sometimes there are no words

In my dream world, there would be no problems. Everything would always be clean and organized, there would be no pain, and no laundry. We could just go swimming in our clothes and come out majestically clean. Wouldn't that be awesome?


Many years ago a group of ladies read a book titled, The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie O'Martin. At first, I was skeptical. She started out the book talking about how terrible her marriage was, and how learning to really pray for her husband changed her marriage (not him, but how she viewed him and herself).  My marriage was and is fine, but the later chapters did force me to think about how seldom I prayed for Bobby in depth. Not just a "God be with Bobby today", but "Lord, give him wisdom in his meeting, help him find the right words to speak, grant him favor with that grouchy attorney during the meeting, etc"  And I found that as I prayed more specifically, I became a little more patient and caring about his needs. (Well, at least I was more aware of what he was facing sometimes.)


Even now, in depth prayer is not something I do all that well. My Mom was the master of praying without ceasing...mentioning quick requests out loud as she moved from task to task. But sometimes, I find myself not really knowing what to say..."God, give him wisdom and discernment" can only be said so many times before it sounds like a mantra. When we're faced with those life situations that inevitably come and we simply don't know what the correct action is, "Lord help!" doesn't seem all that deep, though I know He understands and gets it. Sometimes there just aren't words to describe the thoughts and feelings rumbling around in our hearts, heads, and lives.  And in these times, I'm thankful that God is sovereign, and that He understands the thoughts and intents of our hearts. He hears me, even when I can't get the words out.  And I have no words to describe how incredible and humbling that is.