Over the past several months, I have been learning Spanish. Rather, I have been relearning Spanish. I took three years of Spanish in high school, and I remember a few things. But like most things in life, if you don’t use it, you lose it. Recently, I started an online course. My teacher is from South America, and our video lessons are all in Spanish. The class has been a good challenge for me. I am making improvements each day. I am to the point in my learning where I don’t always have the words to express myself completely. I know enough to get the point across, but I’m not saying exactly what I want to say. Maybe you’ve been in this situation before. It can be very frustrating.
Sometimes our prayers can feel this way. We don’t have the exact words to express how we feel. Situations in life are often complex, encompassing many different emotions. Sometimes our trials and struggles are so profound that we can’t adequately express our needs. If you are a child of God, then your natural response to tribulation should be prayer. You should want to cry out to your heavenly Father. But even in those moments, you’re not exactly sure what you should pray for.
The apostle Paul talks about this very thing in Romans 8:26: “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.” This is not as complicated as it might seem. If you have been saved by Jesus, then the Holy Spirit lives inside of you, and in those moments when you don’t have the words to adequately express yourself in prayer, the Spirit communicates for you. This doesn’t mean that the Spirit causes you to speak “nonwords.” This isn’t some heavenly language. Paul is saying that there is no language capable of this. Rather, the Holy Spirit effectively says what we simply cannot say with our tongues. We can have confidence that when the Spirit inside of us intercedes for us, the Father listens. Paul guarantees this in the next verse, Romans 8:27: “And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” This is a beautiful thought. When I don’t even know what I should be praying about, the Spirit knows. When I have no words, the Spirit communicates.And because the Spirit of God communicates according to the perfect will of God, I can rest assured that my unspoken prayers are heard.
Life is hard. Often, wave after wave of trouble comes against us. In those moments, pray.And when you don’t have the words, trust that the Spirit does. Porque si eres un hijo de Dios, el Espíritu Santo habita en tu corazón y el Señor te ama mucho.