Prayers, The Spirit, and Stage Productions

I have both been comforted and afraid through Romans 8:26.  There is a comfort in knowing that the Spirit of my Master works to express what I cannot, making up for what I cannot pray because I’m so limited.  When I wonder what I can do for someone with my feeble prayers, the comfort of the working Spirit of my Master gives me confidence.  I know that it’s not what I pray, but what He prays that makes the difference.  I become a vessel through which my Master’s Spirit works, but I know the work is His.

But this also scares me.  There is a degree to which I am unconscious of the works of my Master’s Spirit.   It is like being on stage facing forward, but the real show is behind me and I have no idea what is happening.  Is the crowd laughing at me or the show behind me?  The fear stems from a desire to have control and attention, but neither belongs to me.  The verse uses a few very rare words, used twice and once in the Christian Scriptures.  The first is normally translated as “help” but means “to grasp together with.”  This is what my Master’s Spirit does, grasps my weaknesses along with me.  He pulls and works alongside me, not without me.

The second word surprised me.  What is normally translated as “intercedes” or “intercession” is used only in this verse in the Christian Scriptures, and literally combines two words: the preposition “under”, and the verb “to meet with and have a chat.”  The preposition’s use in Greek was usually to indicate something done on another’s behalf.  So, my Master’s Spirit meets with my Master over coffee and they talk, about me.  It’s like my Master having a conversation with Himself to a degree, but on the divine level, that’s the best way to describe the level of intimacy my Master has with my weaknesses.

So, the Maker of stars, the One reforming matter into the indescribable and unimaginable, is intimately acquainted and interested in my weaknesses.  And not just mine, this level of intimacy is carried out across all life, in the same way He is intimate with quarks, neutrons, electrons, and protons.  And all this intimacy takes place all at the same time.  What was I worried about again?  I was just afraid of something, but it’s fading really fast.  Something about being on a stage, some sort of show going on behind me.  What a foolish man, turn around, idiot!  Enjoy the show!

Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, November 8