. you know, it's sort of what that indicates there, but, but yeah, anyway. Yeah.

You know, I guess again, and Jen brings out the point to the groanings in the Romans is, is the groaning is the Holy Spirit. We don't understand that. I think it's, is the point of that is we don't, we, we can't interpret that. God searches the mind and understands that for us. But I think what, again, just kind of what's being brought out in this one is the, the emotion that, you know, we just can't express something. So that's actually when the Holy Spirit intercedes for us, because we can't even express what our heart is aching for.

I was going to try and look up quickly, if I look at Zodiaty's definition for groaning, so I'm just kind of curious about that. If you might give me a second here, I can maybe look that up. Hey, Courtney, I have a comment. You're talking about things that are too little, you know, too little to pray for.

And I kind of had that happen to me the other day. I dropped my fencing pliers out in the tall grass. And I was like, this is really frustrating. I'm not going to be able to finish this, you know, this stretch of fence now. I'm going to have to go to town and get another pair of pliers and everything.

And anyway, but I, you know, it was funny because it didn't even occur to me to pray, you know, So to find the pliers, I thought as a kid, you know, I'd lose something and always remember praying all the time, you know, God help me find that or whatever.

And I thought, oh, that's such an immature prayer. But because why, why do I think that's so immature to pray, you know, just ask for help in small things. And so I did pray. And but the interesting thing is the way in which I think my prayer has matured since I was a child, so I also pray.

And if it's not your will that I find these pliers, then teach me the growth lesson that you want me to learn in this. But I appreciate finding the pliers. And sure enough, we found them. So it was good. But that's neat. And that's really it. I find myself talking to the Lord, or the Father, all day long about little things. And it is. And again, as you mature, you can understand the answer. That plier is lost forever. That could be the answer. But that's it.

And I think it's the constant communication, the intimacy that we have with him. I think that's what he wants above all. The fact that you lost pliers is immaterial to the fact that you're having communication. You're intimately thinking about God and his sovereignty. You know, so I think that's the key. You know, the pliers are, you know, a vehicle by which he draws you in.

So and that's why I think I think the littlest prayer or the littlest issue still brings us to that point of communication intimacy with him, which is what he wants. So I was looking up, let's see, stigma. The Zodiatis is a groaning, sighing, as of the oppressed.

Let me see, oh, Romans 8.26, referring to the prayers to God expressed inarticulately. So it didn't really expand too much on the feelings part, but that was Zodiatis' definition for groanings. Question five, if there is no understanding in our prayers, what good are they?

Just get your thoughts on that one. What are your thoughts? Oh, do you ever think that? Stunned silence. If there's no understanding in our prayers, you know, I, I, there's always understanding between the father and the spirit. So I'm, it's our understanding. Since God's the one who understands it, and he will move to help us, our understanding of it in those circumstances doesn't matter. Yeah, I think. Go ahead. That's all. All right, others? Anybody in here? You think it's important that we do understand? I don't think so.

Why would God go through the whole exercise of prayer and communication if he wanted us to be in the dark? Which end of the prayer are we on? if i can ask anything i don't understand is in in the uh... first job do i know exactly what the will of god is i may not see so ok now i understand that so so i may not know what that is i don't understand i'm i'm asking where the holy spirit has to intercede for me because i don't know uh... you know intercede for us uh... so i think i think it's There's a front end of this process and a back end of it. And the front end is we can ask anything. And we may not understand. We're asking something we may not know God's will for, but I ask.

And if it's his will, he hears us, is the first John, and he hears and responds. I think the back half of the one is, do we understand the answer? And the answer may be yes, no, maybe, wait, I mean, a gazillion different things. The pliers were never found.

You know, that's, I think, where, you know, our understanding, we may not understand the answer. So I think that's where I think the, kind of the understanding part is. We need to try to understand what his answer is. So, if that makes sense. Let me give you an example. I pray for somebody's salvation or their repentance. And it goes from a week to a month to years.

And literally, at some point, I begin to think, well, Lord, is that the answer? Maybe I ought to stop praying for this person because there's no movement. There doesn't seem to be any, my perspective and just observing, is there's no movement on their part. Does that mean that, is that the answer?

Or should I keep on praying? because I know that you don't ever give up on somebody. Yeah, I think that's one where if he lays it on your heart, the Holy Spirit will direct you at that point. But for that, I think my family, I prayed for my family all the time when I became a believer. And I also realized, as I think I expressed the other night is, wasn't the one that had to make them come to know the world. I think by my constant prayer, and why isn't it happening? Lord, look at these people. They need you. Why can't they see it? I can't envision in my mind a guy like you not getting in their face a little bit about Christianity. I did. I did. I was in their face. And guess what?

