In hard times, have you ever struggled with knowing just how to pray? I certainly have. I thought I needed the ‘right’ words for God to hear me. A prayer with eloquent sounding phrases and perfectly articulated expressions would better warrant His answering or at least solicit His comfort and reassurance when I was hurting. When I tried, though, I couldn’t make my prayers sound eloquent. In fact, they were deformed and downright ugly. Sometimes, I couldn’t even think of anything to say at all except— “Lord, please help!”—combined with sobs and swipes from my sleeve to wipe away the snot and tears.

However, the more I grow the more I realized no one needs to be ‘skilled’ to talk to God. After all, as a mother, I know how to differentiate my three babies’ cries—the mad cry, the hurting cry, the hungry cry, the attention cry. All mothers do. Surely, God knows how to interpret our prayers too. Matthew 6:8 tells us, our “Father knows what you need [even] before you ask him.”

Romans 8:26 says, 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.” Think about that. God’s Spirit that was present at the beginning of all creation, who spoke life into existence with perfectly sounding words—“Let there be light!”—chooses not to use words. Why? Perhaps it’s so that we might know the right words aren’t necessary to talk with God. Having no words is also perfectly acceptable too. Language has its limits; it always has. But God does not. He knows who we are. He knows what we need. All we have to do is open our hearts to Him, and He will do the rest.

*First published by The Joyful Life Magazine.