Paul is not suggesting that the Creation, which involves mankind, the animal kingdom along with the various elements such as the weather and even the construction of the earth itself, that all these things are groaning (or complaining) but that we each exist within the confines of a fallen world.
(Rom 8:19-25 NASB) For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. 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.
So when we pray along with the Holy Spirit, he is speaking perfectly to the Father in accordance with the will of God, which is something that we could never do on our own as our understanding is still finite and corrupted by the world that we live in; so even though we groan along with the entirety of Creation, the Holy Spirit is still able to speak on our behalf in spite of our very frail human limitations. So in essence, the Holy Spirit is 'converting' our prayers which are bound by our human limitations and frailties (our groanings) to a perfect form of utterance to the Father.
(Rom 8:26-27 NASB) 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.
Romans 8 has nothing to do with tongues. I checked out all the commentaries on Romans I could find and not one says that this passage is referring to tongues. Most make no mention of tongues, and those that do only do so to reject the idea.
(Apologies where my copying has made mincemeat of Greek letters and words where they appear)
Douglas J. Moo - Epistle to the Romans (New International Commentary on the New Testament)
26 In vv.24-25, Paul has argued that the nature and solidity of our Christian hope enable us to wait for its culmination with fortitude. Now, he says, "in the same way as this hope sustains us), the Spirit also comes to our aid."78 To be sure, this is not the only way that v. 26 might be connected to its context. Especially popular, for instance, is the view that "in the same way" compares the groaning of the Christian (v. 23) with the 'groaning" of the Spirit.79 But the 'groans" of the Spirit come rather late in v. 26 for this to be the point of comparison; and, while there is an obvious literary parallelism between the "groaning" of creation (v.22), the Christian, and the Spirit, the groaning of the Spirit is very different in its nature and purpose from the other two "groanings."
The word we have translated "come to the aid of" connotes "joining with to help," "bearing a burden along with.'80 The Spirit joins with us in bearing the burdens imposed by our "weakness." This weakness may be specific - inability in prayer or external sufferings (v. 18) - but is probably general: the "totality of the human condition' (Dunn), the "creatureliness' that characterizes even the child of God in this period of overlap between the old age and the new. This condition means that we believers do not know "what we are to pray as it is necessary.'82 The wording of the clause indicates that it is not the manner, or style, of prayer that Paul has in view83 but the content, or object, of prayer - what we are to pray for. Some think that the context suggests a restriction of this prayer to entreaties for the realization of God's glory, but Paul's language is too general for that; and surely we know enough to pray for that glory, however much specific knowledge of it we may lack. Again, there is no good reason to restrict this knowledge to some special circumstance. What Paul apparently has in mind is that inability to discern clearly God's will in the many things for which we pray; note that the "as it is necessary" of this verse is paralleled by "according to God," that is, "according to his will,' of v. 27. All our praying is conditioned by our continuing "weakness' and means that - except perhaps on rare occasions - our petitions must be qualified by "if it is in accordance with your will." This does not, of course, mean that we should not strive to understand the will of God for the circumstances we face, or that we are in the wrong to make definite requests to God; but it does mean that we cannot presume to identify our petitions with the will of God.
This inability to know what to pray for cannot be overcome in this life, for it is part of "our weakness," the inescapable condition imposed on us by our place in salvation history. Therefore, Paul does not command us to eradicate this ignorance by diligent searching for God's will or by special revelation. Instead, Paul points us to the Spirit of God, who overcomes this weakness by his own intercession.
What, however, is the nature of this intercession? Specifically, is it an intercession that comes about through our praying, aided by the Spirit? Or is it an intercession that is accomplished solely by the Holy Spirit on our behalf? One clue to the meaning may be found in the term we have translated "that words cannot express' (alaletois). This word, found only here in biblical Greek, means, as its etymology implies, "unspoken," "wordless." But does it mean here specifically "ineffable," incapable of being expressed in human language, in which case the "groans" may well be audible though inarticulate? Or does it mean simply "unspoken," never rising to the audible level at all?90 If the former is correct, then the 'groans' are probably the believer's own, inspired and directed by the Spirit. Paul's reference may then be to those times when, in the perplexity of our ignorance, we call out to God in "content-less' groans - whether expressed out loud or kept to ourselves.'
However, others who ascribe the groans to believers think that Paul is referring to glossolalia—the “speaking in tongues” of 1 Cor. 12–14. Like tongues, these “groans” are a “prayer language,” inspired by the Spirit, and taking the form of utterances that cannot be put in the language of earth. But this identification is unlikely. The gift of tongues is clearly restricted by Paul to some believers only (cf. 1 Cor. 12:30), but the “groans” here are means of intercession that come to the aid of all believers.
