Life can wear you down. You can get to the place where your anxiety runs so deep, or your stress levels increase so high that you can’t think clearly. The problem or pain you’re experiencing is so overwhelming that you can’t put it into words. But that’s when the Holy Spirit living within you prays for you and through you. As you bring your burden to the Lord and kneel in His presence, a wonderful thing happens. In The Message, Eugene Peterson paraphrases it this way: ‘God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us…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…That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good’ (vv. 26-28 MSG). Because prayer is relational, the Holy Spirit will communicate your heart to God and His heart back to you. When you don’t know how to pray – stay. Just remain in God’s presence with your heart open, and He’ll communicate with you. ‘You have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things’ (1 John 2:20 NKJV). Before God puts the answer in your head, He puts His peace in your heart. That’s why prayer can’t be rushed. It’s why taking the time to meditate and be still before God is so important. It allows the Holy Spirit to share God’s thoughts with you so that you begin thinking His way.
