Rom. 8: 26-28 - “The Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God”

I. Three wills involved:

“Submit yourselves, therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” (James 4: 7-8)

1. “God’s will”: “Submit yourselves therefore to God.”

• God has a will. God’s will can be summed up in one word: “Good.” “The Lord is GOOD and His mercy endures forever.”
• GOD IS ALWAYS TRYING TO PULL YOU UP.

2. “Satan’s will”: “Resist the devil, and He will flee from you.”

• Satan also has a will. This is what a lot of people don’t understand. His will is to “steal, kill, and destroy” (Jn. 10: 10).
• 2 Timothy 2:26—“...and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.” Satan’s will is always trying to pull you DOWN.

3. “Man’s will”: “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you”

• YOUR WILL is powerful. It has the power to cancel out the will of God for your life.
• If I don’t submit my will to God’s will, I can “short-circuit” every wonderful thing He has planned for me, my life, and my eternity.

II. Prayer and the will of God (Rom. 8: 26-28)

• “Prayer is when I connect my will to God’s will, and together we defeat Satan’s will.”
  • The Spirit HELPS us pray (v. 26)—“take hold, together with, against.” When we pray in the Spirit, we connect our will to the will of God AGAINST the devil.
  • Jesus HEARS our prayer (v. 27)—Jesus, our great High Priest, picks up that perfect prayer being prayed in the “perfect will of God.”
  • God ANSWERS our prayer (v. 28)—The Father turns our mistakes and Satan’s attacks around for our GOOD (v. 28).
  • Joseph in Egypt: “You meant it for evil against me, but God meant it for good” (Gen. 50: 20).