Thomas R. Schreiner - Romans (Baker Exegetical Commentary)
Despite the appeal of seeing a reference to glossolalia, there are decisive reasons for rejecting this interpretation. The term ἀλαλήτοις could mean that which cannot be uttered in words, but it much more likely means "without speech," the absence of any vocalization at all. This seems to be the most natural way of translating a word that negates a word for speech. (2) The word στεναγμοῖς is not necessarily meant literally; that is, the groaning may not be audible. That groaning may be metaphorical is evident from the reference to the groaning of creation in verse 22. Indeed, the groaning in verse 26 must be metaphorical in some sense because the text says that it is the "Spirit" who groans. Nowhere else in the Bible does the Holy Spirit audibly groan, and thus a literal meaning here is not likely, One might reply that the Holy Spirit's groaning is expressed through the groaning of believers (cf. Rom. 8:15-16; 1 Cor. 14:14-15). This is probably the case, but even in that case the groaning is not necessarily audible. The point could be that believers have longings that are so deep that they are inexpressible. (3) The most serious objection to a reference to tongues speaking is that Rom. 8:26-27 refers to all Christians, while tongues speaking is reserved to only a few." There is no evidence in verses 26–27 that any believers are excluded from the assistance of the Spirit described here. Indeed, it would destroy the entire argument of chapter 8 if any believers were outside the pale of what Paul says. Fee thinks this argument is a weak one and says that texts in 1 Cor. 12-14 resolve the difficulty. He apparently refers to the texts that say believers should earnestly desire spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 12:31; 14:1) and all should desire to speak in tongues (14:5). It is mystifying to me how he thinks that this solves the problem. Let us take Paul's words in 1 Cor. 14:5 at face value and assume that Paul desires all Christians to speak in tongues. Even so, Fee's argument can prevail only if all believers did in fact speak in tongues. First Corinthians 12:30 testifies that not all did so. Alternatively, Fee would have to argue that the Spirit's assistance described in Rom. 8:26-27 is available only to those with the gift of glossolalia. But we have already seen that Paul did not exclude any believers in this section, which is designed to buttress their hope.
If the text does not refer to glossolalia, what does Paul have in mind? Some have said that since the groanings are attributed to the Spirit we are entirely oblivious to the Spirit's intercession on our behalf. In other words, the Spirit is constantly interceding for us and we are not conscious of his aid, nor are the groans specified here ours (e.g., Niederwimmer 1964: 262-64; Moo 1991: 562; Fitzmyer 1993c. 518–19). We are fortified with hope because we know that the Spirit interposes for us. It seems more likely to me that the groanings are genuinely those of believers that originate from the Holy Spirit (so Schlatter 1995: 190–91; Murray 1959: 312; O'Brien 1987: 70–73; Stott 1994: 244-45). These groanings are not audible. They are the inexpressible longings that arise in every believer's heart to do and know the will of God. That the groanings arise in the hearts of believers is suggested by verse 27, which says that "God searches the hearts." This is most naturally understood to refer to the hearts of believers. God searches the hearts of believers and finds unutterable longings to conform their lives to the will of God. The Holy Spirit takes these groanings and presents them before God in an articulate form. Even though believers cannot specify their requests to God adequately since they do not know his will sufficiently, the Holy Spirit translates these groanings and conforms them to God's will.
Verse 27 is a significant conclusion to this thought. "The one who searches the hearts" (ὁ δὲ ἐραυνῶν τὰς καρδίας,
ho de eraunōn tas kardias) is not the Spirit but God the Father (cf. 1 Chron. 28:9; 29:17; Ps. 7:9; 139:1,23; Jer, 17:10). He is the one who discerns the groanings in the hearts of believers and discerns in them "the mindset of the Spirit" (το φρόνημα του πνεύματος, το phronέinα τοι priεμnatos). The mind-set or intention of the Spirit here refers to the intercession of the Spirit. It is ultimately immaterial whether the succeeding őtt (hoti) is causal (Wilckens 1980: 161) or explicative (Cranfield 1975: 424), for the meaning is essentially the same in either case. The point is that since the Spirit intercedes in accord with God's will, his prayers are always answered. The prayer of believers is not always answered affirmatively since we do not always know what God's will is. Thus Paul prayed to have the thorn in the flesh removed three times and God revealed to him that this was not his will (2 Cor. 12:7–10). By contrast, the Spirit's prayers are always anSwered with a yes, precisely because he always prays in accordance with God's will (so O'Brien 1987: 71-72). The main point of the paragraph therefore emerges. Believers should take tremendous encouragement that the will of God is being fulfilled in their lives despite their weakness and inability to know what to pray for. God's will is not being frustrated because of the weakness of believers. It is being fulfilled because the Spirit is interceding for us and invariably receiving affirmative answers to his pleas. The deepest longings (groanings) of our heart are to accomplish the will of God. The Spirit, Paul teaches, is carrying out these desires via his intercessory ministry. We can see how nicely this fits with the next verses, where Paul teaches that all things work together for good and that God has designed all things so that we are conformed to the image of his Son. No wonder all things are working out for our good-the Spirit is effectively praying for us so that the will of God will be accomplished in our lives.
