Praying as Groaning

Ninth Sunday after Pentecost

August 10, 2014

Romans 8:26

Praying as Groaning

In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Babies talk, just not with words. They groan; they grunt. They squeal; they scream. They laugh; they cry. And it often seems like they don't know what they want.

So often we are just babies when it comes to prayer. We know we need something, but in our weakness, we don't know what to ask for. But Jesus doesn't leave us to ourselves.

We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.

Romans 8:26

Jesus sent His Holy Spirit to put what we need into words. And the words that He puts into our hearts and mouths is the Word of God. He puts the very same Christ who died and lives again into our hearts and mouths. He does this in putting in three ways: He baptized us, He absolves us, and He communes us.

By using these Sacraments, He teaches us the words of the Church, the collective vocabulary of countless groaning believers who follow the Christ who suffered for all.

This collection of words is prayed by the Church every day in homes and every Sunday in churches around the world.

The Holy Spirit teaches us to pray the Lord's Prayer. He gives us the words of the Creeds to confess that Christ is true and that we trust the Truth. He teaches us to marvel at the sight of Christ's true presence on the altar and on your tongue as you pray, "O Christ, Lamb of God, You take away the sin of the world, have mercy on us."

We take these words home and we pray them there. Alone in the morning, you pray, "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by Thy name." You ask Jesus, "Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner." You ask Him to keep His promise and come back that very day to take you into everlasting life.

There are some mornings when we don't know what to pray. There is evil near and far that leaves you in dismay. We hear of Muslims murdering Christians in distant lands. We hear of deadly diseases sweeping through Africa. We hear of parents hurting their children in our own community. So much evil and we groan helplessly.

And then even closer to home, we examine ourselves and see evil that will never be found by an Internet search. Yet Jesus searches our hearts and knows us, all of our evil secret desires. So much evil and we groan in terror of our sin.

Yet the Holy Spirit hears our groans and groans along with us. But unlike ours, His groans are not helpless. His inexpressible words are powerful and effective and they will save us.

His heavenly groaning will save us because this is His will for us. We know His will because He has made it known to us in Holy Baptism and Holy Communion. You are baptized. Christ Himself is given and shed for you. You and you alone! And for the sake of the living Word of God, Jesus Christ, this is true for every one of you here today.

Yet you groan and the Holy Spirit groans with you and gives you holy things: the Son. And then you groan and He groans and gives you the Son. Again and again.

He groans for you before you were born. He groans for you before you could talk. He groans for you when you don't know what to say. He groans for you when you neglect His Word. He groans for you when age or dementia deprives you of speech, when all you can do is groan like a baby. He groans for you all the way into everlasting life, where the groaning transforms into everlasting sighs of contentment in the living Word.

In the name of the Father

and of the † Son

and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.