WORD TODAY: What Cannot Be Uttered

 

What Cannot Be Uttered In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how we ought to pray, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words. Romans 8:26 Have you prayed and prayed... and prayed for someone, or a situation? And now, you've run out of words. After all these months and years, there are no more words to say, and yet the longing is still there. The intercessory burden is as great as it has ever been. The mountain has not moved, the situation has not changed, and the souls you claim for God are STILL not saved.  This isn't a failure of faith: we know that what we long for can only be accomplished in prayer! Therefore, we don't dare cease our praying, and yet... the words have run dry. This is when the Spirit steps up and prays on our behalf: converting that great, consuming burden into deeply spiritual intercession that only God Himself understands. "Oh God, oh God, oh GOD!" is a prayer that our loving Heavenly Father understands completely. He knows what you're praying about, He knows how much it matters to you, and He is listening intently. He understands every detail and nuance in those groans. It is good to pray in words. But it is also good, when we run out of words, to throw ourselves on God so that our whole being becomes a prayer. Sometimes we don’t understand any more than that God is praying in us and through us.