The Spirit Prays for Us

I am the office manager at Hope Lutheran Church, and I feel honored that I have been invited to write for TVprays.org. Several years ago, I started a once-a-week “blurb” for my congregation to keep them informed. I started adding little ditties about myself and my family and sometimes I am inspired with a bible verse. It humbles me that anyone would think that anything I say would make any difference in their day. It makes me happy when what I am going through helps someone else. I know that whatever they have taken away from my words is God speaking through me.

Lately I’ve felt overwhelmed. Work has been difficult as we are one of several Lutheran churches in the area navigating the call process for a new pastor. There are heartbreaking situations going on in my family that I can’t do anything about. The images from the news show human suffering that haunts me: homeless, immigrants suffering from heat, abandoned children, war and violence in our streets.

When I get overwhelmed, I get paralyzed emotionally and physically. I don’t know what to do with myself or how to move forward. Luckily, even though sometimes I don’t even know where or how to start my prayers, I know that the Holy Spirit already knows my heart.

We don’t need words or a list of prayers that fit a certain mold or situation. Whether we cry out or be still, God knows what we need. He knows our hearts. He knows us inside and out. We just need to be open to him.

Praises that we have a God who understands what we can’t articulate for ourselves.