Paul's Letter to the Romans: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary
By Ben Witherington III, Darlene Hyatt
Beginning with v. 26 we have a difficult paragraph about the work of the Spirit in or for the believer or both. The first sentence is clear enough-the Spirit helps the believer in his weakness. The major debate in this section is whether it is a special kind of prayer or prayer in general that constitutes the weakness and difficulty the believer is experiencing.' What is it that "we do not know"? The Greek is such that it could be what to pray, what to pray for, or even the thing prayed for. Some have even seen here two unknowns - what to pray for and how to pray it. But this is unlikely. Katho dei should be seen as a qualifier referring to what is right according to God's will in regard to what should be prayed. Kasemann argues that prayer in general cannot be the problem, for in fact believers do have a model for prayer in the Lord's Prayer. He argues that what is in view is the believer under fire and needing special help from the Spirit. In our weakness the Holy Spirit intercedes for us in some way. How? Does stemagmois alaletois refer to sighs that are wordless, or beyond words, or to the inarticulate groans of the ecstatic prompted by the Spirit, or possibly even to glossolalia uttered in worship (1 Cor. 14.14)?'
Kasemann describes the following scenario: there were ecstatics who saw their ability to speak in tongues as a sign that the future was now. Paul counters this by indicating that heavenly speech is actually not a sign that believers have already received their glorious future, but rather that in their weakness the Spirit gives them a small foretaste of that future, which makes them long and cry out for more. Cranfield denies that glossolalia is in view here since it is private prayer and praise language while the problem here seems to be bringing the known needs of believers before God in an adequate manner.' One might have expected a little more explicitness if glossolalia were in view here.' And, most decisively, Paul is talking about the Spirit uttering inarticulate groans, not the believer.' Thus Cranfield is probably right that what is meant are utterances or groanings that are imperceptible to the believer. The Spirit groans along with the believer, just as the believer groans as part of fallen creation."
Romans: A New Covenant Commentary
By Craig S. Keener
Not only do creation and believers groan with eagerness for liberation, but Christ's own Spirit groans with believers in their suffering, eager for their deliverance (8:26). Whatever the other benefits of the Spirit's intercession (8:26-27), the Spirit works within believers during their sufferings to prepare them for conformity with the image of the crucified and resurrected Christ (8:28–29), i.e., to share his glory (8:3o). The Spirit "helps" believers in the weakness of their current bodily state (cf. 6:19; 8:3; 2 Cor 12:9); just as Israel's groans in suffering counted as prayers (Exod 2:23), so the Spirit offers an inarticulate prayer when believers are pressed by the hardships of the current age. [
Against some commentators, this is an experience different from tongues, which Paul values (1 Cor 12:10; 14:18) but regards as articulate. Some experiences were considered so sublime or sacred they were unutterable (cf. 2 Cor 12:4); Paul may transfer that sacredness to how God feels and responds to the sufferings of his children.]
The prophetic Spirit leads (8:14) and assures believers that they are God's children (8:16), and also inspires prayer to God (8:15), though the "prayer" in 8:26 may be one that believers do not always even recognize. As the Spirit intercedes within believers (8:26), Jesus intercedes for them at God's right hand (8:34). The Spirit who knows God's heart (1 Cor 2:11) prays "according to God” (Rom 8:27), an idiom used elsewhere (cf. 15:5; 2 Cor 7:9-11) for what accords with God's will. Believers never have to worry about the efficacy of this intercession, because it is born from God's own presence within them (8:27), working to bring about his purpose (8:28). (Jewish people often spoke of God who "searches hearts”)-9
Paul's Letter to the Romans (Pillar New Testament Commentary)
By Colin G. Kruse
8:26 While believers hold on in hope, enduring the sufferings of this present age, they are not left alone. Paul goes on: In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know What we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. "In the same way seems on first reading to connect the groaning of the Spirit's intercession for believers with their own experience of groaning as they hold on in hope, awaiting their final redemption. However, what the text says is that likewise the Spirit "helps', not likewise the Spirit 'groans'. 'Likewise then refers back to some antecedent activity of the Spirit, not to the groaning of believers. Smith argues that "likewise' is best understood to link the active work of the Spirit in intercession here in 8:26 right back to the active work of the Spirit confirming believers' Sonship in 8:16 despite the amount of material separating the two statements. He sums up his view: "Paul is saying: "Just as the Spirit is at work within our hearts to confirm to us our adoption (8:16), so in the same way also the Spirit is at work within our hearts to bear up our weakness (8:26)",37
The verb ‘to help' used here 72 is found only twice in the NT, here and in Luke 10:40 ("But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" - italics added), where it clearly means to "lend assistance'. Here in 8:26 Paul maintains that the Holy Spirit "helps us in our weakness'. While the Spirit undoubtedly helps believers generally in their weakness, the particular weakness in which the Spirit helps them is their not knowing what we ought to pray for". This is surprising, for elsewhere Paul gives many instances of what people ought to pray for and the things for which he himself prays.' Nevertheless, it is clear that the apostle is aware that there are times when he and others just do not know what to pray for - perhaps in times of suffering and persecution. When this is the case, he assures his audience that the Spirit lends us assistance.
The assistance the Spirit gives is that he himself 'intercedes for us'.375 The idea of the Spirit interceding for people is found only here in the NT, and is not found in the OT or pre-Christian Jewish literature.7.
