When there are no words

I have had a bit of a wobble over the last week, and felt a bit, well, ‘off’. Have you ever felt like that? I haven’t been able to put my finger on exactly what the matter was, but I was feeling that sense of overwhelm, even though it has been a quiet week, and overly emotional and anxious.

I had my daughter and granddaughter staying over last weekend, so I wondered if what I was feeling was a bit of sadness about them going home, and the house being quiet and empty again. (I haven’t even dusted all the little handprint marks from the glass doors, to remember Ivy being here!)

I had also been going through some boxes in the loft, looking for baby photos, and had been looking through letters from my mum while I was working in Nice, and old school reports etc. I know that some of that had been quite triggering.

But it felt like it might have been something more. And I just didn’t know what it was.

I tried talking to God about it all, but I just fumbled over the words.

This morning, I was reminded of this verse from Paul’s Letter to the Romans:

“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.”

Romans 8:26

There are times when we just can’t find the words to pray, but this verse reminds us that it is then that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us. He helps us with our burdens, and steps in where we are lacking.

When we do not know how to pray, or what to pray, the Holy Spirit steps in. He interprets our sighs and groanings, the thoughts and feelings we have, but don’t know how to express, and he brings them to God on our behalf. The Holy Spirit, who brings us direct access to the Father, communicates for us. He prays for us. Isn’t that just wonderful?

If you need someone to stand alongside you in prayer, do drop me a message, and I would be honoured to pray for you.

But don’t ever forget, you are not alone. God is with you. God is for you. And he loves you oh so much.