When in the hour of utmost need, what do you do? You fail your marriage, what do you do? You fall into a disgraceful sin, what do you do? You are diagnosed with cancer, what do you do? You are feeling alone and depressed, what do you do?

Here is your answer: Wait patiently and pray. The Apostle Paul gave this advice to the Christians in Rome. He encouraged them to wait patiently through suffering and persecution. Just a few verses before our sermon text, Paul wrote these comforting words. "I consider our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us...if we hope for what we do not have, we wait for it patiently." In the hour utmost need, wait patiently for the glory that God will reveal to you.

Paul also encourages the saints to pray. Turn to the Lord and ask for his help, guidance, and deliverance. This is great advice for anyone who is suffering or in need. Wait patiently and pray.

However, sometimes the saints have a hard time with praying. Often people have come up to me and said, "Pastor, I have tried praying but I just don't what to say or how to do it." If you have ever thought that, believe me, you are not alone. In fact, the Apostle Paul called this a weakness in Christians. He said that we do not know what to pray for. How true this is. We are weak.

Take this for example. You are having problems getting along with someone. Maybe it is your spouse, your child, a coworker, or whoever. There is constant strife and arguing with this person. What do you pray for? Are you praying that God would change that person? Are you praying that God would remove that person from your life? Are you being selfish with your prayers?

How about praying that you would change? How about praying in humility that you would treat your spouse better? How about praying that the other person would be successful? We don't always pray this way because we are weak. We don't know what to pray for.

Our sinful thoughts taint our prayers and make them about what we want. Our sinful desires make our prayers into selfish requests. Our sinful actions lead us to be distracted in our prayers. Sinful words spoken in anger and haste must make our prayers seem shallow in God's eyes. Sin and the effects of sin have made us weak in prayer.

Rejoice that God is there for us in the hour of utmost need! As with everything, we owe it all to God. God recognized that sinfulness had stained all human beings. He took notice of the problem and then God took action. He sent his Son, Jesus, to remove the stain of sin. Through Christ's spotless life, our lives were made pure. Through the God-man's innocent death on the cross we were redeemed from the devil. Our sins were washed away in the blood of Christ. And through His resurrection eternal life in heaven was won for believers, Faith in Jesus gives us heaven, where there will be no suffering or persecution.

We owe it all to God, even our prayer life. Just as he sent his Son to help us, he sends the Holy Spirit to give us a helping hand. Listen to the words of the text again. "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express."

Think of how thin our prayers must be to God. Then imagine those skinny prayers being filled out by the wisdom, knowledge, love and compassion of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit makes our prayers complete before they reach the throne of God. The Spirit groans for us in a way that our simple minds and tongues could never imagine. The Holy Spirit continuously and powerfully presents our prayers to the Father. What a great comfort this is the hour of utmost need! The Spirit helps us in our weakness.

When troubles come or suffering makes it home in our lives we are often tempted to think that nobody else in the world has it as bad as we do. We think that we have to do something drastic or life altering so that we can pull ourselves out of trouble. At the least this is just plain silly because we can't do anything on our own. At the worst this is insulting to God. Think about this for a minute. God created you and has total control over everything in the universe. Jesus saved you from sin and leads you. God has given his angels to watch over you. The deck is so heavily stacked in the Christian's favor that it is incredibly insulting to God if we ever feel sorry for ourselves.

Not only has God stacked the deck like that, but he also adds something else in this sermon lesson. He sends us his Holy Spirit who not only gives us faith in Jesus Christ, but also, as Christ does, he goes to throne of God as our intercessor. The Holy Spirit takes our prayers and pleads our case to the Almighty. How awesome is that!

Verse 27 says, "And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will." When our prayers are thin, we need not worry. God the Father is aware of our innermost thoughts, our concerns, and our desires. The Holy Spirit conveys them to the Father perfectly.

The Spirit intercedes for believers, especially when we are in the hour of trouble. That is a tremendous comfort for us a Christians. When we are suffering or having troubles, turn to God in prayer and let the Holy Spirit take over. The Spirit conveys your message to God.

After all, that is what prayer is. It is us talking to God. God talks to us in his word. That is why it is important to tie prayer and Bible study together. You can give God your fears, praises, and petitions in prayer and then sit back and listen to God comfort, guide, and strengthen you through His Word.

Some of you may struggle with praying. We are comforted with the knowledge that the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness and intercedes for us with the Father. But we can be better prayers. Jesus taught his disciples to pray using the Lord's Prayer. If you get stuck when praying, pause and pray this beautiful prayer given to us from the Savior.

Here is another helpful aid in praying. You can follow the method of praying called ACTS. Begin your prayer with ADORATION. Praise God for all that he has done for you. Continue your prayer with CONFESSION. Confess your sins to God and unload them at the cross. Then give THANKS. Tell God thank you for your forgiveness, salvation, and all your blessings. Then close your prayer with SUPPLICATION. Ask God for things for you and for others. Remember to always pray that God's will is done.

God hears your prayers. He receives your praise. He rejoices in your repentance. He accepts your thanks. And he answers your requests. Sometimes when you ask for things God says, "Yes." Sometimes he says, "No." Sometimes he says, "I will give you something better." And sometimes God says, "I will give it to you later."

Rest assured that when you are in the hour of your utmost need, the Holy Spirit is helping you pray and the Father is listening. AMEN.