Some have suggested that Paul is referring to believers' prayers in tongues inspired by the Spirit,377 but this seems unlikely because: (i) the apostle is speaking of the Spirit's intercession for us,” not his inspiration of prayer in tongues by us; (ii) Paul says that the Spirit's intercession is 'through wordless groans' (lit. "unspoken groans"), which suggests that the intercession is silent and not oral as is speaking in tongues."
While there is clearly a verbal connection between the groaning of creation, the groaning of believers, and the groaning of the Spirit, the Spirit's groaning is clearly of a different order. In the former cases groaning emanates from frustration or suffering, whereas in the case of the Spirit this is certainly not so - his groaning is associated with intercession for believers.
Romans
by C. E. B. Cranfield
The Spirit Himself helps our weakness by interceding for us. (The explanation of medua here as meaning our human spirit, supported in ancient (e.g. by Cyril, col. 824) and in modern times (e.g. by Oltramare, 2, p. 170 (cf. pp. 136 and 139) must be rejected as inconsistent with the natural sense of irreperturyxdvel and also of irrep dylaw in v. 27 and with the confidence expressed in card 8edy in v. 27.) Kasemann is quite sure that orrevayuois di MaMsiros must refer to the ecstatic utterances of glossolaly'-an interpretation with a long history going back to Origen' and Chrysostom. But, while he has succeeded in showing weaknesses in some of the arguments urged against this interpretation, he has offered little in the way of positive argument in support of it, apart from his argument (already referred to) from the words royap Tl impooevalueba Ka838et oix otSauey.
On the other side there seems to be force in the contention that the orevayuo mentioned here are not likely to be the utterances of glossolaly, since they clearly have to do with bringing the needs and longings of Christians before God, whereas glossolaly was pre-eminently praise.' But more decisive is the argument that, coming after the words aửrỏ rò meũua ởmẹperrvyXáyet (cf. èvrvyXdve mèp dylov in v. 27), orrevayuos dXaArous must refer to the Spirit's own orevayuo, and it is highly unlikely that Paul would think of the ecstatic utterances of certain Christians, inspired by the Spirit though these utterances might be, as being the Spirit's own orevayuot. It is surely much more probable that the reference is to groanings imperceptible to the Christians themselves." Whether by dAarous Paul meant "ineffable', 'that cannot be expressed in ordinary human speech', intending to indicate the transcendence of these groanings, or whether he meant "unspoken', is a further question. Verse 27 suggests that the latter possibility is more likely. The Spirit's groanings are not spoken, because they do not need to be, since God knows the Spirit’s intention without its being expressed.
Wayne Grudem - Systematic Theology
i. Is Romans 8:26 - 27 Related to Speaking in Tongues?
Paul writes in Romans 8:26 - 27:
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words. And he who searches the hearts of men knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
Paul does not mention speaking in tongues explicitly here, and the statement is a general one concerning the life of all Christians, so it does not seem correct to say that Paul here is referring to speaking in tongues. He is referring to a more general experience that occurs in the prayer life of every Christian. But what exactly is he talking about? Some have thought that he is referring to an intercessory activity completely imperceptible to us, in which the Holy Spirit intercedes for us by making sighs and groans to the Father. On this view, such intercessory work of the Spirit goes on continually, but we have no idea that it is happening (except for the fact that Scripture tells us this). In this way it would be similar to the intercessory work of Christ mentioned in Romans 8:34 and Hebrews 7:25. But this does not appear to be a satisfactory explanation of the passage, for several reasons: (1) It would not seem probable that Paul would say that the intercessory work of the Holy Spirit, who is the infinite, omnipotent, omniscient God, would be carried out in “wordless groans” (literal translation of στεναγμοῖς ἀλαλήτοις in Rom. 8:26), especially when we realize that “groans” refers to the intense sighs of fatigue that are appropriate to weary, burdened creatures in a fallen world.57 (2) Within the larger context the groanings in view seem to be those due to the burden of living in this present evil age, particularly the groans associated with our suffering in this age (see vv. 17, 18, 23). (3) The verb “helps” in Romans 8:26 (“The Spirit helps us in our weakness”) does not refer to something the Holy Spirit does apart from us and on our behalf but rather something the Holy Spirit does in cooperation with us. The verb Paul uses here (συναντιλαμβάνομαι, G5269) is also used in Luke 10:40, where Martha wants Jesus to tell Mary “to help me—certainly she does not want Mary to do the food preparation instead of her, but rather to come and take part with her in doing it.58 Therefore Paul is not talking about something the Holy Spirit does completely apart from our participation, but something the Holy Spirit does in cooperation with our activity. These reasons combine to indicate that Paul is not talking about a work of the Holy Spirit done apart from us and unknown by us, but about the inarticulate sighs and groans which we ourselves utter in prayer, which the Holy Spirit then makes into effective intercession before the throne of God. We could paraphrase, “The Holy Spirit assists our prayers when he intercedes (for us) by taking our wordless groans and making them into effective prayer.”59 What is the relationship between this and speaking in tongues? There is some similarity because it is effective prayer which we pray even though we do not understand fully what we are praying. But there are some differences in that the sighs or groans that we utter in prayer very often relate to situations or hardships that we are very conscious of in our minds as we pray, so we know what we are praying about. But Paul says that we do not know how to pray for these situations as we ought to pray. Therefore the Holy Spirit helps us and intercedes in these situations “according to the will of God” (Rom. 8:27). There is no explicit mention of our spirit praying (though that may indeed be true as well), nor is there mention of our mind being unfruitful or lacking understanding (though that may at times be at least partially true). Nor do these sighs or groans come forth in anything that could be called “other tongues” or “other languages.” So there are several differences, even though Romans 8:26–27 talks about intercession that we make in sounds that are not fully understood by us, and therefore it is a phenomenon that has some similarities to speaking in tongues.
