We're turning to Romans chapter 8, Romans chapter 8, and let's begin our reading at the verse 14 off the chapter. Paul's epistle to the Roman saints, Romans chapter 8, the verse number 14. Let's hear God's word. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but ye have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God, and of children, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ. It so be that we suffer with him that we may be also glorified together, for I reckon That the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope. Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves grown within ourselves, waiting for the adoption to wit, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope, but hope that is seen is not hope. what a man seeth why doth he yet hope for for if we hope for that we see not then do we with patience wait for it likewise the spirit also help with our infirmities we know not what we should pray for as we ought but the spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered and he that searcheth is The hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God. to them who are the called according to His purpose. Amen. And we'll end our reading there at that most familiar verse, a most encouraging verse, the verse number 28. Let's seek the Lord briefly in a word of prayer. Our loving Father, our gracious God, we pray that by the help of Thy Spirit, that thou wilt help this preacher to preach that which thou hast given to us today. We thank you for the providence of God that has led us to consider this subject matter as we enter now this week of prayer. O God, grant, dear Father, the benefit of what we preach today to be experienced, dear Father, as we come to the throne of grace. May we know much of the help of the Spirit In this great matter, O God, that we'll consider today, therefore come, close us in with God, take every heart, wherever that heart would be found within the vicinity of this building, whether it be here in this main auditorium, or whether it be in the hall, maybe with children being a little unsettled. Lord, bless those dear mothers that are there. those that are caring for the little ones, we pray. May there be a word for their hearts, even in that place. Maybe those who are sickly and find themselves there in the more comfort of that hall. Lord, bless them, we pray. And Lord, come, minister to every soul, from the youngest to the oldest, and we'll give the old glory and praise for it. We offer prayer in and through the Savior's precious and holy name. Amen and amen. Prayer is, I would say, one of the most beneficial, one of the most profitable, and one of the most blessed activities that any child of God can involve themselves in. And yet it would be true to say that it is one of the most difficult exercises that a child or a Christian can involve themselves in. Because of that, we find ourselves hesitant, at times reluctant, to come to the throne of heavenly grace in prayer. Many are the reasons for that hesitancy. Some feel their utter unworthiness to come before the Lord in prayer. They would question whether or not God would even listen to their stutterings and their stumblings as they attempt to pray. And yet I would remind you today that none of us None of us are worthy to come before the Lord in prayer. It is Christ to whom we are united to and Christ through whom all our prayers pass through and He perfects before they reach God the Father who makes us worthy. As we're reminded in Scripture, we are found to be accepted in the beloved It is through Christ that we find our acceptance, even when we come to Him in prayer. Some, they understand their own sinfulness, and thereby they remain at a distance from the throne of grace in prayer. John Bunyan, the famous preacher, said, prayer will make a man cease from sin, as sin will entice a man to cease from prayer. Now, while sin does close the ears of God in prayer. We cannot deny that. Scripture reminds us of that. Over there in Isaiah chapter 59, the verse number two, but your iniquities have separated between you and your God and your sins have hid his face from you that he will not hear. The psalmist said, if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear. And yet the irony is that it is through prayer that those sins that close God's ears to our prayers causes our sins, we can confess our sins to God in prayer, and He in turn will cleanse those sins away and then once again open His ear on to our cry. And so that which causes us not to pray, our sinfulness, can be remedied by prayer. How ironic it really is. Some become weary and discouraged in prayer and they stop it because it seems that God is not hearing their prayers or at least is reluctant in the answering of them. And yet the Savior told the parable of that persistent widow who continually came to that harsh judge and repeatedly brought her case before him. And he encouraged his disciples through that very parable that men ought always to pray and not to faint. Luke chapter 18 and the verse number 1, the lack of faith. Lack of faith on our part can cause many to forsake the place of prayer, and so they