God moves in a mysterious way,
His wonders to perform:
He plants His footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.[1]
(William Cowper)
Have you ever found yourself driving in a storm? If the storm is quite bad, you can lose all sense of direction and security. Sometimes, you do not know what to do, what to say, and how to fix the situation. It can be quite terrifying. Similarly, in the Christian life, we can face similar spiritual situations. The storm of a dark providence may suddenly come upon us, and we instantly feel crushed under the weight of tears of sorrow. All you can do is sigh. All you can do is cry. The only sound you can put together is a groan of distress. In the moment, you find it difficult to know how to pray and what to pray.
In this brief article, I want you to know that even a cry or a sigh to God, through Jesus Christ, and by the Spirit, is prayer. If that is all you can do in a season of sorrow, I want you to be assured that you are still pouring out your heart to God in prayer. Charles Spurgeon writes:
“Here is comfort for the distressed but praying soul. When our hearts are broken and we bow in prayer, we are often only able to employ the language of sighs and tears; still our groaning has made all the harps of heaven thrill with music. That tear has been caught by God and treasured in the receptacle of heaven. “Put my tears in your bottle”1 implies that they are caught as they flow. The petitioner, whose fears prevent his words, will be well understood by the Most High. He may only look up with misty eye; but “prayer is the falling of a tear.” Tears are the diamonds of heaven; sighs are a part of the music of Jehovah’s court and are numbered with “the sublimest strains that reach the majesty on high.” Do not think that your prayer, however weak or trembling, will be unregarded.”[2]
Similarly, John Fawcett, a Baptist minister from the 1700s, wrote the following:
“I search for him daily in my retired devotions; I there give my soul a greater latitude, where no eye beholds me, where no ear can hearken to my vows. There I tell him all my heart, in secret groans and cries. He knows what my sighs mean, and what are my fears, and my painful sorrows.”[3]
Dear Christian, as you pour out your heart to God in prayer, know who is also praying for you in that moment of distress. If you have come to Jesus Christ, you have a risen Savior who daily intercedes for you: “Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them” (Heb. 7:25). If you have come to Jesus Christ, you have God the Holy Spirit dwelling within you and praying for you: “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” (Rom. 8:26-27).
[1] William Cowper, God Moves in a Mysterious Way.
[2] C. H. Spurgeon, He Loves to Hear (Truth for Life: https://www.truthforlife.org/devotionals/spurgeon/11/3/2023/)
[3] John Fawcett, Christ Precious to Those Who Believe (Free Grace Press: Conway, AR), 88.
