Notes on Hope Devotional

It’s Okay to Not Know What to Pray

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.

The entire 8th chapter of Romans is like a painting by Monet.  Each time you look at it, you discover something new and meaningful. I have underlined many verses in Romans chapter 8 over the years, mining the riches of the words. In verse 4 of chapter 8, Paul introduces the role of the Spirit in our lives.

In today’s verse, Paul declares, “the Spirit helps us in our weakness” as he continues to describe our inabilities to know what to pray for. This is where I need to stop and consider the premise of this. Honestly, there have been times when I do not know what to pray for. In the depths of my own pain, watching people I love suffer, and devastating times of frustration and confusion, I have no words. And here comes the next sentence:

“But the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.” What? “The Spirit, himself, intercedes?”

Let your mind sit in this truth: You don’t have to know what to pray for, or come up with the right words, or a convincing argument to pray. The Spirit will intercede for us, “through wordless groans.”

We’ve all been in the space where we express a deep sigh, a gut-wrenching groan, or a wordless expression of intense sorrow.

Reading “the Spirit himself intercedes for us with wordless groans” removes us from the equation that we have to pray a certain way, say it just right, or think it’s all up to us.

Prayer is knowing the Spirit is speaking on our behalf, without words, to the Father who is attentive, attuned, and alert to unspoken sounds. We can know, trust, and rest in the promise that we have a Helper who prays for us without words.

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank You, Holy Spirit, for praying for us, understanding our deepest pain, and going to the Father. Help us know and trust that the Spirit intercedes when we have no words.
With grateful hearts, in Jesus Name, Amen.