“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We
do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us
with groans that words cannot express.” Romans 8:26
While in Romania, I have had the opportunity to see this
verse come to life.
Not just this verse, but the
truth that is within all of Romans 8.
For three weeks this month I
went into random villages within Olt county, Romania.
We mainly worked within the
southern region of the county.
These are the ladies I worked
with throughout the month.
Sometimes we would have
someone translating for us, but more often than not we had no translator.
Let
me just tell you, I know about 10 words in Romanian.
Buna
Ziua- Good day
Fermosa-
Beautiful
Pa-
Bye
Pache-
Peace
No
Romaneste- No Romanian
Multemesc-
Thank you
Good-
Bine
God-
Dumnezeu
And, that’s about it.
We would go into these remote
villages where about any sign of a Christian was few and far between.
We would go door to door to
hand out tracks sharing the gospel.
Most days I would walk with
one other girl and we would talk about life.
Most days I barely said a word
to a Romanian.
Most days I didn’t see the
point in passing out the tracks.
Most days I did not see the good
in the service.
Most days I did not even cover
my time with prayer.
Until one day while I was
going door-to-door…
It hit me.
Even though I can’t say many words to these people, the
Holy Spirit was interceding for us.
We may not know what the
people would think when they received the paper,
But the Holy Spirit was
interceding for us.
Even if all we could give them was a hug and a smile.
In that moment the words that
we would say wouldn’t matter.
The Holy Spirit was going to
speak straight to their hearts in a way we would never understand.
During this same day I had a heart switch.
Instead of just walking around
mindlessly putting these tracks at everyone’s gate;
I should start to pray for
those that will be receiving the tracks.
To pray for their hearts to be
open to the Gospel.
To pray for God to speak to
them through whatever it was the tracks said.
This is when I saw Paul’s words in Romans 8 come alive.
I didn’t necessarily know what
to pray for with each home,
But the Spirit led me in my
prayers.
Just when I was at my wits end
of not knowing what good this was doing,
The Spirit was working in me
to change my heart toward the ministry.
Let’s think about how crazy this is…
“If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is
living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your
mortal bodies through his Spirit who lives in you.” Romans 8:11
The Spirit of the living God is inside me.
The same exact Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead.
The Spirit that gives life to death.
The Spirit that brings light into darkness.
The Spirit has been upon me
this month and I never even realized it (Isaiah 61).
Not only has God been doing a
work in me to change my heart about the ministry,
But God has been working in
those we have been ministering to.
On our last night in Romania, our ministry contact, George
told us that the people that we have been reaching out to in the villages have
been contacting him.
These people want to know more
about Jesus.
They want to start coming to
church and learning about His love.
They are hungry.
They want to know of the
Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead.
George has several meetings set up with families from these
villages that want to know about Jesus.
Praise the Lord!
Never doubt the work that the Spirit is doing in and
through you, even when you least expect it!
