Have you ever been in a situation where you knew you needed to pray, but you weren’t sure what you were supposed to pray for? That’s happened to me more times than I care to admit. I’m thinking specifically about the time leading up to my mother’s death. She was in terrible physical condition. I wasn’t sure whether I should ask God to heal her or take her home to heaven. What was the “right” thing to pray for?
I’ve been thinking about that “prayer dilemma” in the context of our theme for this school year “Lord, Teach Us to Pray” based on Philippians 4:6. There’s a verse from the book of Romans that’s always given me great comfort in times like that. Romans 8:26 teaches us: “Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” Isn’t that an amazing message? It brings me great peace. We have this wonderful gift of prayer from God, but many times we don’t even know how to use it right! But we don’t have to worry because the Holy Spirit is there to intercede on our behalf. Because of that intervention, our fumbling and confused prayers sound perfect to our God in heaven. If you’re struggling to know how or what to pray for, treasure this verse and pray boldly and confidently knowing the Holy Spirit is with you.