Do you ever fail to pray for something because you don't know how to pray about it?
I certainly do.
I really want God's will, and sometimes I get so tangled up in wanting to want what He wants that I just clam up and don't pray anything at all.
It paralyzes me.
Then my prayers are paralyzed.
I realized something this week though, I need to pray anyway.
I don't need to worry about whether it's right or wrong, or exactly what His will is, I just need to pray. The rest is up to Him. Here's why I say that:
I certainly do.
I really want God's will, and sometimes I get so tangled up in wanting to want what He wants that I just clam up and don't pray anything at all.
It paralyzes me.
Then my prayers are paralyzed.
I realized something this week though, I need to pray anyway.
I don't need to worry about whether it's right or wrong, or exactly what His will is, I just need to pray. The rest is up to Him. Here's why I say that:
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. 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.
-- Romans 8:26-27
Verse 26 confirms what I already knew about myself, I don't always know what I ought to pray for. God knows that, these words are proof that He does. He knows I don't know what I ought to pray, and He has a plan in place for that. He knows that my mind is only capable of so much and that what I pray may not be His BEST for a situation.
...... And that's where the Spirit comes in.
He intercedes.
What does that mean really?
To intercede is to intervene or to mediate for someone else. I've understood for a long time that the Spirit interecedes for me like verse 26 says, but I didn't realize that He intervenes in my prayers.
He intervenes according to the will of God.
There we go, problem solved.
All I need to do is pray. I don't have to wrestle with the concerns of whether my prayers are exactly in line with His will. No more "should I say this or should I say that" thoughts. I can't always know His perfect will because I am not sovereign and I don't see the big picture. I am limited in my understanding, and He is very aware of that, He searches my heart and knows that I want to please Him. He knows that I want what He wants.
I must merely pray.
The rest is up to Him. And the Spirit, being God himself, always gets it right.
Pray on, my friends. Pray on.
...... And that's where the Spirit comes in.
He intercedes.
What does that mean really?
To intercede is to intervene or to mediate for someone else. I've understood for a long time that the Spirit interecedes for me like verse 26 says, but I didn't realize that He intervenes in my prayers.
He intervenes according to the will of God.
There we go, problem solved.
All I need to do is pray. I don't have to wrestle with the concerns of whether my prayers are exactly in line with His will. No more "should I say this or should I say that" thoughts. I can't always know His perfect will because I am not sovereign and I don't see the big picture. I am limited in my understanding, and He is very aware of that, He searches my heart and knows that I want to please Him. He knows that I want what He wants.
I must merely pray.
The rest is up to Him. And the Spirit, being God himself, always gets it right.
Pray on, my friends. Pray on.
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