He Helps Us in Our Weakness

Sometimes in this life, people face afflictions that seem to exceed their capacity for endurance. Sooner or later we all find ourselves in these kinds of awful, incomprehensible circumstances. When this happens, everything we thought was strength in us seems to dry up. We gasp and cry out from depths of desperation we never knew existed.

What is going on in our hearts? Have we lost our faith?

Not necessarily. In these dark times, when all understanding seems to have abandoned us, our faith may indeed reach new heights. But we must let our hearts pray.

Our hearts groan, and we don't understand these groanings, but God does.

Let the heart pray.

"The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words. And he who searches the hearts of men knows what is the mind of the Spirit..." (Romans 8:26-27).

Grief can be like this, sometimes.

But grief need not become despair. Within this pain, the Spirit is moving our hearts to speak to God in ways that are beyond our thoughts and understanding. Grief is like a deep rupture, an open wound, but it can be poured out. It can become prayer.

God will hear this prayer. He hears the cries of the poor. He helps us in our weakness.