God Groans

“When we do not know what we ought to pray for, the Spirit intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.”  Romans 8:26

Believe it or not, I’m occasionally at a loss for words.  Some situations are so heavy or heartbreaking that they leave me with lots to think about but nothing to say.  When I’m not sure how to respond, how to help, or how to pray, I cling to the promise that if “we do not know what we ought to pray for…the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will”(Rom 8:26,27).  We can face each moment assured that God’s Spirit knows just what we need and that He is telling our Father all about it.  It also makes me feel better to know that the Holy Spirit doesn’t always use words either, for “the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express”(Rom 8:26).

Sometimes our grief is too raw, our sadness too strong, or our disappointment too sharp to put our feelings into complete phrases, and all we can do is groan, grunt, sigh, or utter a desperate, “Please.”  Know that at the same time, the Spirit is doing the same thing, and that His groans—just as yours—are fully and flawlessly understand.  Take deep comfort and hope in the fact that while your cries contain what you think is best, the Spirit’s consist of what He knows is best, and the Father always answers His requests.

When I lived in Brazil, my friends there who were facing tough times and trying situations would often call out to God with just two words, “Tu sabes,” or in English, “God, You know.”  I love that prayer and have found myself pleading the same over the years.  Knowing that God knows, even—and especially— when I don’t, gives me great encouragement and peace. 

As I write these words, two families I love are sitting by the bedsides of moms with terminal illnesses.   The wait is hard and horrible, as life on earth slowly struggles toward a difficult end. These are the times for “God groans”—those cries to the Father coming from the hearts of His children and from the mind of His Spirit.  “And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit”(Rom 8:27).

Tu sabes.  God, You know.

And we’re so glad—even when we can’t say so.