Romans 8:26-28
As I write this week of devotionals about patience, the irony is that I get so impatient with people who quote verse 28: all things work together for good for those who love God. I grew up surrounded by people who believed that this meant that everything that happens, including every bad thing, is God’s will. The person killed in a car wreck. That was God’s will? And the person who survived, was that God’s will as well? Perhaps the mystery of God is a Creator who cries with us in those moments of deepest struggle and loss.
I will admit to a lifelong struggle with prayer. The connection to God through “quiet time” has, candidly, strained my patience over the years. Momentary invocations, often at random times throughout the day, are often the best I can do. It does give me comfort that the Spirit helps me in this weakness. Over the past decade or so, I have found great solace in communal prayer and, along with communion, find that praying with others draws me into worship and gives me great comfort.
In Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster writes, “We should never make prayer too complicated.” In that vein, knowing that the Spirit intercedes when I haven’t a clue what to pray for, or how, makes it less complicated. I wish I had learned this a lot earlier in my life. But I was too impatient.
Consider
Today, for a few minutes, can I uncomplicate my prayers and simply be with God?
Pray
God, thank you for the gift of your Spirit who intercedes when I haven’t a clue. Amen.