Interceding for the Young Saints
Romans 8:22-27
Randy L Quinn

One of my favorite stories in the Bible is the story of Hannah. Most people know her story but don’t always remember her – they remember instead her better known first-born son. Hannah longed for a sign of God’s acceptance. Specifically, Hannah longed to have a child, the most visible and commonly recognized sign of God’s blessing.

Her husband assured her that child or no child, she was loved. But Hannah longed for that day when others would know she was loved.

So whenever her husband would make his sacrifices and offerings, Hannah would go along and pray. Year after year, she pleaded with God. She begged God. She wept and she fasted. There were times when she no longer had words, but kept on praying anyway.

Eventually, God answered her prayers. She gave birth to a son – and then three more sons as well as two daughters.

I love her story because of her persistence. I love her story because of God’s faithfulness. But whenever I read it I’m also amazed at – and challenged by – her response to God’s answered prayer. Rather than simply giving thanks for the child that she agonized over, Hannah takes the child and gives him to Eli, the priest, so he can raise him as an adopted son.

In Paul’s words, she “groaned inwardly” as she waited and then when her prayers were answered, she gave away the “firstfruits” of her womb! (Rom 8:23)

I have not always been a gardener – and even when I’ve had a garden most people can see that I am not really a gardener. My rows are not very straight. And they’re never clearly marked. There are almost always as many weeds as there are vegetables.

But I do know that I watch with expectation for the plants to germinate after I’ve planted the seeds. Then I wait for the first blossoms. Then I wait some more as the pods and ears and fruits begin to form and grow. As harvest time approaches, I become more and more anxious to taste those first fruits.

In those times, I realize how powerful was the witness of those faithful Israelites who gave their first-fruits as an offering to God. They were not always the most delicious of the harvest, but they certainly were the most anticipated of the crops. In making an offering of them, the farmers were proclaiming their trust in God to bring the rest of the harvest.

Hannah’s longing was fulfilled when Samuel was born. Her trust in God was revealed in her willingness to allow Eli to adopt him as his son.

Her story, when told alongside our text from Paul’s letter suggests the question, “what do you long for?” What is the yearning of your soul? What do you desire deep within you?

• Maybe, like Hannah, you long for a sign of God’s love.
• Maybe you already know you are loved by God and you long instead for a way to express your gratitude.
• Maybe your deepest desire is to hear the voice of God.
• Maybe you dream of the day when not only our church but all churches will be full of people who gather to worship God and seek God’s will.
• Maybe your yearnings are wrapped up in your concerns for your children.
• Or maybe you long for the day when our neighborhoods will not be segregated by race and language but will instead by united around common goals and purposes.

In a few minutes, three confirmation students will stand before us and answer some questions. One of the underlying assumptions behind the questions is that they will join us in yearning for a day when there will be no more evil in our world.

We will ask them,

Do you renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of this world, and repent of your sin?

 

Do you accept the power and freedom God gives you to resist evil, injustice and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves?

 

Do you confess Jesus Christ as your Savior, put your whole trust in his grace, and promise to serve him as your Lord, in union with the church which Christ has opened to people of all ages, nations, and races?

In other words, we are asking if they recognize the presence of evil in our midst and long for a day when it will be vanquished – not by what we can do but by what God has done and is doing. And they will acknowledge that no one can resist evil on their own, rather we need each other as well as God to conquer evil in our lives and in our world.

But they cannot fulfill their vows unless we join them in this quest. They cannot work “in union with” us if we don’t have the same longing in our hearts.

In our text today, Paul reminds us that there will be times when the work will be overwhelming. There will be times when we are so overwhelmed, in fact, that we will not even know how to pray.

In those times, Paul offers the profound promise that God will pray on our behalf. God’s Spirit will “intercede” for us.

On Friday night, a young woman graduated from Sunnyside High School. She is the first person in her family to ever graduate from High School – but no one from her family attended the event. She has lived in the US since she was 5 years old but is not a legal resident. Her father currently lives in Mexico and her step father refuses to let her live in their home.

She has been on her own for the past four months, and the only meals she was eating were the ones offered at school – breakfast and lunch, Monday through Friday.

Her plight came to my attention last month and I became a part of a small, but diverse group of people who are trying to help her. She has received some money from our emergency fund. Since the food banks are only open during school hours she couldn’t access them very easily, so I made some phone calls and arranged for her to pick up food in the evening.

Someone else helped her finish her senior project so she could graduate. And another person is working with the authorities to find a way to give her a legal status since this is the only home she knows.

Each of the people who are working with her understands what it means to intercede for someone. We have each taken her story and used our connections to provide resources for her. We know people or we know how systems work. She does not. We are “pulling strings” and helping her find her way.

We are interceding on her behalf and making a difference.

In much the same way, Paul says the Holy Spirit is interceding for us. The same God who created heaven and earth is “pulling strings” on our behalf. Even when we don’t know how to pray, God’s Holy Spirit is working to meet our needs and fulfill our longings.

Since God is willing to intercede for us, I’d like to suggest that our response to Confirmation today is to intercede for these young people in your prayers. They will need our prayers in order to fulfill their vows. And we will need their prayers for us to carry our share of the burden.

Let’s all learn to intercede for one another, to join God’s Holy Spirit as we intercede for the saints.

Amen.