A New Day

By: Pastor Johnie Akers   

Romans 8:26, “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities; for we know not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” An elderly gentleman passed his granddaughter’s bedroom one night and was delighted to hear her in prayer. Yet he noticed she was repeating the alphabet in an unusual but reverent manner. With his curiosity peaked, he interrupted her. “My dear, what on earth are you doing?” She explained, “Grandpa, I’m just saying my bedtime prayers. But tonight, I’ve got so much weighing on my heart, I can’t think of exactly the right words to say. So, I’m just saying all the letters in the alphabet. God knows best how to put them together for me.” Like the little girl, there are times when our efforts to articulate to God the issues we are facing fall far short. Life’s problems can overwhelm us. Life’s problem’s can overwhelm our prayer life. How do you say what you need to say to our Heavenly Father when words are inadequate? In our Scripture lesson today the apostle Paul reminds us of our ultimate prayer Partner—the Holy Spirit. Were you ever so burdened that when you attempted to pray, the only thing you could do was weep, or audibly grieve, or, as our text suggests, “groan?” It is in these moments, when the “right words” cannot be formed, that the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, can take our feeble efforts, our emotional expressions, our tears, our sorrow, and all our pain and create a beautiful dialogue with our Heavenly Father. He knows how to take the scrambled letters of our life’s alphabet and put them all together. There are times that life itself just doesn’t make sense. In those times our prayers can be just as disconcerting. But be assured, the Holy Spirit is a master of bringing order to chaos. He did so in Genesis 1 during the creation of the cosmos. He can, as well, in our lives. So when the letters are all scrambled, just give them to Him. He can restructure each prayer and restructure each day into the consolation of a new day.