Prayer/intercession
Not long ago my devotion was in Romans. In Romans 8 it says that the Lord is interceding for us. Romans 8:26-30 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
I don’t know about you but if you know someone loves you enough, to not only be thinking of you, but interceding, praying for you wouldn’t that make you feel special and loved? I know it does me. To know that my heavenly Father is praying for me, interceding for me. WOW!
I pray for those I love…my daughters, my grandchildren, my sons-in-law, my parents, siblings and their families including my in-laws and family, nieces and nephews, friends and more. I pray blessings for them, healing in all areas, for God to show up in their lives, for comfort and peace and countless other things. No, I am not consistent in how I pray for them. I am just being honest, but I do pray. However, I would imagine that my heavenly Father prays for me daily and it says He intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. I don’t know what to make of that. He is interceding or praying for me with a depth of love that, to be honest, I will probably never understand. I think the best way to understand that kind of love is to be a parent. I know there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for my children, outside of anything illegal or immoral, that is. As a wife I definitely loved my husband with a love that was incredible and never ending but as a mom it is just different. My love for my daughters is unconditional and that is how I see the love my heavenly Father has for me. Unconditional and grace filled and thank the Lord for that grace!
There have been a few times in my life I remember trying to pray but nothing would come out. The groanings were deep and so intense that I wasn’t even sure how to pray. I just cried out to God and wept, sat silent, and just waited to hear from Him. I knew that if I couldn’t say anything or didn’t know what to say I could depend on the Lord doing that for me. Even if I didn’t know when or how I would hear from Him, at some point I would.
The first time I really remember doing this was when our oldest daughter, Meagan, was born. She was born early, and after a few hours wasn’t breathing on her own. She had to be taken from the hospital in Boulder to one in Denver. Mark rode in the ambulance with her and I had to stay for one more day where I was. Tests were run and she was in the hospital for a week. I remember sitting in that room without Mark and crying because I had no idea if I would ever see her again. I was 21 years old and scared. I prayed the best I could in that condition, but I know the Lord was interceding for me. He knew the depth of love I already had for Meagan and after a few more hospital stays and 3 years of sickness, I can say she is now 35 and amazing.
Another time was in October 2016. I received a call from a friend in Georgia. We were in Seattle, Washington at the time and it was a 3 hour time difference. The call came late at night so I knew it had to be something bad. One of those moments you never imagine happening was happening. My best friend’s daughter, Ella Kate, who was 10, was in the hospital. It was a Wednesday night and all I knew was she had lost consciousness and wasn’t responsive. It didn’t look good. I remember falling on my knees and Mark’s arms coming around me and just trying to breathe. What in the world was happening was all I could think and pray. I cried and prayed all through the night and all I could do was ask for a miracle for Ella Kate. The only peace in that moment was knowing that even though I didn’t have the words to pray, I was being prayed for and the Lord was interceding for me. She ended up having an AVM which is an arteriovenous malformation (a brain hemorrhage) and it was catastrophic. Unless God performed a miracle, she wasn’t going to make it. On Friday, He performed a miracle. It just wasn’t the one we wanted because He called her to her forever home in Heaven. We wanted our miracle to be her opening her precious eyes and coming back to us. That was not to be, and it was gut-wrenching. She was only 10 and had so much life to still live. Her parents and siblings, her grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins were suffering such a massive loss. I guess something that helped me was knowing that when she did open her eyes again it was to look at her Heavenly Father for the first time. That must have been an amazing moment. I miss her so much and wish she was here to meet my grandkids because she would have gotten a kick out of them.
One of the last times I remember not knowing how to pray was shortly after Mark came home from the hospital after having brain surgery. My parents owned a bay house at the time and it was about 30 minutes from where we lived then. We loved going to the bay house. It was on the water, windows all around, a great open space, and a huge couch that was so comfortable you got settled in and didn’t want to move. Once we got Mark home and settled after surgery, my parents told us that we needed to go and rest and recoup at the bay house. Since it was still close to home it was the ideal place to go. Mark loved being there so we packed some clothes and food and off we went. I think we stayed out there about 7 days and it may have been 10. Whatever it was, it was great. Mark literally slept all day, ate a bit and slept more. He may have watched some tv but mostly slept. I remember on day 4 or 5 after watching how much he was struggling that I went into one of the bedrooms and had my moment of not knowing what to pray. I sat in that bed for an hour and with gut wrenching sobs just laid there. I knew that God was interceding for me in that moment. As deep as my groanings were, I know the Lords were more. It can be a very humbling thing to know He is groaning on my behalf.
When you don’t know what to do or what to pray, just sit still and listen. I had prayed so much up until then for Mark’s healing and God had definitely started the healing process. For him to even be alive at that point was only God. I knew that God was going to be who healed Mark completely, here on earth, if He chose to. Yes, we had a plan/protocol from the hospital and doctors, and we did use them. He went through chemo, radiation and a few rounds of immunotherapy and they were working. But, ultimately, we knew it would be God who allowed the protocol of meds to either work or not work and they did work, for a while. However, after 2 ½ years, God chose to take him home for his full healing.
I know there have been more moments that I have not known what to pray but I am thankful in those moments that I had a Father who was interceding for me. I will say it again. I am so thankful that I have someone who prays and intercedes for me when I don’t know what to pray.
I know that all things work together for good, as the verse states. However, in my human mind I want what I wanted. I wanted to not have to go through 3 years of Meagan being sick and struggling. I wanted Ella Kate to be ok and wake up. I wanted Mark to be healed from his tumor and for us to celebrate 50 plus years of marriage, which both our parents have. It was ok to want those things. But I knew once the Lord has done what He wanted in each situation I had to find a way to be at peace with the answer. No, I didn’t like the answers He gave but I have learned to trust that He is in control, He is still on the throne, and He is sovereign. He loves me and when He knows the answer may not be something I am going to like, He is praying and interceding for me.
I pray that each of you have a relationship with the Lord but if you don’t, please reach out to me and let me tell you about the best relationship you could ever have. If you do have that relationship and you find yourself in a moment when you don’t know what to pray just sit still and listen. Your heavenly Father knows what you need and is interceding for YOU!
Confident in His love
Isaiah 54:10