It didn't accomplish much. Although I'm of the firm belief that he uses all things. Even my idiocy, I use you as an example. You say you said the wrong thing at the right time, or the right thing at the wrong time, or whatever. No, it wasn't. He was orchestrating all those things, either for the person you were talking to, or as the pointing finger, three of them were back at you. I don't think there's ever... I don't know how to say this. He uses all things. Even your mistakes and my idiocy of trying to get in the face of my family.

And when I finally realized it didn't have to be me, guess what? Most of them, or a lot of them, became believers. And I think we take on unnecessary things. And I think the Lord finally, as we've already said, pointed to me and gave rest in my heart that it didn't have to be me. And so I ended up, you know, changing, guess what? Yeah. Got out of the way. Sure.

And I had to learn that, you know, and I think of these things too, and this is just off on a real rabbit trail, but, you know, I think like the guy down at Coors Field shouting at people, you know, God allows that. And maybe there's one person that will remember what he shouted at him. I think it's crazy.

I was coming back when I was in high school on a flight. I think I've told you this. A guy, I was not a believer, and I was on a two-hour flight, and I was on the inside seat, and this guy would not let go of me, telling me about the Lord. I wanted to punch him in the face. I mean, it was like, I want to look out the windows. Stop talking to me.

20 years beyond, it's like, wow, he planted some seeds. And maybe some things that he said stuck in my heart. And I think he was the guy who thought, he had to convert me that day. And yet, he used that. God used that. In a way, also, for me, I think that was part of why, when I went to my family, realizing, here's this guy next to me screaming at me. What am I doing to my family?

They just aren't in a plane. Again, it's the Lord working on my heart and the prayers. There's again, kind of two parts to the prayer, I think. We can pray and we don't understand, because we can ask anything. Do I know his will? I hope so, but I don't. And I can ask him.

And if it's in accordance with his will, he hears me and it goes on. And that's why I said that the back half is the more important part, that we understand that he can answer in any way he wants. And that's the best way, by the way. And I think Right Up says that.

He says that he thinks that that God will give us understanding. We may initiate the prayer without understanding of what God's will is regarding. At some point in time, we will understand what God's will is in this circumstance. Oh yeah, I mean, me finally relenting on my family took years.

Oh yeah, you know. So he has, Radha puts it this way, the spirit helps our infirmities. What a comfort! He is the helper. The weakest of us can pray with such assistance. And God, who searches the heart, knows the Spirit's desire, even if the saints in their infirmity have not given clear utterance to them. He knows that the Spirit makes intercession according to God.

Romans 8.26 shows that the Spirit will give us the understanding of what God's will is in any circumstance. And then I also looked at a couple of verses, John 14, 26.

So again, the comfort of knowing he's going to bring a verse to you or bring some teaching to you that the Holy Spirit will do it. John 16, 13, when he, the spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. For he will not speak of his own initiative, but whatever he hears, he will speak. And he will disclose to you what is to come. Interesting.

So I said, with these verses in mind, and combined with Romans 8, 26 and 27, I asked the question again, if there's no understanding in our prayers, what good are they? Do you still pray? Sure. Yeah. I think anytime, anywhere, any place, you can go before God and ask for anything.

I think what we do is miles like the pliers. We get this thing that's just not big enough for him to be concerned about, at a flat tire or whatever. I talk to him all the time about, okay, I'm learning, I'm learning. And it's the smallest to the biggest you can bring anything before him. And that's what I think believers struggle with, is that he's just not, does he really know about this? Yeah, he does.

You can't hide anything from him. That 826, he searches our hearts. He searches our heart. God the Father searches our hearts. There's nothing you can hide from him. He knows. And he's in control, which gives us great peace, the joy, peace, all the fruit of the Spirit. So I said that the Spirit will bring us along to disclose to all that is to come and to teach us all that Christ taught. And then when we don't know how or what to pray, God the Father will search the mind of the spirit to answer the prayer in such a way as to guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. Also, there's fellowship with God the Father and the Lord when we spend time talking with him. God wants us to come before him with the intimacy that allows us to call him daddy. So again, the pliers are a tiny thing, but if you go before him, you're in communication with him. That's what he wants. So any other opinions on that or thoughts?

