When We Can’t Find the Words

Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night thinking about a family member or friend? You know that you need to pray for them, but you’re not sure what to say. So, maybe you come up with something like this: “Lord, I pray for this person. I don’t know what to say. I just pray for them.”

You may have thought it wasn’t a very good prayer, but it could have been the most powerful prayer you’ve ever prayed. That’s because Romans 8 tells us, “And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words” (NLT).

Sometimes a good prayer is a groan.

The psalmist David prayed, “O Lord, hear me as I pray; pay attention to my groaning” (Psalm 5:1 NLT). The Hebrew word David used for “groaning” is an unusual term that hints at an unspoken prayer—an aching, longing, and yearning of the innermost being.

David had a genuine burden. Essentially he was saying, “Consider my yearning. Consider my aching heart. Consider what is going on deep inside me, the cry of my soul.”

We think our prayers need to be long, flowery, and filled with King James language to be effective. We assume that God is more into Shakespearean-type prayers.

But the fact of the matter is that a simple prayer, a groan, or a yearning of the heart might be a prayer that is inspired by God.

What a difference prayer can make! Let’s take our problems and burdens and cast them upon the Lord. God ultimately will have His way. Regardless of how bleak the scenario may be, God can turn it around.

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