Believers in Jesus Christ are never abandoned by God, nor are they ever without a voice in heaven. Just as the work of Christ and the Holy Spirt powerfully actioned our salvation, so these two members of the Godhead continuously defend us before God the Father.
Isaiah, prophesying of the coming Messiah, foretold that Jesus would make intercession for the transgressors (Isaiah 53:12). God ordained, that through His Son, He would act between sinful humanity and Himself to reconcile the two parties. He knew that He would have to do everything needed to rescue spiritually dead sinners and keep them rescued.
As fantastic as it is that Christ died and rose again for our justification, that was not the end of His work. Christ Jesus is the one who died …who was raised, and is at the right hand of God …interceding for us (Romans 8:34). Christ’s declaration of innocence (Justification) over our inconsistent lives is maintained by Christ Himself. Incredibly, Christ lives to make intercession for every single born again child of God (Hebrews 7:25). Knowing our every stumbling which involves sin, Christ is our advocate with the Father (1 John 2:1). Relentless in His defence of the redeemed, Christ, the one mediator between God and men (1 Timothy 2:5) tirelessly maintains His accomplished redemption on our behalf. Our salvation is not susceptible to variation or weakened by any personal insecurities.
Similarly, the Holy Spirit works ceaselessly in maintaining the integrity of fellowship within the relationship Christ establishes on our behalf with the Father. Life and our fleshliness so often repress our heart’s ability to communicate well with God, even to the point of silencing our ability to pray coherently. Obviously, our relationship with the Lord does not change, and we humanly lack the inner resources required for such a relationship to exist.
Understanding this, and knowing us intimately, God the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God (Romans 8:26-27).
The Holy Spirit is the believer’s liaison with the Father, at a level beyond our comprehension. Although the exchange of fatherly searching and Holy Spirit groaning on our behalf is invisibly silent to our senses, this ceaseless engagement is both essential and real. These intimate discussions take place without our knowledge or participation, yet we are the focus of their talks.
Whether in the darkness of night, or the heat of the day, our fears, doubts, failings, and fleshly insecurities are privately and exhaustively laid out before the Almighty. There, before the throne of grace, the most intense dialogue takes place between Father and Spirit on your behalf. Nothing is overlooked. Nothing is excused away as being irrelevant or inappropriate. In fact, this intensely interactive exchange over your weakness within the Godhead meets your every need and satisfies every facet of the Father’s will. No wonder the apostle Paul says that human words are deficient for the job, and only Holy Spirit groanings are sufficient to communicate in this divine exchange.
Therefore, in our prayers, let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16). Knowing our prayer shortcomings and inadequacies, the Holy Spirit steps in to complete the communication. Let us walk and talk with the Lord today in the confidence and security of His gracious work of intercession.