I just remember Vern one time made a comment. He had somebody, they were praying for a family member, and it was on the person's deathbed, And it was like an hour or two right before they died, they finally accepted the Lord. And it was through somebody else that worked at the hospital. It had nothing to do with them.

So it's, you know, sometimes I think the Lord puts that on your heart to pray for people. And I think, yeah, I think some people more than others, you know, are more tuned into that, to where they pray for people and stuff like that. I just pray for all the junk that's broke. And I think that's it. We had a lady at our old church. I mean, she was a prayer warrior. She just prayed all the time for everybody. What comfort that was. You know, whatever you're going through, she was praying for it.

Now I go back and this is kind of funny because when I first came here and I started going to the Tuesday study, I remember we were praying, and it was Mike, you know, pray that whoever gets out of the hospital, your pain is removed. Mike said, well, maybe the Lord wants that. Okay, you know, that was a switch, you know, but it's true. And I remember for a long period of time not bringing any prayer requests before him because it's like, you know, he's gonna jump my bones for maybe that's what the Lord has for you, you know. Well, I still think you can pray and I've overcome that fear of praying for anything.

Usually with, and if you'll notice in my prayers, it's if it's your will. That's the key. If it's your will, get Lem so he's 100%. Give him quality of life. If that's your will, I can ask for that. But it may not be his will. You're paying. You can ask for that. He answered. but let's see that's also peace in in the trial he's getting he gave you peace through the trial and whether you're moving or not that the thing is that that we can pray for anything even if we don't understand that god may want that person in that that situation we're asking to get him out well god wants men there so as the act i overcome mike's uh... direction because i i realize that i can ask anything and if it's his will the first on five If it's his will, he'll answer. And I have perfect peace with that. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I think, you know, we had discussions about Ethan before he took him home. And I think, you know, I think the comfort was taking him home. Sure. That was the best thing. Yeah, maybe let me.

And, you know, that's what I said, even in the prayer, you know, God knows every day that he has for lamb. Sure he does. And he has him here still. And so, we can pray for these things, and again, that's the point of all of this, is we can pray. We may not know his will, but we can pray for it, if it's his will. And understand the answer, that he may have Lem here for 10 more years. He may have him 10 more days. And yet, we have the comfort knowing that that's God's will.

We can pray for anything. That's my point in all of this, is we can pray for anything. He wants us to come before him and have that intimacy with him. So, again, going back to the question about understanding, I think we can pray anytime, anyplace, anywhere, even if we don't have understanding of what we're praying for.

And again, I may pray for somebody to get out of something, but it's always if it's your will, Father. Yeah, I think that's, I may start out with, I can ask for anything, but I am there, subject to my mind being changed in terms of the way the Lord I perceive that the Lord wants me to go, and it would be foolish to go back and say, well, I'm going to be stubbornly praying for what I want. The other thing I want to touch on, and I thought about this, is you prayed for one week, ten months, ten years.

If it's still on your heart, and the Lord hasn't changed you, Go for 20. You know, I think the Lord will, you know, I think of Noah, how many years did it take to build the boat? And how many, you know, you sure about this thing? You know, it didn't change his heart. You know, 100 years. And it hadn't rained here in a while, big boat you got there. And he kept his heart focused.

And I think that's on your, if you're praying for somebody and you feel, I don't want to say that, you're directed by the Holy Spirit to keep praying for them, that's on your heart. That's what the Spirit has to do it. And if he prays for the lamb, it's your will to take him home, he goes home. Well, and what's interesting is that The ultimate healing is going home anyway.

We're just listening to a song, and this is not where I belong. That's the song. I don't belong here. I belong in heaven. So to die is gain. Paul had it right. But he has us here. And that's what I said, the days are numbered. He has those things he wants us to do or accomplish in us, change us, modify us, conform us, whatever. And the minute we're done, We're home. So that's the reason why we're here. Yeah.

I was going to say, when my wife and I were brand new Christians, we moved from California to Colorado to buy a house. And we spent a month with a realtor trying to find the house. And I didn't know about really about praying. And I was in tears praying, God, I don't know what to do, and the phone rang. And her daddy called and said, I see a house that might be good for you guys. It's a house that I'm in right now talking to you guys in.

I look for how the Lord is working in my life all day long. Why did this happen? Why am I here? Why is this person in front of me? I just see, because God is, I started off by, God is always involved with you, 24-7, every second of your life, He's working with you, every second. I think, when I'm going through my day, why am I here? Not that everything is a sign, I'm not going to walk in the middle of I-25 and say, Lord, protect me.