'The word "groan" (stenagmos) is elsewhere used in the New Testament only at Acts 7:34, of the groanings of Israel under oppression in Egypt. But the related verb stenazó is used several times, always of finite creatures groaning under the burden of this fallen creation. In the immediately previous context stenazó refers to our groaning because our redemption is incomplete (Rom. 8:23; a related compound word is used in v. 22 of the creation itself). The verb is also used of finite creatures groaning under the burden of this creation in Mark 7:34 (Jesus as a man); 2 Cor. 5:2, 4 (believers who have a corruptible, earthly body); Heb. 13:17 (church leaders who may be tempted to groan under the burden of church leadership); and James 5:9 (a warning for Christians not to grumble or groan against one another). Though the verb was once used of Jesus who groaned while under the limitations of this human existence, it does not seem an appropriate term to use of the activity of the Holy Spirit, who would not experience a similar weakness because he never took on human nature.
James Dunn - Spirit Speech: Reflections on Romans 8:12-27
Romans 8:26-27
This third and last example of Spirit speech is the most striking of all. a) We should note, first of all, the continuity of thought with the preceding context. When Paul speaks of "our weakness" he no doubt had in mind the weakness of the human condition and the futility of creation of which he had just been speaking (8:18-23); the "groans" (stenagmois) of 8:26 undoubtedly link back to the "groaning" (stenazomen) of 8:23. But where in the previous paragraph the Spirit had constituted the beginning of the process (but still only the beginning, and so initiated or strengthened the resultant sense of dis-ease), here the role of the Spirit is depicted as much more supportive: "the Spirit helps (synantilambanetai) us in our weakness”- the image being that of shouldering a burden too heavy for the weakness of the human condition to support. Paul does not pretend the life of discipleship is easy: human weakness continues to be all too evident; 'groaning is also and continues to be an expression of spiritual life. The Spirit helps precisely in that weakness.
b) The weakness comes to its most poignant expression in prayer: "what we are to pray for as we should we do not know" (8:26). Here the believer is in an even worse state than the "I" of 7:14-24. The "I" knew what to do, knew what the law of God stipulated, and wanted to do it; but failed. Here the problem is different: not that believers know all along what to pray for and simply cannot turn their desires into words. The measure of their confusion and frustration is that they just do not know what God's will is for them; they do not know what to want. Here too is a reminder that salvation is not a matter of knowledge, of being informed as to the nature of reality. Nor is there a liberation or illumination of mind which renders unnecessary the redemption of the body or the liberation of the cosmos. Even within the process of salvation, for those already being saved, a marked degree of spiritual ignorance and of darkened mind remains an all too present reality.
c) So, what is the Spirit's help in this case? Once again Paul does not cherish the hope of being removed from this weakness during this life or of a speech which nullifies that weakness and leaves it behind. On the contrary, the Spirit speech is itself an expression of that weakness: "the Spirit intercedes on our behalf with inarticulate groans (stemagnois alaletois)" (8:26). The key word, alaletos, occurs only here in biblical Greek. But its meaning is clear - literally "lacking speech,” lacking that which distinguishes humans from animals. This indicates the depth of human weakness-in the last resort no more able than brute beasts to speak to God in articulate speech. In the event, this groaning is little different from that shared between creation and those in process of being saved in 8:22-23.
In this case, however, it functions as effective prayer. Why? Because God is at both ends of the process. The Spirit is in tune with God. That is, the Spirit working deep at the root of human inarticulateness, the Spirit working deep at the root of creation's futility and the believer's frustration, is working with God, as part of and in accordance with God's will (8:27). Because the heart is where the inner reality of the person is,' the openness and opening of the heart to God is an effective communication with God and succeeds in keeping open the channels of grace between believers and God. At this point Spirit speech and heart language are one. Here as elsewhere Paul had found that recognition of human weakness is an unavoidable, even necessary complement to divine strength and power (2 Cor 12:9-10).ooo d) What a surprise! Here again, it is not the speech of high spiritual rapture or profoundest prophetic inspiration which achieves effective communication with God, but the speech which expresses human inability, human solidarity with nonhuman creation in its futility. It is not the heavenly journey to hear "unutterable words" (2 Cor 12:4) which puts the believer in tune with the will of God. It is the Spirit speaking with primal speech, putting believers in touch with their deepest being where language fails, expressing the instinctive recognition of the creature that its existence depends solely and ultimately on God alone. It is the Spirit stripping the human creature of all the pride and pretense which human ability with words brings, of all the power to persuade and charm, to manipulate and deceive which human speech makes possible. This is the cry of the creature both acknowledging its creatureliness and confessing God as its God. That is why it constitutes effective prayer.
