The word for "help" is an interesting double compound found only here and in Luke 10:40 (Martha asking that Mary "help" her). It is the Greek verb synantilambanomai. Abbott-Smith suggests the meaning: "take hold with at the side for assistance." Robertson writes: "The Holy Spirit lays hold of our weakness along with (syn) us and carries His part of the burden facing us (anti) as if two men were carrying a log, one at each end" (Rob. Gram., p. 573). Bloomfield says that the verb means "lay hold of any weight to be carried, on the opposite side, and so helping a person to shoulder it." He adds: "It of course implies our concurrence (occurring at the same time; acting together) with this heavenly aid" (2:52). Godet writes: "The verb synantilambanesthai (to support, come to the help of) is one of those admirable words easily formed by the Greek language; lambanesthai, ‘to take a burden on oneself'; syn, ‘with some one'"; anti, ‘in his place'; so you get the meaning: ‘to share a burden with one with the view of easing him'" (p. 320). Sanday and Headlam give the meaning as simply: "‘to take hold of at the side (anti), so as to support'; and this sense is further strengthened by the idea of association contained in syn" [with some one] (p.213). The Berkeley Version reads: "In a similar way the Spirit joins in to help us in our weakness." The ANT [The Amplified New Testament] has: "So too the (Holy) Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness." All this means that the Holy Spirit takes hold of our burdens with us, helping us day by day to carry our load. To offset our weakness He supplies divine power. As long as we have Him assisting us we need not fall under the sometimes-crushing weight of life. But we must also do our part, furnishing faith, obedience, and willingness to work.
The verb "intercedes" is also a double compound--hyperentyngchano, found only here in the New Testament. Moulton and Milligan say that it "does not seem to occur outside early Christian literature" (VGT, p. 653). They give its meaning as "supplicate on behalf of." Robertson writes: "It is a picturesque word of rescue by one who ‘happens on' (entyngchanei) one who is in trouble and ‘in his behalf' (hyper) pleads ‘with unuttered groanings' or with ‘sighs that baffle words'" (4:377).
As this quotation suggests, there are two possible translations of alaletois--"unuttered" or "unutterable" or as translated in the NIV "that words cannot express." The latter ["unutterable"] is adopted in almost all English translations and is strongly defended by some commentators. Both the Berkeley Version and the RSV have "sighs too deep for words." The ANT brings out the double meaning of verb, adjective, and noun in its rendering: "The Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance."
Alford describes beautifully the meaning of this verse. He writes: "The Holy Spirit of God dwelling in us, knowing our wants better than we, Himself pleads in our prayers, raising us to higher and holier desires than we can express in words, which can only find utterance in sighings and aspirations" (2:397).
Intercessory prayer reaches its deepest depths when it passes beyond the realm of words and becomes a series of groans. Spirit-filled Christians are familiar with this agony of soul, which is the Holy Spirit praying in them. This intercession is "according to the Will of God" (verse 27). One of the important ministries of the Spirit is that of aiding us in prayer. (So that our prayers are "according to the Will of God," the Holy Spirit does more than plead our cause before God--the Holy Spirit interprets our prayers to God in the intercession.)