find themselves to be less frequent at the throne of grace as they should be. And yet it is not the quality of our faith, and it's not the quantity of our faith, but it is who our faith is placed in that ought to encourage us encourage even the most faithlessness of us, the faithlessness of us among us to avail ourselves of this great opportunity and this access that we have to God through the medium of prayer. And so it is my prayer that what I present in this message today will encourage those who maybe feel their unworthiness, maybe those who feel their sinfulness, their weariness, their faithfulness, when it comes to the place of prayer. It'll encourage you to again engage in this blessed activity of prayer. It'll encourage you to come to our seasons of prayer. It'll encourage you to avail yourself of this access that has been purchased at tremendous cost. The death of Jesus Christ, whereby we are enabled to come with boldness right into the throne of heavenly grace. Now Romans chapter eight, I freely admit, is one of those chapters that I come to on many an occasion when I find myself doing pastoral visits among the congregation, especially those who are elderly shut-ins and those who are unwell, because it is a chapter that contains wonderful, comforting truths. that I believe are essential and encouraging to the tried and to the afflicted child of God. We read a number of those truths just in the passage that we read, beginning at the verse number 14. Let me highlight them to you very quickly. We have the comfort, first of all, of sonship presented in the verse number 14. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God as they are, the sons of God, present tense, they are the sons of God. What a comfort to know that you're a son, you're a daughter of God, cared for by Him, cared for, watched over by a loving Heavenly Father, cared for by Him. You're part of the family of God, ever in the family. never to be removed from it. Presently you're in the family of God, a son of God. One preacher put it, a thousand sources of joy are opened in that one blessing of adoption. I am an adopted child of God, but as many as receive him, Them give he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. Now are we the sons of God. It doth not appear what we shall be, but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him. The comfort to know that I am a child of the king. I wonder, do you know that comfort? Are you a Christian? Have you been saved by His grace? Have you become a member of the family of God by the new birth? You need to answer that question today. If not, you know nothing of the comfort to know that there is a Father in heaven who cares and understands, and He is with His children and will preserve His children and carry His children through. The value experiences of life is much. as up the mountain experiences of life. Yes, the comfort of sonship, the comfort of Christian hope is another comfort. We read of that in the verse 24, for we are saved by hope, but hope that is seen as not hope, Bible hope. It's more than a mere wishing that things will come to pass. That's how the world looks at hope. They wish that something will come to pass, but there's no assurance of it. It's just really their desire, their want. They're hoping that it will come to pass, but Bible hope is more different than that. It is the confident expectation of things coming to pass, because they're guaranteed on the grounds of the promises of God. The promises of God give the believer hope. The word hope in the verse can be literally translated concrete expectation, full confidence. And thus we are thinking upon things that are sure and certain, though yet not realized by us yet, though we have not come into the full experience of them, yet they are sure they are concrete, they we can have full confidence that such will come to pass. As Mr. Spurgeon who said concerning hope, he said, hope is that which sees a crown and reserve, mansions and readiness, And Jesus Christ himself preparing a place for us. And by the rapturous sight, she, hope sustains the soul under the sorrows of the hour. And then he went on to say, hope is the grand anchor by which means we ride out the present storm. Are you in the storm of life? Hope in God, that's what the Psalmist said. Why art thou, my soul, disquieted within me? Thou in God. Hope will see you through the storm. Hope based on the promise of God. The promise that he will never leave you, nor forsake you. The promise that he will give you the grace, sufficient grace, for whatever the thorn of affliction would be. That he'll be near you and he'll provide for your very needs. And then there is the comfort of the intercessory ministry. of the Holy Spirit. And that is presented to us in the verses 26 and 27 of Romans chapter 8. And it is that third comfort that I want to enlarge upon in this family worship service as Paul presents this great comfort of the Spirit's intercessory ministering. As we think about this particular comfort today. These two verses here in Romans chapter 8, verses 26 and 27, I want you to see first of all that they contain firstly an honest appraisal. There