I've Got Nothing!
Do you ever have days that when you go to pray, you think, “yeah… I’ve got nothin”?
It’s those days that your heart is completely bankrupt that words run dry, the days when the hurt is too deep, the confusion is too thick, the choices are too difficult, the days when the words we put together with our mere 26 letter alphabet don’t even come close to expressing the ache in your heart… those are the days that praying seems almost impossible, even when we know it’s exactly what we need to do, more than absolutely anything else.
To give you a little bit of a “behind the scenes” into my head, my Myers Briggs personality type is ENFJ. For those less nerdy, that means that I am an extraverted, intuitive, feeler, and judger. So, I process out loud, think in big picture, feel very deeply and tend to make choices off of how I, and everyone around me, feel, and when I set a time and a plan I, I prefer (need!!) to stick to it.
As someone who process everything out loud in big pictures drenched in tons of emotions, when I come to the place when pain overwhelms my words, I feel incredibly lost. I feel like I’m not known. I feel, honestly, like I’m not loved. I feel like everything is collapsing in on me.
But the Father does know me and he does know YOU! And He does love me and He does love you! In fact, He knew and loved us before the dawn of time and He knew that these moments would come. In His lovingkindness, He made provision for them.
Romans 8:26-27
(I love all three of these translations and think we can pull out such incredible things from all three!)
“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.” (NIV)
“In the same way the Spirit comes to us and helps us in our weakness. We do not know what prayer to offer or how to offer it as we should, but the Spirit Himself knows our need and at the right time intercedes on our behalf with sighs and groaning’s too deep for words. And He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because the Spirit intercedes before God on behalf of God’s people in accordance with God’s will.” (AMP)
“Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God” (The Message)
So, not only did the Father know that we wouldn’t have the words to pray and loved us even still… He gave us the gift of His Spirit to pray in and for us, to intercede on our behalf. Not to mention that Jesus also intercedes for us! “Christ Jesus who died--more than that, who was raised to life--is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” Romans 8:34 (NIV).
On my worst days, my lowest days, my most broken moments, my most lonely seasons, my most desperate hours, I have ⅔ of the Trinity interceding on my behalf to the Father who already loves me and sees the righteousness of Christ when He looks at me. Do we walk around like we believe this is true!? If we did, I believe it would completely change our lives.
I think it’s also noteworthy to mention that many theologians dispute whether or not this verse refers to a prayer language. I personally believe its yes and no; yes, a prayer language does exactly this but, no, because if you don’t have that particular gift the Spirit is still praying in and for you. (Remember, however, that Paul says we should earnestly desire the higher gifts, including tongues. I Corinthians 12:31 (NIV))
Our God is so kind. He knew that we wouldn’t even know how to pray so He gave us the Helper. What a gift!
I challenge you, right now, wherever you are, to simply- SELAH, pause and think about this.
Let the kindness of the Father wash over you.
Let the Spirit fill you up and be comforted by His presence and help.
And let the love of Jesus that lead Him to the cross and up out of the grave to make a way for you to have salvation and to have the Holy Spirit inside you consume every worry, fear, and thought.
Selah.
Liafaith Fischer is a Refres{her} blogger for Ignite Life. She is a 23 year old singer/songwriter who was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania but has made Las Vegas her home. She feels called to communicate that not only is brokenness beautiful but it is what brings the lonely together and is what draws us closest to Christ. She does this through original songs, which can be found on her debut EP, Wander, and on her blog- liafaithlive.com. She also works full time for Grace City Church as a worship leader and as their worship/production coordinator.