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 with groans that words cannot express.
I found this verse right after my dad passed away. I remember sitting in my dorm room at BBC wanting to pray...to really pour my heart out to God...and yet, I was at a loss for words. Someone had written Romans 8:26 on a piece of paper and given it to me and that day when I found it, it was like my ticket to not having all the answers.
Finding myself in a similarly distraught time in my life, I returned to the verse again in August of 2002 when Savannah was born 13 weeks early - This time in a tiny 8 X 8 waiting room reserved for parents of NICU babies. I tried to pray alone, at her tiny incubator bed, with Bruce, with friends, at church....but my heart never had the right words to say.
So, last night when Bruce asked me if I knew of a verse he could share with our youth and some of our friends who are going through what seems like the millionth bad news situation...this verse was on the tip of my tongue.
I am overwhelmingly encouraged to know that I know a God who can interpret the very groanings of my heart. When words don't come easy, His Spirit intercedes and interprets those deep, tender, anxious groanings that our mouths can't seem to utter. That's amazing to me!
So last night as I stood in the yard of one of God's faithful young servants whose family has been turned upside down by illness, I watched and listened as tears and sniffles and quiet prayers and praise songs were uttered and heard by a God who understands the audible and inaudible. As 50 teenagers and youth workers quietly stood in testimony with their dear friend and mentor, possibly experiencing what I've felt in those dark, desolate moments I was reminded that I don't need to know what to say, how to say it or even when....He hears those cries, those moments of incomprehensible pain and anguish. He knows.
Finding myself in a similarly distraught time in my life, I returned to the verse again in August of 2002 when Savannah was born 13 weeks early - This time in a tiny 8 X 8 waiting room reserved for parents of NICU babies. I tried to pray alone, at her tiny incubator bed, with Bruce, with friends, at church....but my heart never had the right words to say.
So, last night when Bruce asked me if I knew of a verse he could share with our youth and some of our friends who are going through what seems like the millionth bad news situation...this verse was on the tip of my tongue.
I am overwhelmingly encouraged to know that I know a God who can interpret the very groanings of my heart. When words don't come easy, His Spirit intercedes and interprets those deep, tender, anxious groanings that our mouths can't seem to utter. That's amazing to me!
So last night as I stood in the yard of one of God's faithful young servants whose family has been turned upside down by illness, I watched and listened as tears and sniffles and quiet prayers and praise songs were uttered and heard by a God who understands the audible and inaudible. As 50 teenagers and youth workers quietly stood in testimony with their dear friend and mentor, possibly experiencing what I've felt in those dark, desolate moments I was reminded that I don't need to know what to say, how to say it or even when....He hears those cries, those moments of incomprehensible pain and anguish. He knows.
2 comments:
Gina, Thank the Lord for the Holy Spirit who speaks what we are unable to, and when we can't. Blessings to you and Bruce and especially your friends who are going through a very difficult time, obviously.
I often recall the scripture that says when one part of the body suffers, the whole body suffers. That includes the grief we carry as those we love are suffering. Grace, strength, and peace to those there with you.
AMEN.
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