Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
- Romans 8:26-27
On Monday morning, I was privileged to participate in an online prayer meeting with Baptists around the world for peace and freedom in Ukraine. As ministers, seminary professors, denominational officials, and other leaders identified themselves and began praying one by one, I heard a number of different languages: English, Spanish, Romanian, and more. This meant, of course, that there were many prayers in which I didn’t understand the words being spoken.
But what struck me during that prayer meeting was how, even when I didn’t understand the words, I was able to identify what was being spoken as prayer to God. From their posture—heads bowed, eyes closed—to the cadence in which they spoke, it was clear that these fellow believers were coming before God in humility just like I was. Even when I couldn’t understand them, their prayers transcended words.
The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit makes that possible for all of us in those moments when we can’t even understand our own prayers. When our needs are so deeply felt that we don’t know how to express them, the Spirit steps in for us and intercedes on our behalf, making intelligible what would otherwise seem meaningless “with sighs too deep for words.”
Words
have tremendous power, but sometimes we can’t find the right ones. What an
inexpressible gift then to know that God hears our hearts—even when we don’t
understand ourselves.
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