Faithful Steward Ministries and FSM Women's Outreach

INTRO

Romans 8:26 says that the Spirit helps with “groanings which cannot be uttered.” What are these groanings? Whose groanings are they? The common Puritan interpretation of Romans 8:26 attributed such groanings to the person praying by the help of the Holy Spirit, and not immediately to the Holy Spirit (compare Romans 8:15 and Galatians 4:6).

Johnny C. Serafini, “The Puritans on the Help of the Holy Spirit in Prayer,” in Taking Hold of God: Reformed and Puritan Perspectives on Prayer, ed. Joel R. Beeke and Brian G. Najapfour (Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Books, 2011), 135.

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QUOTE

William Perkins (1558–1602) expressed the comfort we should have in such help:

Men in extremities of danger confounded in themselves know not what in the world to say, or do. In his sickness, Hezekiah could not say anything, but chatter in his throat, and mourn like a dove, Isa. 38:14. Some lie under the sword of the enemy, others in a tempest are cast over shipboard into the sea. Now this must be their comfort, if they can lift up their heart unto God, if they can but sigh and groan for his presence and assistance, the Lord will hear the petitions and their hearts: for their inward sobs, groans, and sighs of {true} repentant sinners, are loud and strong cries in the ears of God the Father.

Johnny C. Serafini, “The Puritans on the Help of the Holy Spirit in Prayer,” in Taking Hold of God: Reformed and Puritan Perspectives on Prayer, ed. Joel R. Beeke and Brian G. Najapfour (Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Books, 2011), 136.

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COMMENTS

It is a common practice in many churches to have an “Alter Call,”¹ where the preacher gives an invitation for people to come forward and confess their sins and pray a prayer of salvation. Are alter calls effective occasionally? Are they Biblical, not so much. Let me explain.

For example, I have spent time both behind bars and as a prison Chaplain. It was not uncommon to see, in the first case, the same inmates respond to an altar call every week, and the preacher being overjoyed that so many souls had been added to the kingdom (imagine Billy Graham on a smaller scale. Think on that for a moment, if the altar call had been successful the first time, what was the need to go again and again? Was not the Holy Spirit effective in His job of bearing the groans and sighs of {true} repentant sinners to God?

I am not trying to bash altar calls, just their effectiveness. These calls are usually preceded by music and prayer. A time of reflection and emotional hype. Many go forward because they need and want Salvation. Great, you say, not so fast. Salvation without Lordship,²³ the typical altar call that only mentions salvation, results in a false salvation.

The bottom line, as they say, for me is that a true repentant sinner needs no help from mankind when crying out to God for forgiveness. The text from Isaiah in our quote for today shows this: Isaiah 38:14 (AMP) “Like a swallow, like a crane, so I chirp; I coo like a dove. My eyes look wistfully upward; O Lord, I am oppressed, take my side and be my security. Hezekiah was recounting, uttering gibberish, not to his fellow Israelites but to God. We need to take a lesson from the Puritans, as noted in the opening paragraph: to the person praying by the help of the Holy Spirit, and not immediately to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit’s job is to take our sinful, confused mumbles and make them heard by Christ.

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1. The Origins of the Altar Call and the Sinner’s Prayer ↩︎
2. The Salvation-Lordship Debate centers on whether accepting Christ as Savior necessitates making Him Lord of one’s life. Proponents argue that true faith includes acknowledging Christ’s authority. Critics contend that this adds conditions to salvation by grace through faith, potentially excluding genuine believers who may struggle with commitment. The definition of “disciple” is also debated. (AI-generated summary ↩︎
3. Lordship Salvation – Grace Gems! ↩︎