I know that I should be spending more time with You, Father, but I am glad that this time is a point of commitment for me. May it be what You desire it to be. Amen.
Romans 8:26-27 (<<click here to read the passage)
A song many of us learn early on is Jesus Loves Me. And it’s one of those songs that we don’t mind singing as adults either. (A few years ago, I shared a post, History of “Jesus Loves Me”, click on the title if you’d like to read it.) But as I read through today’s passage, the opening stanza came to mind.
Jesus loves me, this I know,
for the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to him belong;
they are weak, but he is strong.
The beginning of verse 26 reads,
And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness.
The example the Apostle Paul gives talks about our praying. I spoke of my need for a deeper prayer life in the past, and it is still something that I need but with which I continue to struggle. The verse doesn’t give us a reason to cop out on praying but I think we all realize that many times there are situations in our lives that are just very difficult. (Real fast here’s Cambridge Dictionary’s definition of cop out – to avoid doing something that you should do or that you have promised to do because you are frightened, shy, or you think it is too difficult. Ouch, that smarts!)
But we must not think that we are totally inept when it comes to praying about hard things, i.e. death, pain, and suffering. God calls us to do what we can and beyond that, we are often at a loss. But He’s got us covered!
Here’s all of today’s passage,
And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers [God’s holy people] in harmony with God’s own will. NLT
We surely can’t be surprised! Remember Emmanuel? God with us! He, in so many ways, picks up the slack that even with our best efforts, we cannot begin to do. We are incapable, by the frailty of our being.
Once again, the opening stanza of Jesus Loves Me,
Jesus loves me, this I know,
for the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to him belong;
they are weak, but he is strong.
We are small, we are weak, we are frail…but He is strong! May we lean on Him who will never let us down! Amen!
Mar 21st, 2023, Tue, 5:49 pm
