In all this, we must not make the mistake of thinking that our zeal makes our prayers acceptable to God. We do not pray in order to impress God. Rather, we pray because God impresses us with His gracious welcome! Though we deserve no welcome, His Son’s sacrifice and priestly service pave the way into God’s throne room (Hebrews 4:16-17; 7:19; 10:19, 22). When we believe that, we approach God with confidence and sincerity. Yet we are also aware how weak we are at our best. Even the most ardent disciples are imperfect in prayer. Paul included himself when he said, “We do not know what to pray for as we ought” (Romans 8:26). For that reason, God Himself empowers our prayers— with Himself!
Likewise 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. 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 cf. Ephesians 2:18).
The Spirit helps us in our weakness.
The Spirit adds to our prayers His own urgency, expressed in deep “groanings.” We might picture His help this way: We pray as best we can, using human ability and language, which are still limited and inadequate. So God the Spirit translates our feeble words into heaven’s heart-language for the Father. Trusting the effective help of Jesus as our Mediator and the Holy Spirit as our Intercessor, we are assured of God’s positive response. Therefore our prayers through Christ are infinitely worth the intensity that Jesus teaches us!