The Inexpressible Spirit

" Brothers and sisters:  The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes with inexpressible groaning.  And the one who searches hearts knows what is the intention of the Spirit, because He intercedes for the holy ones according to God's will." -[ Romans 8: 26-27].


Prayer is -- or should be-- a regular part of the life of Faith.

I grew up in a "nominally Christian" home. Yes, we attended church each Sunday, and we called ourselves Christians.

But as soon as my grandparents had both died, my parents stopped taking us to church. When I asked to go to church, my mother told me, "We don't do that any longer."

We were like the "the seed sown on rocky ground. . . who hears the word and receives it at once with Joy. But he has no root and lasts only a time. When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the Word, he falls away. [OR like] the seed sown among thorns. . . who hears the Word but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the Word and it bears no fruit." --[ Matthew 13: 1-23].

I was never very certain of why we quit going to church? Maybe because, when my grandmother was so forlorn after my grandmother's death, she blamed God, and she died of a broken heart. Maybe my mother bitterly blamed God, too?

Or, maybe once my parents reached a certain financial comfort in the World, they thought they did not need God. I know that they spent a lot of time mocking faithful Christians, gossiping that these Christians were hypocrites because the were the GREATEST sinners; OR, that these Christians were so lame, they could do nothing on their own, and in their weakness were childishly dependent on God.

It was my grandmother who taught me to pray. She would sneak in the nightly Our Father with us, if she was minding my brother and me for an overnight visit. At first, I felt foolish and self-conscious.

When I became a teen, I confess, I began to believe as my parents did: that I had so much going for me, and life was pretty conquerable, so why did I need God?

It was only when I became an adult, a wife and mother, that life began to weigh on me. My own parents had died, I had to settle their affairs, my husband needed me to keep things rolling along at home with our young son and our home. A best girlfriend became seriously ill with cancer and she lost the battle. She left behind a husband and two young children. It all became too much for me to handle. The world had turned upside down.

I went to the pastor of our church and told him, ' Everything is confused and in the "wrong place". I don't know which end is up. I have never felt this way before. I think I need to get closer to God, but I don't know how.'

Now, I know that there is a joke about the Catholic who goes to his priest for advice; and the priest says, "Say three Our Fathers and five Hail Mary's, and call me in the morning."

Yes, Catholics pray their memorized prayers. But we also simply "Talk to God." This is exactly what my pastor told me to do. I said to him, "I was never raised in the church, I don't know all those Catholic prayers." He reassured me, "Just talk to God."

So every day, I sat in our church, in the alcove near the Tabernacle.  I poured my heart out-- my fears, my hopes, my tears.

When I went back to see the pastor, he was pleased. He said, "I see you here at the church just about every day praying near the Tabernacle ." Then, he told me to be confident to pray during the day, as events unfold.

I asked, "Can an emotion be a prayer?" He replied, "Yes".  I asked,  "Can a fear or a worry be a prayer?" He said, "Yes."

What I was getting at was that, sometimes I did not even know what specific intention to pray for.  All I knew was that I was upset or confused and I needed reassurance or wisdom. This is what Romans 8:26-27 means when it says, "For we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes with inexpressible groaning. And the one who searches hearts knows what is the intention of the Spirit."

All we need to do is to cry out to God, and the Spirit (the Advocate, the Teacher, the Counsellor) will intercede for us.

Once, not too long ago, I was praying in the chapel, and a woman came in and knelt beside me. I had seen her before at church but I didn't know her. I didn't even know her name. We introduced ourselves, and she asked me to pray her special intention FOR her. Then, she promised to pray for ME.

I stammered, "But I don't know you! I don't know what your troubles are."

She touched her hand to my arm, and told me, "You don't have to know mine, and I don't have to know yours. The Spirit knows and that is more than enough."

And so, we prayed together.

[Related Posting: "Ask", 7/24/16;  "The Progression of Prayer", 7/29/2013.]

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