Don't Speak

I don't often suffer from writer's block, but today is one of those rare days when the words just don't seem to be flowing all that easily.  In fact, that last sentence was the first one I haven't  written and then deleted over the past half hour.  

You would think on the first day of Spring that I would have plenty to write about, but Spring has not sprung on my keyboard this morning.

Come to think of it, sometimes I suffer from "writer's block" when it comes to my prayer life, too.  I find myself not really knowing what to say to God.  I feel like there are words there to be said, but I can't seem to find them. 

There have been times when I've been too weary to search for words to pray. Or perhaps I've become a little peeved at God because of some trial or tribulation that I'm enduring. It might also come down to plain old-fashioned doubt.  I find myself wondering, "What's the point?  Is some prayer of mine really going to change anything?"    

The Apostle Paul wrote about this very thing in his letter to the Romans:  

Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. 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, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good. (Romans 8:26-28, The Message)

The fact of the matter is, I don't have to worry when I can't find the words to pray on my own.  The Spirit of God is with me in my silence, my wordless sighs, my aching groans.  I can have confidence that God doesn't need my words, God just wants my longing.  As long as I am longing for God, longing for God's help, God's presence... it is enough.  

On this Third Monday of Lent, may you find comfort in knowing that your prayers will be heard--even when you haven't the strength to put them into words.  May you discover peace in the knowledge that the Spirit of God is with you in your wordlessness.  

And may the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you now and always. Amen.