PrayerНамуна

You Don't Need To Do It Alone

Have you ever gone to pray and had no words? What happens in your heart when this happens? I must admit that, for most of my life, I’m sure that what has gone through my heart is that my inability to articulate something of worth to God’s waiting ears means I’m not good enough.

But that is not what this verse tells us. I love that this verse recognises that, in our weakness, be it sinfulness, weakness, or lack of understanding of God’s will… in our weakness, the Spirit meets us. He not only meets us but He intercedes for us through wordless groans. In the moment of our weakness before our loving Father, the Spirit steps in for us and prays for us through wordless groans. I don’t know what you think of when you hear that phrase – wordless groans. But I think of a woman in labour. The utterances that come out of her mouth are often not words, but express something of the pain and effort it takes to bring this child to light. In a similar way, this verse tells us that the Spirit steps in for us and brings to light that which we can’t put into words. How perfect is that! What a gift it is! How kind God is!

So, the next time you can’t find the words to pray, maybe instead of feeling bad like I did, you can feel comfort knowing that the Spirit is there and ready to step in. You don’t need to do it alone.

Written by KATIE SMITH