A Prayer for When It’s All Too Much
By Keri Eichberger
Bible Reading:
“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.” - Romans 8:26
Listen or Read Below:
My body began to shake. More like started to convulse with tremors of fear that I had no say over, as the ER nurse practitioner matter of factly stated, “The results reveal you do indeed have a blood clot. So glad you came in.” And before she spoke another word, the mental load had become too heavy, and my body immediately broke down. Evidenced by trembling shock and a desperate grab for calm to sweep over me. Embarrassingly, my first coherent thought to follow was the Valium my doctor had prescribed, if needed, for my surgery one week prior. I couldn’t process a word beyond the nurse’s confirmation of the outcome I didn’t expect to hear. So, through chattering teeth, I asked for a prescribed dose of relief to help return some composure to my being. Sad to say, I couldn’t even pray. In my rehearsed moments of surprise, stress, and struggle, that’s exactly what I’d done. But in the moment, my auto-response didn’t follow suit. The only action I’m proud to confess is that though I didn’t stop and drop to my knees and ask for God to intercede, I picked up my cell phone and asked others to on my behalf.
Can you think of a situation or moment that felt too heavy to handle? Maybe it was sudden bad news, or maybe just a slow compounding of hard stuff that finally pushed you off a figurative cliff. A point in time when, though you’d love to report that you turned your eyes fast to God and prayed your heart out for the peace you knew you needed, instead you froze and looked to the closest person, or anything other than your almighty Father, to provide relief.
I think it’s important to note that I don’t believe I, or any of us, for that matter, should feel shame for not always feeling an immediate sense of peace at the onset of disappointing news. Or for not having an autopilot prayer to pour out. As a Christ follower, I have dedicated a lot of time to prayer as well as to soaking in the peace of the Lord. And I will continue to return to this precious time in his presence again and again. But here is the beautiful promise we have as believers for those all too frequent moments when we feel too weak, too distracted, or too overcome by the moment to personally cry out to God. When it’s all too much, so much you hardly have words, the Holy Spirit intercedes for you. He knows what you need, he knows the purity of your heart, he knows you are a unique human designed intricately by your Father’s hands. When you can’t pray, you are still covered in prayer.
Friend, you and I will never leave the power and protection of our Father’s presence. And in my daily prayer time at home the following morning, as I praised God for his protection, I reflected on just that, how he covered and carried me that day, along with the prayers of the Holy Spirit and many of his people. Yes, in those moments like mine, when you don’t have the capacity to go to God, he still knows your heart longs to. He knows the investment in him you’ve already made in choosing to lean on him more and more as you’ve grown along your spiritual journey. He knows the decision you’ve made to place your faith in him again and again. And that your heart longs to never stop. When you received Jesus into your heart, you also received the Holy Spirit. And for that, God will never ever leave you. So we can rest assured that even when it all feels like too much and we do not know what we ought to pray for… the Spirit himself intercedes for us. I pray this promise comforts you and gives you peace because peace himself is always with you.
Let’s pray:
Powerful God, You are always by my side. When I call on you, and even when I forget to. And I must confess, there are times when it’s all too much, and I hardly have the capacity to think, much less cry out for your care. But Father, when I accepted your son into my heart, you supplied me with a constant filling of the Holy Spirit to never leave me. So, I have assurance that though you are overjoyed when I call on you as often as I am able, you are just as pleased to faithfully intercede for me. And this is such a gift. A gift of grace I can rest and trust in. Thank you for your constant presence and protection simply because I am your child. Cherished forever. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Photo credit: ©GettyImages/Fizkes
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