is an honest appraisal within these two verses in Romans chapter 8. It is an honest appraisal about ourselves and about our God. In the first instance, Paul speaks frankly and honestly about our infirmities. Verse 26, likewise the spirit also helpeth our infirmities. Now the term infirmities translates to mean a feebleness. There is a frailty, a weakness, there is a want of strength. This is the idea that we have here in this word, infirmities. Every Christian Even the best of Christians among us have their infirmities and have their weaknesses. We want to convey to others that that is not the case. We have the stiff upper lip, as they were, the British people. The Ulster man, certainly, or Ulster woman, doesn't want others to know that we have our weaknesses, we have our feebleness, there's frailties. No, we would rather convey to others that there is strength within us. And yet, even the best of Christians, even though we would want to convey that to be the case, an honest appraisal of our lives would cause us to identify that there are many There are many infirmities by which we are afflicted with. I think first of all of the physical infirmities of life, maybe a disability, an illness, maybe a medical complaint that restricts an individual in their own lies, their physical lies, and also can inhibit and also can impinge upon their spiritual lives. I think of those who are physically restricted in such a way that they can no longer come to the place of worship. Individuals who this morning or this afternoon lie upon a bed, can't even get out of bed, restricted because of inability. I think of others who, because of their illness, because of their infirmity of the flesh, when they come to pray, when they come to the reading of the scripture, they leave that place having received no benefit, at least in their mind, any spiritual benefit to their soul. I think of others who get so discouraged, so discouraged in their lives that the things of God bring no relief. to the pain and the anguish that they feel because of physical infirmity. We have our infirmities. Paul spoke about his infirmity, his thorn in the flesh. He spoke about his infirmity and how even through that he gloried in them. He gloried in his infirmity that the power of Christ might rest upon him. We think of those who have their mental infirmities, individuals whose minds are in a constant state of depression, Maybe a state of anxiety, maybe that state of nervousness, maybe a state of fear. Many suffer, many suffer from such a hidden infirmity, and yet its obscurity makes no difference to its reality. It's real. It's there. And then we have our spiritual infirmities, and they are many. One preacher cataloged those types of infirmities in the following way, he said, some are weak in faith and always questioning their interest in Christ, those that lack assurance, he was saying. Some are just superficial in knowledge, really no depth to them. He said, they're shallow in experience and are ever exposed to the cruelties of error and to the assaults of temptation. Some are slow travelers in the divine life and are always in the rear, while yet others are often ready to halt altogether. Many can be our spiritual infirmities, and yet the blessed thing about our infirmities is this, that God knows about them, and He's not indifferent to them in any way. Hebrews chapter 4 verse 15 informs us that in Jesus Christ, we do not have a high priest. who cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. In Jesus Christ, our great high priest, the people of God have one who is sympathetic to every infirmity that afflicts us, especially those infirmities that hold us back in our Christian lives. Maybe today you sit in this place of public worship, some kind of infirmity, physical, mental, spiritual infirmity. Let me remind you that you're not the only one who experiences such. Many, in actual fact, all of us are inhibited in some way with some kind of infirmity. We live in the flesh, fallen flesh. Adam and Eve knew no infirmity, but sin has entered into the world. And as a result of the fall, we all suffer some kind of infirmity in our lives. But let this grand and glorious truth take hold of your soul today. If you find yourself in sorrow or depression of mind or discouraged because of where you're found today, let this glorious truth encourage your soul that Jesus Christ, is in full sympathy with you today, that he feels your infirmities, that he has entered into them and let that truth lighten the burden just a little. He knows, he sees, and he cares. And so we have, in this honest appraisal, We have this thought of our infirmities. But in the second instance, the Apostle Paul, he honestly speaks about our ignorances, our ignorances. While the Christian is beset with many an infirmity within the life, there is an infirmity that the Apostle Paul goes on to focus on within our text, the verse 26. It is an infirmity that is connected with the matter of prayer. He speaks about our infirmities in a general sense, and they are many. Likewise, the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities, all of them, whatever they be, under