Are you tired of praying?

What have you been praying for? Whose life have you been pleading? Where are you longing to see God’s hand move powerfully? Maybe it’s your finances—a better job opportunity; a family member—their salvation; a health issue—healing. I have prayers for all those things and many, many more.

It’s hard to admit, but I get tired sometimes—tired of praying the same prayers, contending for others, pouring my heart into petitions, staying hopeful, trusting God’s will and timing, praying without seeing changes. Sometimes, I get tired. Sometimes, I run out of words. Sometimes, I want to stop. Stop praying. But then the scripture comes to mind: pray without ceasing. And I feel obligated to keep going, to find the words, to pray harder, longer, stronger until I hear God.

In these moments, our gracious God reminds me of another scripture—one filled with the power of the Holy Spirit: Romans 8:26-27.

“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. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.”

Talk about some pressure relief. Even when we’ve run out of words, out of strength, out of prayers, the Holy Spirit—the Spirit of God himself—is praying on our behalf. He searches our hearts and knows our desires, pains, petitions, and intercedes for us according to the will of God. We don’t always know the will of God. Often times it is a mystery we only understand once it has come to fruition in our lives. But the Holy Spirit knows it ahead of time.

So if he knows our heart’s desires and also knows the will of God, he knows if the two are aligned and knows how to pray for exactly what we need so there will be peace over our desires, fulfilled or not, and ultimately goodness in our lives, as God’s will is done through us.

This is what it means when it is said: God’s power is made perfect in our weakness. When we are weak and tired and our prayers run out of hope, the Spirit of God rests heavy on us. He steps in and takes over, holding greater power than we ever could. This is our hope.

The Spirit of God rests heavy on us, holding greater power than we ever could.

Are you tired of praying? I want to encourage you: don’t give up, give it to God. Rest in the presence of the Holy Spirit and in his prayers over you and for you and for all the things that are laying heavy on your heart. And when you are again filled with his strength, continue praying with a renewed assurance of hope.

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Photo by Luis Alberto Sánchez Terrones on Unsplash

@luisalbertosanchez