Romans (Abingdon New Testament Commentary)
By Leander E. Keck
Here (in vv. 26-27), however, Paul addresses one implication of what he had written about living during the "not yet," vulnerable to “the sufferings of the present time” while hoping and waiting patiently for the redemption not manifest-namely, that this existence has not yet fully overcome the "weakness” that marks the human condition as such (see 5:6). But in response, he does not say that one will outgrow this “weakness,” that with the Spirit's help and self-discipline one will become an ever "stronger" Christian. Instead, he writes of another role of the Spirit: It "helps” (synantilambanetai, lit., "come to the aid of,” as in Luke 10:40). Since Paul could just as easily have written antilambanetai, which means virtually the same (as in Acts 20:35), beginning the same word with the prefix syn-links this word to the four synwords in verses 16-17 (and in 6:5-8). Consequently, the "likewise” in verse 26 indicates that the Spirit's "coming to help” is comparable to the Spirit's "bearing witness with our spirit v. 16) that we are children of God” (so also Fee 1994, 576). According to NRSV and NIV, the Spirit "helps us in our weakness," but the text says that the recipient of the help is "our weakness.” Paul is not talking about "weakness” as the circumstance in which the Spirit helps us; his point, rather, is that the weakness itself is met by the power of the Spirit. What follows, introduced by "for,” explains what Paul means by this help for our weakness. Since verse 26 resumes the “co-witness” of verse 16, which followed the reference to crying "Abba” in verse 15, it is understandable that Paul now talks about the Spirit's help for our weakness in prayer.
Before explaining the help, Paul identifies the weakness: "We do not know what we ought to pray for” (NIV); the text does not say, “we do not know how to pray as we ought” (NRSV and REB). The Spirit does not help one pray better, more effectively. Rather, its help consists in speaking on behalf of ("intercedes”) those who do not know what to pray for. How does it do this? "With groans" ("sighs" (NRSV) is too weak), repeating the word used of creation in verse 22 and of believers in verse 23. The "groans" with which the Spirit speaks on our behalf are alaletois (lit., "not spoken”; REB: “inarticulate”). Are the groans unspoken because they are unspeakable (NRSV: “too deep for words"), or because they are a form of "tongue-speaking" - uttered sounds that are not spoken words (Fee (1994, 579-85) discusses various possibilities)? Given the recent increase in "Pentecostalism,” it is understandable that much attention has been focused on these "unspoken groans"; the focus of the passage itself, however, is in verse 27, which explains why the Spirit's interceding is the effective help for believers who do not know what they ought to pray.
The explanation assumes that the Spirit resides in the self (v. 9). So God "who searches the heart knows the mindset (phronema, as in v. 6) of the Spirit” (AT), because, presumably, the Spirit resides in the heart. Moreover, the Spirit "intercedes," speaks to God on behalf of those who do not know what to pray, and does so in accord with God (kata theon), that is, in keeping with God's will. The Spirit does not need to persuade God on our behalf (as if it were a lobbyist) because the Spirit speaks in accord with God. In other words, Paul apparently says that the Spirit's intercession transforms our ignorant praying into what is in keeping with God's will. When one compares what is said here about the Spirit with 1 Cor 2:9-16, a significant difference becomes evident: Whereas in the present passage the Spirit communicates to God on our behalf, there the Spirit communicates to us, since the Spirit is the only one that knows "the things of God.” In both passages, the Spirit's role in communication overcomes human limitations, whether by revealing the otherwise unknowable things of God to us or by speaking to God on our behalf.
Romans
Charles Hodge
In this sense the present passage is to be understood. We do not know how to pray, but the Spirit teaches us. All true prayer is due to the influence of the Spirit, who not only guides us in the selection of the objects for which to pray, but also gives us the appropriate desires, and works within us that faith without which our prayers are of no avail. We are not to suppose that the Spirit itself prays, or utters the inarticulate groans of which the apostle here speaks. He is said to do what he causes us to do. ... Nevertheless, far more is meant than that the Spirit teaches us to pray, as one man may teach another. And more is meant than that, by a mere ab extra influence, certain desires and feelings are awakened in our hearts. The Spirit dwells in the believer as a principle of life. In our consciousness there is no difference between our own actings and those of the Spirit. There is, however, a concursus, a joint agency of the divine and human in all holy exercises, and more especially in those emotions, desires, and aspirations which we are unable to clothe in words. The stenagmoi~v ajlalh>toiv may mean with unutterable or unuttered groanings. The former is not only more forcible. but it is more in accordance with the experience and language of men. It is common to speak of emotions too big for utterance, and we all 432 know what that means. The analogy of Scripture is also in favor of this view. The Bible speaks of God’s unspeakable gift, 2 Corinthians 12:4 of a]wwhta wh>mata, ‘words which cannot be uttered;’ and of ‘a joy that is unspeakable,’ cara< ajnekla>lhtov
Romans (College Press NIV Commentary)
By Jack Cottrell
Here is one of the ways the Spirit comes to our aid. In our feeble attempts at heartfelt prayer, he intercedes for us, standing between us and the Father. "Intercede" means to make an appeal to someone on another person's behalf. The same combination of words is used in v. 27, "the Spirit intercedes for the saints"; and in v. 34, "Christ Jesus... is also interceding for us." Thus we have two divine intercessors between us and the Father: Jesus intercedes for us in heaven at God's right hand (v. 34), and the Spirit intercedes for us from within our hearts.
