And in the same way the Spirit helps our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit intercedes with us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the heart knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.     Romans 8:26 LSB

Have you ever been so heartbroken you just didn’t know what to pray or what to say? I know I have. Sometimes there is such a pain deep within. We go to Him with our broken hearts not even knowing what to say. There are times when the situation is just so dire, there are no words.

Like when someone loses a loved one, what can you say? You can say you’re sorry, but what does that do? You can say you are there for them, but you can’t repair their broken heart.

I have found myself at times on my knees and speechless. I have to tell you that I am rarely speechless, but there have been times when the pain in my heart is so great, I just don’t know what to say. I don’t know what to pray for. I don’t know where to go from there.

In our Scripture passage today, Paul is speaking of restoration. In verse 22 Paul speaks of the whole creation groaning and suffering the pains of childbirth. He speaks of the believers groaning in v. 23. We all groan for restoration, the Spirit groans for this as well.

John MacArthur describes these as divine articulations within the Trinity that cannot be expressed in words but carry profound appeals for the welfare of every believer. He goes on to say that the work of the Holy Spirit parallels the high priestly work of the Lord on behalf of believers.

In Hebrews 4:14-16 it speaks of how Jesus suffered as we suffer. He was fully man and fully God. He suffered heartache and rejection and physical pain and humiliation. He can sympathize with our weaknesses because He too was tempted, yet He did not sin. For this reason, we can draw near to Him so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 7:25 tells us Jesus is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

The Bible tells us we will suffer. We will go through difficult times. We will find ourselves in situations where we don’t know how we will make it through. But we do know who will walk us through it. Turn to Jesus. Sometimes when I don’t know what to say or what to pray, I just say, “Jesus”. I call out to Him and ask Him to be with me or be with those for whom my heart breaks.

We know we have a living savior who intercedes on our behalf. We know we can trust in Him even in the darkest of times.

My friend, if you are going through hard times today, turn to Jesus. It’s okay if you don’t know what to say, He knows what is in your heart. He sees your heartache and pain and He will uphold you with His righteous right hand when you feel too weak to stand (Isaiah 41:13).

He will intercede for you. He will walk you through the fire and the flame if you will only trust in Him.

Turn to Him today.