Unknown Prayers

A few days ago my boss sent out a little memo where he talked about how hard it is to pray the "right" way. He pointed out, and I completely agree, that it is too easy to be shallow, distracted, and just plain selfish when we pray. But he reminded us that God has a solution to that problem: The Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:26-27 says:

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.

True enough, we are often incapable or unwilling to pray the right way; but, thanks be to God, we've got Someone to do it for us--the Holy Spirit who really does know the right way to pray. He never has doubts like we do about what really is the will of God, so he always prays correctly, even if we are floundering.

I am taking strength in these verses. There is a situation in my life that I just plain don't know how to pray for. Sometimes I feel one way about the situation and other times I feel quite differently. So relying on my feelings doesn't seem to be a very good guide for prayer. I am encouraged that the Holy Spirit is praying with me, no--He's actually praying for me--both on my behalf and in my place. I don't always know what He is praying, but I know it is in God's will, so I can rest in that.