This does not negate Christ's role as a unique intercessor or mediator (1 Tim 2:5-6), because he is the only one who stands between us and the Father's wrath, the only one who secures for us the decree of justification.
The Spirit's intercession is in the realm of our sanctification and is specifically related to our prayer life. By his divine power he looks upon the deepest levels of our hearts and gives content to our unspoken and uncertain prayers, then he lays these prayers before the Father's throne. Knowing that this happens alleviates the frustration and despair that might otherwise arise out of our uncertainty concerning God's will and our inability to know what to pray for. The Spirit's intercession takes the form of "groans that words cannot express." "Groans" is the noun form of the verb used in vv. 22-23. It refers to the nonverbal vocalizing of deep inward feelings, as in a sigh or groan. Some think these are our own groanings, as stirred up and enabled by the Spirit, but this does not fit the concept of intercession. Others rightly see them as the Spirit's own groanings, as he extracts the deepest unformed prayers from our hearts and presents them to the Father in a kind of intradivine communication that does not need words. This communication is described as "groans" because it conveys to the Father not only our thoughts but also the deep feelings associated with them.
Exegetes debate whether di,ntos (alaletos; "that words cannot express") means "unutterable, inexpressible, unable to be spoken"; or simply "unspoken, unexpressed, wordless." In the final analysis this does not matter, since the reference is to the Spirit's communication and not ours. We assume that whatever is in our hearts could be expressed in words if we knew exactly what to pray for. What the Spirit carries to the Father may or may not be adaptable to human speech; the point is that this communication is not on that level in the first place.
Epistle to the Romans
By John Murray
“In like manner” points to sometinıng in the preceding context to which what follows in these two verses is likened. It would appear that the thought is as follows. The hope and expectation of the glory to be revealed sustain the people of God in the sufferings and groanings of this present time (vss. 18-25). In like manner the Holy Spirit helps our infirmity. In the preceding verses the accent falls upon the sufferings and the support afforded in these; in verses 26, 27 the accent falls upon our infirmity and the help given for its relief. As hope sustains us in suffering, so the Holy Spirit helps our infirmity. "Infirmity" is a comprehensive term in itself and can cover the whole range of the weakness which characterizes us in this life. We need not suppose that the infirmity in view is restricted to the matter of prayer. But that "we know not what to pray for as we ought" brings to the forefront how helpless we are in our infirmity and lays the basis for the particular kind of help afforded by the Spirit. Prayer covers every aspect of our need, and our weakness is exemplified and laid bare by the fact that we know not what to pray for as is meet and proper." It is not our ignorance of the right manner of prayer that is reflected on, as the rendering of the version might suggest. It is rather our ignorance respecting the proper content-we know not what to pray as the exigencies of our situations demand." It is at the point of this destitution on our part that the Holy Spirit comes to our help, and upon this particular aspect of the Spirit's activity the apostle concentrates attention as peculiarly and by way of eminence the grace of the Spirit in reference to our infirmity, the grace which consists in the fact that hic “himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered'. Several observations are necessary. (1) The children of God have two divine intercessors. Christ is their intercessor in the court of heaven (cf. vs. 34; Heb. 7:25; IJohn 2:1). The Holy Spirit is their intercessor in the theatre of their own hearts (cf. John 14:16, 17).' Too seldom has th intercessory activity of the Holy Spirit been taken into account. The glory of Christ's intercession should not be allowed to place the Spirit's intercession in eclipse. (2) The Spirit intercedes "with groanings which cannot be uttered". Whatever view we may adopt respecting these groanings, we may not overlook or suppress the truth that they are the groanings of which the Holy Spirit is the author. They are the concrete ways in which the intercession of the Spirit comes to expression; they define the content of his intercession. It is not sufficient to say that they are created and indicted by the Holy Spirit; they are the intercessions of the Spirit and the groanings are but the way in which these intercessions are registered in the hearts of God's children. (3) Whether we render the Greek term by the word "unutterable" or "unuttered", we must note that the groanings are not expressed in articulate speech; they are not requests or petitions or supplications which are formulated in intelligible utterance. While far from being devoid of content, meaning, and intent, they nevertheless transcend articulated formulation. (4) The groanings will have to be understood as the groanings which are registered in the hearts of the children of God. We cannot reasonably think of the Holy Spirit himself, apart from the agency and instrumentality of those on whose behalf he intercedes, as presenting his intercessions to the Father in the form of his own groanings. The reference to the hearts in verse 27 clearly implies that the hearts are those of the children of God. It must be, therefore, in their hearts that the groanings take place and the groanings are those of the saints. They are, however, the media of the Holy Spirit's intercession and they ascend to the throne of grace in the form of groanings.
