ROMANS 8:26-27

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

TO PONDER

A few weeks ago an old friend unexpectedly sent me a Facebook Messenger message and when I opened the message it was an audio-file, a punk song, with lyrics like “there is no God!”, “Christianity is a dead religion”, “if Jesus is like this, I don’t want him!”, the song was crying out in anger and frustration at God and His church.

So I answered the song with a question, “Did you do that, you did it all, you wrote the song, you did the singing, the instruments, the recording???”

He answered “Yes, this morning”. Then I told him how blown-away I was with his talent and how I wanted more. In fact, I wanted a whole album of the same, I even suggested a name for the album “Psalms”.

Today’s verses speak to us about our prayer life with God, about the times we try to pray and no words can be found, the times we are unsure how to talk to God, or the times where we are not sure if we believe God even answers prayers. The life moments where we can only aim our anger towards the heavens, shouting our frustrations at the seemingly absent God.

Paul reminds us that God’s Spirit, God Himself, is standing with us, in our anger, in the frustration, in the pilgrimage of pain.

My friend didn’t respond for a few hours after our brief exchange about his song and the reasons why he composed it but when he did the reply was another audio-file, another song but this time it was a song of contrition, of repentance, of thankfulness, a renewed discovery of God’s unfathomable grace because the Spirit was with him in his anger and frustration.

PRAYER: Holy Spirit, Mighty God, I thank you that your grace is boundless, that when I am at my worst, when I don’t know what to say, what to ask for, or even how to ask, you are there with me, crying out beside me. Amen.

Today's devotion written by Danny Brock, LifeWay Westside