WHEN MY PRAYER NEEDS REPLACEMENT THERAPY

A few years ago, I tripped and faceplanted in front of a banquet room full of my college classmates. Beyond the embarrassment I felt, I injured my knee. An X-ray of the knee showed no damage from the fall. However, the X-ray did show signs of weakness in the knee that would eventually require replacement therapy.

Prayer Weakness

My knee is not the only weakness within me. I sometimes experience weakness during prayer. I may be so discombobulated by all I am experiencing that I do not know how or what to pray. I am on a tether, bouncing from this worry to that fear, from this situation to that decision, and back again. Just as my orthopedist recommended a solution for my weak knee, Paul’s letter to the Romans provides the solution I need in my weakened prayer state: replacement therapy.

Romans 8:26-27 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with groanings too deep for words. And God, who searches hearts, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.[1]

Replacement Therapist

At those moments when I cannot pray, I have the ultimate replacement therapist—the Holy Spirit. This is the same Holy Spirit that Jesus promised would abide in me. Who would advocate for me. Who would teach and remind me of His commission.[2] When my prayer state is weakened, the Holy Spirit will intercede, replacing my ineptness with groanings to God.

Allowing Replacement Therapy to Work

I have a powerful team to handle my prayer. Because God and the Holy Spirit are as One, God knows exactly what is on my heart through these groanings. And the Holy Spirit’s intercession on my behalf is of one accord with God’s will.

I need to allow the Holy Spirit the space to employ that replacement therapy during my confused prayer time by:

• focusing on God, not the situations plaguing my mind;
• releasing my need to direct the prayer; and
• not trying to form the perfect prayer with eloquent words.

I should be quiet in that space and allow the ultimate Replacement Therapist, the Holy Spirit, to do what needs to be done. The God who knows my heart will hear my concerns through the Holy Spirit.

Many are experiencing turmoil these days, sometimes making praying difficult. You may be in a weakened prayer state. I encourage you to allow the Holy Spirit to intercede on your behalf. The Holy Spirit can speak to God in ways you cannot understand, but God does. Trust that God hears.

Reflection

Have you experienced difficulty praying? How have you overcome this difficulty? Have you allowed the Holy Spirit to intercede on your behalf?

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[1] New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

[2] John 14:15-17, 25-26