What does the groaning refer to in Romans 8:26?
Could it be the speaking in tongues?
Romans 8:26
ESV - 26 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.
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Asked October 26 2014
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Rebekka Paul
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Singapore Moses
✿ intercede Greek: huperentungchano (G5241), to apply one's self to intercede for another. ✿ groanings Greek: stenagmos (G4726), unutterable gushings of the heart. Only here and in Acts 7:34. ✿ It means Holy Spirit Himself makes intercession for the saints (Rom. 8:26). The Spirit is our Paraclete or Helper on earth and Christ is the Paraclete or Helper in heaven. ✿ He is the Spirit of "Intercession" (Rom 8:26,27). Since we know not what we should pray for as we ought, He is there to help us pray. He is well-pleased when we set aside our selfish motives and wait for His will. We must respect the burdens He specifically places on our hearts to pray for.
Lena Wms
Dear Rebekka, This is an awesome question that reveals the Holy Spirit praying through a person. Groaning can not be tongues as described in Acts 2:4,6. The 120 gathered awaiting the promise spoken by Jesus. They began speaking in other languages as the Holy Spirit gave them Power from on High. Devout men from many countries were in Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecost, they heard the disciples of Jesus praising God and worshiping Jesus in THEIR OWN LANGUAGE! The disciples were not learned men, among them were fishermen, tax collectors, shepherds, and a physician. Yet, here they were speaking different languages, praising God. So speaking in tongues is totally different than groaning. The Scripture does not record the disciples ' groaning' the languages. No, they were speaking them. Today, the Holy Spirit continues to work in the lives of Christians that are willing to yield. While we always have the Holy Spirit around us as Christians, to be filled with the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues is a beautiful gift from God Almighty! 2Tim 3:16,17, Acts 19:2 Then what is groaning? It is a type of strong prayer. In the Greek the word groaning can be traced back to a word meaning to give birth, or travail. This might seem rather odd that a Christian would need this type of prayer. However, in Gal 4:19, Paul stated " His children were travailed in birth until they could grow in Christ." How much more should we pray for those lost in our world today? How much more should we be praying for little ones in Christ to grow? Praying for their strength in the Lord? As one prays in this manner, the Holy Spirit comes upon you and as you begin to weep, the intensity increases to the point there are no words escaping from you, only groans--deep guttural groans that can not be explained nor stopped. As they decrease the experience leaves you a bit tired but so refreshed in your spirit you can not wait to experience it again! I pray this has whet your spiritual appetite, that you will take this to Jesus and ask Him to give you this gift. Matt 7:7 Be Blessed Lena
JD Abshire
No, I do not think so. Tongues is an intelligible, discernable language that can be reduced to pen and paper. Biblical usage of the word groanings is: not to be uttered, not expressed in words. Considering the Biblical usage of each word it is obvious the two are opposites. It would be like saying "There was a deafening silence" or "I learned a lot from his speech even though I didn't understand a word he said".
Keith Bowling
The Bible speaks of tongues and unknown tongues both. As a Christian, it is my understanding that the Holy Spirit lives in and with me. There are times that I don't seem to know how to pray for/about someone. My heart is full and language just won't come. That is when I find that those "groanings" seem to come out as I am praying. Perhaps this might help you.
STANLEY S. DRANE
I'm glad you asked. We see in Romans 8:26 (Life Application Bible Notes): Even when you don't know the right words to pray, the Holy Spirit prays with and for you, and God answers.With God helping you pray, you don't need to be afraid to come before him.Ask the Holy Spirit to plead for you,"according to the will of God". Then, when you bring your requests to God, trust that he will always do what is best.
Jack Gutknecht
Rebekka, good question! "And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." This verse in Acts 2:4 tells us that speaking in tongues is utterance. Scripture also teaches us that the Spirit is praying, not us, with groanings that cannot be uttered (here in Romans 8:26). Tongues is utterance. Groanings is not utterance. So, no, the groaning referred to in Romans 8:26 could not be the speaking in tongues!
Barry Doster
1st Corinthians 14 1-19 will answer your question about tongues. The Bible shows the disciples (and others) able to communicate in other languages, but the Bible also says tongues of angels. If you read the above scripture Paul says, "For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit". That's pretty clear. He also states, "I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be edified". So, interpretation of tongues is another spiritual gift altogether. Paul ends his discussion about tongues by saying, "I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue". I really don't know why so many Christians disregard what is plainly written. I suppose they rather go by what people say or believe over the word of God, I don’t know. The groanings you mentioned is a type of prayer called intercession. It is when the Holy spirit intercedes on your behalf to communicate with God for another person or matter your praying for. Hope this helps you. God Bless!
Justin Hale
My personal experience with this follows the analogy of scripture that we begin as 'infants in Christ' drinking only 'milk' and continue to develop into 'spiritual adults' eating 'solid food.' Hebrews 5:14 explains that the 'mature' are those who through repetitive practice have trained their senses to clearly distinguish between good and evil. When it comes to the spiritual gifts, we first 'emote' much like an infant, sensing what we want or need but completely unable to articulate or even understand it. We tend to whine or cry. This is very similar to a spiritual 'groaning.' In response, GOD 'edifies' us and makes us feel better, even if we don't understand why we feel better or what exactly just happened. The same circumstances just don't seem quite so bad. Life itself just feels less burdensome. “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS." (Matthew 11:28-29). Through 'repetitive practice' (Greek: 'hexis'), we end up speaking actual words, usually arriving first at the end of our familiar 'groaning.' This can be as surprising and new to us as it is to a toddler. These 'sounds' carry stronger forms of 'edification' with them and then start to form patterns. We still have no idea what they mean, but we know that they are important and we learn how to recognize them. This is the beginning of what is known as the 'gift of tongues.' After doing this for a while and benefiting from them, GOD begins to send accompanying 'thoughts,' (similar to 'daydreams'), along with the sounds and we begin to understand WHY these flowing patterns of words have been making us feel better, stronger or more confident about our life, our specific circumstances or our personal issues. This is the moment when 'tongues,' (the type meant only to be spoken in the privacy of our hearts, 1 Corinthians 14:4), join together with 'interpretation of tongues.' This flow of accompanying 'thoughts' can be described in intelligible words and have even greater impact. In fact, we can learn to listen to the private 'tongues' of others and enter into the 'thoughts' flowing from them too! This special ability is the distant basis of what scripture calls 'prophecy.' Prophecy is unfiltered divine communication meant to 'edify' not only ourselves, but everyone else around us. The Bible itself was delivered to us through a special type of prophecy which is now complete. However, scripture also describes this ability as being powerful enough to 'lay bear the inner secrets of an unbelieving person's heart, causing them to fall on their face in worship of God.' (1 Corinthians 14:24-25). That is indeed a very special moment. But we don't have these moments nearly often enough anymore because we 'despise prophecies' (1 Thessalonians 5:19-20). We unfortunately do that by rejecting or ignoring that first 'inner groaning' which would ultimately lead us down this greater path with Christ. We also then miss out on a growing intimacy with GOD and with each other because we never learn to operate together within His Holy Spirit.
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