Romans (New American Commentary)
By Robert H. Mounce
8:26-27 As it is hope that carries us through our times of suffering (vv. 24-25), so it is the Spirit who comes to our aid when we find ourselves unable to pray as we ought.' Paul said that the Spirit "helps us in our weakness. In context that weakness is our lack of understanding regarding prayer.' Prayer has always been one of the great mysteries of the spiritual life. We understand that God is listening, but we sense our inadequacy when it comes to knowing how to pray or exactly what We should pray for. How many times have we wondered how to pray for a friend suffering a serious illness? Sometimes volumes of prayer have gone up to God, but the response from heaven was not what We wanted or expected. When our lack of faith undermines certainty in prayer, the Spirit himself intercedes on our behalf. So intense is his prayer that Paul described it as "groans that words cannot express." The NEB makes the believer, not the Spirit, the one who groans ("through our in articulate groans the Spirit himself is pleading for us"). This removes the somewhat difficult image of the Spirit groaning in prayer, but in view of Gethsemane (cf. esp. Luke 22:44) there is no reason to deny emotional/spiritual involvement in prayer to the third person of the Trinity. [Some who hold that στεναγμοῖς ἀλαλήτοις (“groans that words cannot express”) refers to the groaning of the believer also hold that Paul was referring to glossolalia, speaking in tongues (e.g., E. Käsemann, “The Cry for Liberty in the Worship of the Church,” in Perspectives on Paul [Philadelphia: Fortress, 1971]: 122–37), but that is highly unlikely. ἀλάλητος means “unspoken.” Stott holds that the groans are “unexpressed rather than inexpressible,” the “agonized longings for final redemption and the consummation of all things” (Romans, 245).]Here again we stand at the edge of mystery. It is better to acknowledge humbly our spiritual incapacity than to reduce the action of the Spirit to human terms.
God understands what the Spirit desires even though it is inexpressible in human terms (v. 27). God is the one who has complete access to the heart. His knowledge is direct, not dependent upon one’s ability to articulate concerns. God is a searcher of hearts and knows the desires of the Spirit as the Spirit intercedes for us. He knows that the Spirit is interceding for saints in harmony with his will. No passage of Scripture provides greater encouragement for prayer. The Spirit comes to the aid of believers baffled by the perplexity of prayer and takes their concerns to God with an intensity far greater than we could ever imagine. Our groans (v. 23) become his (v. 26) as he intercedes on our behalf.
The Letter of Paul to the Romans (Cambridge Bible Commentary)
By Ernest Best
26-7. The Christian has received the Spirit (verse 23) and the Spirit assists him where he is weak. We have already seen that he is weak to do God's will (7: I4-25); this weakness includes not only his words and actions but even his inward life in his prayers. This does not mean merely that he does not know perfectly the technique of prayer (such things ashow far he should use written prayers, or how he should control his mind from wandering), but that even his best prayers are not prayed in God's own way. There is always too much of himself in his prayers; he prays for the wrong things; he does not really want what God wants. When we realize the inability of our prayers to please God, then through our inarticulate groans (cf. verses 22-3) the Spirit...pleads for us. The second our in verse 26 is not in the Greek and the groans may be those of the Spirit; indeed even our groans become his when he pleads through them. The conception here of the Spirit who pleads is similar to what we find in John's Gospel, where the Spirit is called our “advocate” (I4: I6, 26; III 5: 26; I6: 7). And when he pleads for us God who knows our inmost being knows even more what the Spirit means, for he talks God's language. Thus our hopelessly inadequate prayers become real prayers.
The Moody Bible Commentary
by Michael A Rydelnik, Michael Vanlaningham
8:26-27. In the same way that hope sustains believers when they suffer, so also the Spirit helps their weakness when they pray (v. 26), the weakness being found in ignorance concerning how one ought to pray. Groanings too deep for words is an oxymoron, but describes the Spirit's “wordless prayer groaning" on behalf of God's children. Too deep for words means "unspoken," "unspeakable," "unuttered," "unutterable," but in any case these groans are inaudible and therefore do not refer to speaking in tongues. In addition, the Spirit Himself performs this intercessory ministry, but speaking in tongues involves the participation of the believer (cf. 1 Co 14:14), and while not every believer speaks in tongues (1Co 12:30), every believer can be confident of this prayer ministry of the Spirit. If God knows every thought of every person, then He is quite capable of understanding the Spirit's prayers for His children (v. 27). He the Spirit) intercedes ... according to the will of God provides the basis for what Paul will say in v. 28. If the Spirit prays for believers, then God's loving purposes will come to them. Not only does the Spirit intercede, but the Son does as well (v. 34), and the intercessory work of two members of the Godhead are what guarantees that "nothing will separate us from the love of God," and that believers will never lose their salvation.