whatever class they fall, He comes to help us in our infirmities. And then he focuses in, he zeroes in on a particular infirmity that every child of God experiences within their life, and it is an infirmity, as I've said, connected with the matter of prayer. The Apostle Paul states that from time to time, believers are plagued with the infirmity of not knowing what to pray for. They are ignorant as to what petitions they are to send to God in prayer. Notice what it says, for we know not what we should pray for. For we know not what we should pray for. Sometimes we are in such confusion of mind, such trouble of soul, that we do not know what we should pray for as we come to the throne of grace and prayer. Some trial rolls in. Some trouble arises within the family, within the home. Maybe some opportunity arises, and a decision needs to be made as to what direction to take, and we get to the throne of grace and prayer, we get before the Lord, and we're at a loss, we're at a loss to know what to pray for. We've heard it, I've heard it in our times of prayer, individuals praying, and they've said words along these lines, we don't even know what we should pray for. We're at a loss in what we should pray for. We know that we should pray, We're encouraged to pray. We are praying, but we find ourselves wondering what is it that God would have us to pray for. In such times, because of our ignorance, therefore our prayers are restrained, instead of being free-flowing. We need to answer the question then, why this ignorance? What is the reason for this ignorance? Not knowing what to pray for? How has it arisen? Well, it comes from the fact But we do not know what the future holds. Never mind that. We don't even understand our present and our present situation. We don't know what is best for us. Therefore, we do not know what to pray for. Because you see, if we had our choice, when we would come to pray, we would pray that we would never have to suffer. We most certainly pray that we would never have to go down into the deep valley. We would pray that we would never have to face sickness or trouble or trials in life. We would pray that all of our present difficulties would disappear. That's how we would pray. But God knows what is best. Knowing the future and knowing what is best for our spiritual maturing, it is therefore, it is thereby that he bursts prayer within the soul. By the Holy Spirit, he produces prayer within the soul. Prayer that will see to our progress and our advancement in our walk with God. He knows what we should pray for. Therefore, as we come to him, we seek his assistance, we seek his help, We seek his mind with respect to the matter. What is God's will? The Lord Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane found himself in prayer. And in humanity, in his humanity, he prayed these words. Father, if it be possible, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done. Yes, there was that desire for the cup to be removed from him, but then he relinquished his will. and find himself lost in the Father's will. And at times we find ourselves like that, we pray along the lines that we believe is right and yet maybe they are contrary to what God would have purposed and what God has planned for our lives. And so therefore we need to come and pray that the Spirit of God will birth prayer within our soul. that he will pray in our souls. He resides within us, that we might know his influence as we pray. So there is the ignorance that we don't know what to pray for, and then there is another ignorance, and that is that we don't know how to pray for it. Not only are we ignorant when it comes to the matter of prayer, but we are ignorant as to the manner of our praying. Notice what it goes on to say, for we know not what we should pray for as we ought. As we ought. How am I to pray? We find ourselves praying selfishly, ignorantly, maybe narrowly, praying for our own advancement, our own glory, instead of God's. And this is prayer, this is prayer that is not as it ought to be. That's not the praying that we ought to pray. So how do we pray? How do we pray for things in a manner that is pleasing to the Lord? Well, let me help in that matter. When we come to pray for something, as we ought to pray, we should pray, first of all, with the profoundest reverence. We understand that it is God who hears and answers prayer. We come to Him reverently, our Father, who art in heaven. Take any of the great prayers within the Word of God and you'll find that as entrance is made to God, there is an exalting of the one to whom the individual is coming to. They speak of his glory and his greatness, his majesty and his power, his sovereignty over all things. They come with due reverence before God, head bowed, heart bowed before God, humbly before God. Sometimes they stand, sometimes they kneel, others they are found lying in the dust. There is an acknowledgement of who we come to and then there is the deepest humility as we see the greatness of the one that we come before. Then we understand how little we are and how undeserving we are that he would even answer our prayers or hear our prayers, never