Our Perfect Prayer Partner

A father, walking past his seven-year-old daughter’s room one night, noticed she was praying. He heard this curious prayer - “abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz”- repeated several times. When she had finished, he asked her what it meant: “God is really smart,” she said, “when I don’t know how to pray, I just give him all the letters and He works it out for me.”

Those of us who strive to live as Jesus’ disciples can still struggle when it comes to praying. We know we should pray – at all times and in all circumstances. But in the times when we have the greatest need for God’s guidance and protection, the words don’t always move from our minds to our mouths, from our hearts to God’s hearing. We need help.

Then, without us even being aware of it, the Holy Spirit Himself intercedes for us. We can rely on this promise in Romans 8:26: “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.”

The Holy Spirit takes your fumbled, mumbled, bumbled prayers and turns them into strong and clear petitions heard by our Heavenly Father! He takes your uncertainty and makes it into boldness. He takes your confusion and gives it clarity. He takes your stuttering and makes it eloquent. He takes your silence and gives it volume.

So, continue to pray, trusting in God’s promise. How blessed it is to be the children of such a loving, listening, understanding Father!