Romans 8:26 (NIV) 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 through wordless groans.
Bruce Potts was speaking on my Practical Faith Academy podcast about a serious health issue that landed him in the hospital. Because of pressure on his brain, he exhibited several different, worsening problems.
Bruce said that at first, he was able to ask doctors and nurses for their prayer requests and would pray for them. But as his condition worsened, his mind became more fuddled. Bruce became inarticulate. He said, "The Holy Spirit prayed for me when I couldn't even groan a prayer."
Many times in life, through either health or distress, we reach the point of becoming too inarticulate to even groan a prayer. Perhaps we are too angry or distraught to pray. Or we think prayer won't make a difference because God doesn't care about us.
On those occasions, it's comforting to know that our active prayer may not even be necessary. The indwelling Holy Spirit lifts us up to the Father, interceding on our behalf, sighing and groaning when even words are not enough expression.
It's comforting that the Spirit support us whenever we struggle in prayer. Sometimes I am too emotional to even speak without trembling and crying. In those moments when I pause and endeavor to form a sensible word, the Spirit is already filling in the gaps with wordless prayer, connecting me to the Father, perhaps simply placing me at the feet of the Lord.
I feel more secure just thinking about what the Spirit does for me and for each of us.
Speaking of the Practical Faith Academy podcast, you can check out the latest episode and explore a library of nearly 50 podcasts by starting at CecilTaylorMinistries.com/free-content. I'll reach episode 50 by year-end 2024! Currently we're in Season 4, which is when the podcast converted to a pure interview format.
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