mind. answering them like Jacob, we come to say that we are undeserving of the least of His mercies. We come to be like Isaiah who said, Woe is me. We come humbly, yes, with the profoundest reverence, with the deepest humility, with the greatest importunity. We come to God, we present our cause to God. We bring strong reasonings before God. Why should God do this? For his own glory's sake, for his own name's sake, we come with importunity, that constancy, we come fourthly in the strongest of faith, believing that he is what? The rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Place our faith in God, believing that He is able to work, and He is able to break through, and He is able to see us the answer given. And then we pray with the steadiest of perseverance. We keep praying and praying. We continue before the Lord like Elijah on Mount Carmel, seven times the servant is sent. It is on the seventh that the cloud, just the size of a man's hand is seen. And yet there was persistent praying, a continuing on in prayer. We pray with the profoundest reverence, the deepest humility, the greatest opportunity, the strongest of faith, the steadiest of perseverance. In other words, we pray like Christ. because that's how he prayed. Holy Father. Holy Father, John chapter 17, the profoundest reverence, the deepest humility before the Father's face. He is God, and yet he prays to the Father humbly with greatest importunity. were told that was strong crying and tears. In the flesh, in the days of his flesh, Christ came, the strongest of faith. Knowing that his Father would hear his prayer, the Father hears me always. The steadiest of perseverance, continuing all night in prayer, Do you want to pray as the Spirit would have us to pray? Then pray like Christ. Study the prayer ministry of the Savior. That's how to pray in the Spirit. He who was anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows, he with whom there was no measure with respect to the filling of the Spirit too. We pray like Christ. That's how we pray for as we ought to. And so there are. There is an honest appraisal in these verses. But having identified by way of honest appraisal the believer's infirmities and ignorance, when it comes to the matter of prayer, the Apostle Paul goes on to speak of a second thing. He speaks of a helper appointed, a helper appointed. Look again at verse 26. Likewise, the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities, for we know not what we should pray for as we ought, The Spirit itself, better himself, maketh intercession for us. Though compassed about with many infirmities in a general sense, God has provided for his people, one to help, one to assist. It is a comforter, the Holy Spirit. The word translated here, helpeth, is an expression that's taken from two people who would come to a heavy burden, and one take one end and the other take the other, and as a result, the burden is halved. The burden is not as great as it would have been if an individual themselves had have came to the burden and tried to lift it themselves. No, it has the idea of sharing the burden. There is the sharing of the burden here. It also can take us into a hospital ward or a nursing home where there is nursing care. This word helpeth. It speaks about an individual who's lying in the sickbed. What does a nurse come and do but they come and lift that person, they lift them up in their beds of sickness, they make them comfortable, they lift them up. This is the idea that we have in the word helpeth. And in a similar way, this is the ministry of the Holy Spirit to God's servants in their manifold infirmities. He cooperates with us. He sustains us. He lifts us up. He holds us up. He helpeth our infirmities. The word can also be translated in this way. He takes a part with, to take part with. which implies that the Holy Spirit not merely has sympathy with us and our infirmities, but that he has, there is a personal participation in these infirmities. The Spirit of God helpeth us in sharing them with us. There's not a problem, not a trouble that you and I will ever face that he has not a part of. He takes part with us. Though at times we may not know what we should pray for, thank God, He, the Spirit, comes and helps us. When it comes to this specific infirmity of not knowing how or what we should pray for as we ought, this divinely appointed helper comes to our assistance. It says, the Spirit himself or itself maketh intercession for us. So at times we know not what we should pray for and how we should pray for it. The Holy Spirit takes up our part and the lack that we possess, and he comes to make intercession for us. He draws alongside and bursts prayer within the soul, produces the prayer that we ought to pray. We're not left to be at a loss. But rather, he comes to our assistance, he comes to our aid. He is the paraclete, the one who draws alongside. We thought about that last Lord's Day. We thought about the comforter. And this is one way by which he comforts in prayer, in the ministry of prayer. What can we say about him? Disappointed helper. We can say that because he is God, he is an omniscient helper. God the Holy Spirit