Aug 30, 2024 When We Don’t Have a Prayer – Words of Grace – August 30, 2024
All who set themselves to obey the command of Christ to persist in prayer experience times when they simply don’t know what to ask.
Not knowing how to pray can happen when the situation is complex, when we are overwhelmed with emotion, or when we’ve prayed for a long time about an issue and there doesn’t seem to be an answer. When we read the Psalms we can hear these complexities of life, varied human emotions, and the “how long?” cry to God.
In my conversations with people over the years, I have seen that these situations can lead to either the strengthening or weakening of faith. That’s why Jesus addressed this issue in Luke 18 and encouraged his disciples always to pray and not lose heart.
Even when we do keep our heart and persist in prayer, we often do not know how to pray.
What do we do when we don’t have a prayer?
When we are praying long and hard for someone or something and we’ve run out of words, we can find encouragement in the promise that the Holy Spirit prays for us (Romans 8:26-27).
Often, when I’m praying, I will simply ponder this promise. I trust that though I am not sure what to pray and have no clarity on a request to offer, a prayer is being made on my behalf. I consider the time spent silently resting in this reality to be a form of prayer.
If you are in this situation, read this promise and wait before the Lord. Then go about your day knowing a prayer has been made for you.
The truth is, we always have a prayer. The Bible is full of specific prayers, and all the Bible guides our praying.
Colossians 1 is a great example of this. The Apostle Paul tells the believers that he and his mission partners make unceasing prayer for them. Then he tells them what he prays. What a prayer it is!
When I am praying for you, I almost always reach for my Bible or search my mind for Bible passages I’ve stored up. This becomes my prayer. Certainly, the Lord will answer the prayer that comes from his word.
Left to our sinful and selfish selves, we don’t have a prayer that honors God and asks for God-honoring things. But with the Spirit of God alive in us and making intercession for us, and the Word of God revealing his will to us, we are never without a prayer.
This weekend, read and pray the prayer in Colossians 1. Join us Sunday as we pray it together.
-Scott