When Words Fail Us

Chuckle: Test question to a child: "What does the word 'benign' mean?" Answer: "It is what you will be after you be eight."

Good Quote: "In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart." --John Bunyan

"And the Holy Spirit helps us in our distress. For we don't even know what we should pray for, nor how we should pray. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words" (Romans 8:26 NLT).

Have you found yourself trying to express your feelings to someone but no matter how hard you tried you just couldn't find the right words to fully express how you felt? I think we all have had such experiences. Let's face it, words can only take us so far in expressing our deepest feelings to others. The same is true when it comes to prayer -- communicating with God.

It's a wonderful spiritual truth that we are not left with only our own resources to cope with situations that arise or feelings we experience. We all experience sorrows, frustrations, hopes and dreams that are so poignant they fill us with emotions so deep that mere words fall woefully short as a means to convey the extent of our feelings. But never doubt that God wants to hear what's in your heart and mind.

To make this possible, He sent His Spirit to search out your innermost thoughts and feelings -- even in your subconscious. And because He is God, the Spirit has no problem at all in conveying your prayers to the Father that you and I find so difficult to express.

If you accept this truth, you and I should never be hesitant or afraid to come before God and ask His help in expressing the content of our hearts to Him. Just ask the Holy Spirit to intercede for you as you pray "in harmony with God's own will." Then you can trust Him to always do what is best for you -- even though you may not always understand it. The next time you are at a loss for words when praying, just remember this promise: "The Holy Spirit prays for us with groaning's that cannot be expressed in words."

I read about two men who were visiting Niagara Falls. One who had been there previously, said, "Come and I'll show you the greatest unused power in the world." Taking him to the foot of the Falls, he said, "There is the greatest unused power in the world." "Ah, no, my friend, not so!" was the reply of the other. "The greatest unused power in the world is the Holy Spirit of the living God."

Love, Jerry & Dotse