is one who is fully acquainted with our case because his knowledge runs to the extent and the utmost extent of our need. Yes, you could unburden your problems, your cares to some minister or elder or some Christian friend, and the knowledge that they possess is only that which you have given them, but God's knowledge is not only that which you give him, but he knows the future, he knows your present, he knows the circumstance, and therefore, knowing all things about your present case, your present difficulty, your present trouble, he bursts prayer within the soul because he is fully informed with our situation he is then able to bring to our attention those things that we ought to pray for because of his omniscience he is our omnipotent helper many times we look at our needs in our lives and in our families, and we find ourselves at a loss to know what to do about them, where this supply of need is going to be found, where the supply will arise to meet my needs, and yet the Holy Spirit, as He views those same needs, finds no difficulty in how He's going to supply that very need, because He is our omnipotent helper, one whose power and supply never fails. He is our omnipresent helper. He's with all His people. This intercessor, the Spirit of God who intercedes for us, He's with you. You as a young person, as an adult, He's with you. In the entirety of His person, with you, Emmanuel, God with us. His deity allows that to be so. He's with all of His people across the globe. with all of their needs, whatever circumstance they find themselves in, the Spirit of God is with them. And so when temptation arises, He knows what prayer should inspire our hearts that we might escape temptation's snare. When sickness lays hold upon our bodies, upon our minds, He knows what prayer to place within our minds and within our hearts that we'll see to the grace of God being imparted and strength being bestowed in order that we might be undergirded in our physical weakness? Yes, in our troubles. He knows what prayer will arise and will lead to our deliverance in our troubles. You see, there's not a situation that we face in life, the child of God that they face in life, not a difficulty that the Spirit of God does not place within our souls the prayer that is fitted, suitable, And it comes to the varied events and circumstances of life. We've got a helper, an appointed helper in the Spirit of God to help us as we pray. And such a helper found in the Holy Spirit, one who is so divinely strong, one who is so infinitely wise, one who is ever near his children. We have nothing then to fear. That prayer that you utter, That prayer inspired by the Holy Spirit will be heard and answered by God in heaven in God's good time and God's good way. This divinely appointed helper, the Holy Spirit, is one who will instruct the supplicant in what arguments to use and what pleas to utter as they come to the throne of heavenly grace and prayer. He is the one who brings to our mind the very promises of God that are most suited to meet our need, promises that we then take back to God in prayer. plead them before Him in prayer and ask Him to simply do as He promised. It is the Spirit of God who brings to our mind the promises of God. And so let's look to Him to help us in prayer this week. Let's seek Him. Let's seek for His assistance and His help. This great omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent One, let us seek His help." There is a third and a concluding truth that we find in these verses, namely a hazard that is to be avoided, a hazard that is to be avoided. When it comes to the matter of prayer, we must be careful that we avoid the hazard of not praying according to the will of God. Now the indwelling of the Spirit of God helps us in this matter because verse 27 goes on to tell us that God, the Holy Spirit, is the one who maketh intercession. Note the end of the verse, 27, because He maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. He knows what the will of God is, being God, and therefore He only prays in line with that will. God's will. And so when the Spirit of God prompts us to pray that we might be perfected in love, the love of God, then we're asking according to His will, because God is love. When He bursts prayer within the soul, a prayer for an increase of faith, then we are praying in accordance to the will of God, because without faith it is impossible to please Him. When we pray that we might be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ, then we're asking for something that is in harmony with the will of God. For he said, be ye holy, for I am holy. When we pray that we might be comforted by the Lord, then what we're pleading for is something that is in line with God's revealed will, because he is the God of all comfort. The hazard that we often find ourselves falling into is that we find ourselves asking for those things that are not in harmony with the will of God. We pray for those things that we desire to gratify our own lusts. James speaks about that type of praying. He says that whenever you pray in that line, then you're praying or you're asking a miss. You ask of us that you may