Use your brain, He gave you a brain. But I think there's things that you see that are indicative that God's working. And that's awesome when you see his hand working like that. Russ, the world would say, well, that was just lucky. I don't see it that way. God moved in a really incredible way.

And I can tell you, I think we were late, there was one And this, you know, we're going to be out of time, but this, I really did this. This is one of those arrow prayers. I call them arrow prayers. I'm at the end of my rope and I'm shooting an arrow up to God saying, help. And there was, it was my thesis and I had a, my programming, I'd come to just this horrible spot where I couldn't figure it out.

I was just, I was beating my head on the wall, and I never turned to the Lord. The minute I turned to the Lord and said, Lord, this is yours, I felt like it just threw this whole thing up to him. I said, it's yours, you fix it out. And I went to bed next morning, oh, this little thing, and fixed it all. And I'm thinking, why didn't I go to the Lord 20 hours before when I'm suffering and beating my head on the wall? But he answered in a way when I finally realized if I give it to him, he may help me. And he did. And there's countless instances where I can point to the Lord answering prayer.

And that's awesome. I also know when there's a lot of times when it's no, wait another year, wait whatever. But I'm always looking for him working in our lives. I think that's cool when you think about what the indwelling Holy Spirit is doing in you, moment by moment. And to see God's hand working is awesome. It's not like the world sees it as luck.

He's working every minute of every day on you, informing us to the end, ultimately. You know, and he uses you. He uses you to comfort others with the Corinthian verse that we talked about last week. He takes you through a trial. Why? Well, you may be comforting somebody in the same situation next time. He's using all those things. He's a sovereign God. He's in control. And does that give you the peace that surpasses all understanding?

I hope so. So anyway, a bit of a rant, but it's cool to see the Lord and the Spirit working in us and through us. Yeah. I would just like to say, him talking about the house reminded me, when Bob and I found our home 57 years ago, we were not praying, and yet God was in it.

He put us in the right place. We came to realize that, and we praise him for it. But he was interested in us and where we were going to be. And it just happened. Oh, it just is by luck. No, we were just thankful because it was a place we could afford, a place where we wanted to be. As the years went by, we became believers and realized He was in it. He loves us and He put us in the right place. But we weren't praying at the time. Yeah, but He was working. I look back at how He worked in me before I was even a believer. I know He was working on me.

You know, but then when you do it, we have a similar story. We had, in our, when you've been to our house and all that, there were two lots that we had in our neighborhood that we went and it's like, man, this is it. We're, we're, we're going for it. And we finally put a bid on one and it was like, yep, we're going to get it. And over the weekend, somebody outbid us and it devastated us. It's like, Lord, we've been praying. This is it. This is, oh, we had the offer. They were going to accept it. It's like, ah, What are you doing? Guess what?

Our lot that we're on now showed up. It was a much better lot. And the Lord kept us, I think, from getting the first one. And it was, you know, my doubting or my, what are you doing? Guess what? The better answer popped up. The same thing happened to us. We didn't get the one we wanted and we ended up next to the molluscs. Yeah, and the rest is history. That was a blessing.

Anyway, any other thoughts before we will start, I guess, on question six next week? Any other thoughts before we close? All right, let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you. We thank you again, just the comfort that we have where you guard our hearts.

If we pray and bring things before you, we realize that you search our heart, but more importantly, you search the mind of the Holy Spirit that indwells us. And again, our prayers are weak and feeble, and many times we don't even know how to express those feelings or the requests that we have. We don't even know. you through the Holy Spirit intercede for he intercedes for us and provides you and the communication back and forth that provides the best answer for us and what your what more importantly what your will is in that whatever situation we're in. So we rest in that fact because you get as you say you guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus.

What comfort that is in any situation in the trials and also in the blessings. Let's not forget that you bless us so many ways and we take that for granted many times. And a lot of times we look at the gift rather than the giver and we just We thank you that you are a sovereign God in control of all things.

You're using all things eventually to conform us to the image of your son. And we thank you for that. And what a great ending for us. And ultimately, where we step into eternity and see you face to face. We just thank you for all the promises you have and all the truths that you have for us. And we just thank you now for this time and we pray for the next meeting that, again, you'll just bring forth the word accurately. and uh... prepared to receive it and that uh... for the for this day that uh... all the same deal are glorify you in jesus name we pray