Devotion 

The Spirit Knows Our Needs

Frances Taylor 

There are times in our lives when we may not know how to pray. Perhaps there is someone who is very ill and may die. We want them to live but we don't want them to suffer and so we're not sure what we should ask God for. We feel guilty thinking about asking for death and selfish asking for life. What to do? Sometimes we are so confused and upset that we can't think of a single prayer.

I once read a story about a woman who grew up memorizing prayers but didn't realize that she could use her own words to pray. When she had children, she taught them to talk to God but thought she was doing them a favor by not making them memorize any formal prayers. One day, her son was in a terrible accident and told her that he didn't know what to pray, and she suggested that he say The Lord's Prayer, but he told her he didn't know it. Prayer is an interesting thing. As we can see from this story, it's not an either or but a both and approach that we need. We need permission to use our own words but it's nice to know a formal prayer for many reasons, including the ability to pray with the community. I know my mother as a child had to learn the 23rd Psalm in addition to the Lord's Prayer. And my introduction to prayer was using my own words, but my parents made sure I knew both. It's also good to know that when all we can do is cry out in pain, the Holy Spirit will take over and provide what we need.

Prayer 

Thank you, Lord, for taking such good care of us so that you know what is in our hearts as well as knowing what is best in any situation. Amen.