When You Are Unable to Pray

Daily Devotional – Saturday, October 7, 2023
Likewise, the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Romans 8:26 (NKJV)

Are there moments when you are unable to pray? I have had many such instances. One time, I was ebbing between life and death in a hospital bed. I do not remember taking a moment to talk to God. It was only by grace that I made it out of the hospital.

When Words Fail

Then there are times when I just feel unworthy of God’s love. This happens, especially when I have rebelled against God. Will God really listen to a sinner like me? I ask. I coil in despair. Words refuse to come out of my mouth.

There are also situations when I have prayed for an issue for so long that I find no strength to pray about it anymore. Perhaps God does not care, or I have bothered Him so much that He ignores my pleas. Several times, I kneel down to pray only to rise up without uttering a word.

The Spirit Himself Makes Intercession for Us

Then I come across an intriguing Bible verse that comforts me in my inability to pray. Apostle Paul writes, “Likewise, the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” (Romans 8:26).

Surprise…! It turns out I don’t even know how to pray properly! The Holy Spirit reads the intentions, pains and troubles of heart and translates them into a form amenable to heavenly principles. I am so weak that even if I use my most eloquent speech, heaven would not understand it without the Holy Spirit’s intervention.

When You are Unable to Pray

It gets even more encouraging to know that the Holy Spirit intercedes for me with wordless groans. In essence, when your words cannot exit your mouth, the Spirit uses language and expressions that you cannot understand, to secure your forgiveness, wellbeing and salvation. What a powerful illustration of heaven’s unfathomable kindness towards human beings!

When you are unable to pray, remember God still hears your petitions because the Holy Spirit intercedes for you. If your heart and words fail you, God is still listening. When no one understands your dilemmas and the pain in your heart, the Holy Spirit embraces you and puts your mumbles and unsaid words into logical language that heaven understands.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You because when I am unable to pray, you understand the language of my heart through Your Holy Spirit.