consume it upon your own lusts. How do I avoid doing that? Well, we avoid doing that if we allow the Spirit of God to guide us and direct us in our prayers. And He will guide us and He will direct us in accordance to, in line with the very will of God. And let me say, there is nothing sweeter. Nothing sweeter. for God to hear and for him to hear his child praying in harmony with his will. Nothing sweeter. There's one who's praying in line with the revealed will of God. So how then is this practice to be avoided practically? How do I avoid praying out of line? out of line with God's will. Well, two things will help us. Firstly, we are to know more of the revealed will of God. We are to know more of God's revealed will ourselves. Now that's going to involve, that's going to involve you as a Christian getting into the word, the word of God, because the word is God's revealed will. This is his will. He has revealed it to us. How do I pray in line with His will? Well, I pray in line with the Scriptures. So I'm going to need to know the Scriptures. I'm going to need to read the Scriptures. I'm going to need to meditate upon the Scriptures. I'm going to have to study the Scriptures. I'm going to have to be found as the Word of God is preached. And as I hear it preached, and as the Word of God comes to my soul, then I understand this is God's will for my life. And so I start to pray along those very lines, the lines of God's will as they're found in Holy Scripture. And so, get into the Word, be under the preaching of it, and take to heart the messages preached. Bring your life into line with the will of God. Pray along those lines. Secondly, no more of the infilling of the Spirit of God. Jude spoke about praying in the Holy Ghost. Praying in the Holy Ghost. This is what we're thinking about here this morning, or this afternoon. Praying with the help of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will always bring the child of God into line with God's will. He's not going to lead us contrary to the will of God. And so the more that we know of his infilling in our lives, the more that we know of his influence and his ministry within our lives, the less chance in prayer that we're going to be asking for those things that are not according to the will of God. There's one Christian writer penned, oh, to possess a divine counselor. dwelling in our hearts, who will never indict a wrong prayer, nor suggest a weak argument, or mislead us in any one particular, in the solemn, in the important, the holy engagement in prayer. One who is acquainted with the purpose of God, who knows the mind of God, who understands the will of God, who reads the heart of God. Yes, who is God himself. He speaks of the Spirit of God. And so we need to know the will of God. We need to know the help of the Spirit to bring us in line with the will of God. I close with this thought. The child of God has two intercessors. He is one in the glory, one who perfects our prayers. He's got one within him on earth, one who produces prayer. With such an intercessor as the Holy Spirit in the court of heaven. He's so divine, so loving, so sympathizing. With such an intercessor as the Spirit of God in the court of earth, so powerful, so eloquent, so successful. Let us come boldly onto the throne of grace and prayer. We may obtain mercy and find grace to help in our time of need. There is one to assist you in prayer. Did you ask for his assistance this morning when you went to prayer? Did you ask for the help of the Spirit? Let us avail ourselves of his assistance when we come to prayer. I believe that when we do so, that will be, and that will lead to a more effectual and effective prayer life. Not only personally, but collectively. Those who are led by the Spirit to pray according to the will of God. There is one to help. In this great activity of prayer, we're not left to our own, but one who dwells within us. May we know him birthing prayer within our souls, that we may pray and see answers to our prayers in our homes, our families, our communities, our places of employment or education. and that we'll be able to say, our God hears and answers prayer. May we know much of His help in these days. Let's seek the Lord in prayer. Our loving Father, our gracious God, we come before Thee. We pray that Thou by Thy Spirit will help us in prayer. Grand Dear Father, this one, to come alongside even in these days of prayer within this congregation. We might know a week of Holy Ghost praying. And Grand Dear God, prayer to be heard in heaven. We believe it shall be. if the Spirit of God comes and produces such prayer within the soul. Answer prayer, for we offer these petitions in Jesus' precious name. Amen and amen. Let's turn to 713, or 713. It is a thing most wonderful, almost too wonderful to be, that God's own Son should come from heaven and die to save a child like me. We're singing the verses one, The verses one to four, verses one to four. I'll not go to the door today, and so if you need to slip on, you can do so. Not going to the door today, just to give a bit more speed in people leaving. 713, and we'll stand to sing verses one to four, please.