When I was trying to choose some fall garden mums for our front porch at the Garden Centre, I seemed to take a very long time to select. There were various shades of colour and different sized pots. Selection was a challenge. There are times in our everyday conversations that we are not sure what to say. Someone has said something to us and we are not sure how to respond. Sometimes we witness the heartache or grief that another is facing and we feel that we cannot begin to find the words to speak to that person, There are certainly occasions when it seems that words cannot possibly express all the emotions that we are feeling. In our own journey of dealing with the concerns for which we persistently pray, what words can we use to convey the weight of the burden we carry for ourselves or for someone else? And with our limited perspective, there are times when we do not know how to put into words our longings for God to touch and restore and bring hope to seemingly hopeless circumstances. One of the uplifting aspects of our faith in God is that we do not have to have what we consider, “the right words.” We can know with confidence that even without words, when we turn to God, our loving God knows what is needed. I love that God listens to us with His heart and is able to interpret how we are and what we need from Him. When we are waiting for the light to shine in the darkness, God is waiting with us and is able to renew our hope in Him. Consider this Scripture from Romans 8, “26 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. 27 And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.” (Romans 8:26-27) The thought of God’s Spirit interceding and coming to God on our behalf can reassure us when words fail us in prayer. We will be relying on God’s Spirit to guide our prayers when we pause for our WEDNESDAY PRAYER TOGETHER tomorrow September 20th at 1 pm. Please plan to join us.
Thanking God that with or without words, we can come to Him in prayer, Pastor Lola
Our welcoming God, each time that we turn to You in prayer, we are reminded of how much we need You. Thank You for Your mercy and care for us. We are grateful that this never fades and never fails. We have prayed many prayers before and we continue to realize that taking time to spend with You in prayer is so essential. We come to You today aware of many needs for ourselves and others. We are not sure what words to select to convey our love for You and our dependence on You. Thank You that we do not have to have a detailed description of how our prayers would best be answered. We know that You God have this covered. You know what is needed even before we breathe a word of it. As we approach You now in this attitude of prayer, we are trusting You to see us as we are. You recognize where we have been and where we are going. You recognize where our wider world has been and where it is going. Our hope is in You Lord. Our hope is in You. The understanding that Your depth of love for us is fathomless, gives us courage to approach You in prayer. We invite Your Spirit to help us in our weakness. We look to You for strength. We admit to You that there are things we do not understand and this challenges our faith. Today we are relying on Your Spirit to lift us up to You. When our steps falter, we ask You to show us the way. You, oh God, can search our hearts and know the truth that we may struggle to acknowledge. In the light of Your Presence, we discover the promise that You will guide us to choose You and Your plans for us. Sometimes our lives seem such a swirl of different possibilities and we wonder what to do. Consistently, we want to choose You. We want to trust You to bring about Your will in us and through us as Your Spirit draws us close to You. Without You, we are without hope. Spirit of God, we are asking You to intercede with God in accordance with God’s will. Our desire is to live for You God in every choice we make. We pause to confess that sometimes it is not possible to see Your will because we are looking for and wishing for something else. Where our will does not match Yours, we ask for Your realignment. Our ongoing prayer is for our willingness to trust You and to walk in step with Your Spirit. What do You God, want to bring about in each of us? How do You need to change us in order for us to be prepared to enter into what You are already doing. Thank You God for this gift of life and for the gift of communicating with You in sincere prayer, enhanced by Your Spirit’s wisdom. We offer this prayer and ourselves to You in Jesus’ Name. AMEN