Sweet Hour of Prayer

“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. “(Romans 8: 26)

An old song, “Sweet Hour of Prayer”, came to my mind this morning. Do we take time for that sweet hour? Some days I do and some not. We can only abide in Him if we communicate with Him. How can we be strengthened and produce fruit without that intimate time at His feet? How can we make it through the day without Him?

The scripture says to cast all our care upon Him. No matter what we face, that hour of prayer can elevate us to heavenly realms and draw us away from the pain of this world.  We can feel that peace and comfort flow over our being. We must not only pray in spirit, but also totally reign in our thoughts. “What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also…” (I Corinthians 14: 15).

The Holy Spirit prays for us when we do not know what to say. When we groan in our hearts and cannot go forward any more we can turn it over to Him to let Him carry our deepest heartaches to God’s throne. What comes to mind when I think of this is the times in my life when I could not form the words to pray. After my daughter was born, she cried all the time. I had postpartum depression. I felt like my blood was racing through my body at ninety miles an hour. My thoughts were not coherent. Here was my new, precious gift from God, but I did not know how to help her stop crying. I had no idea of what was causing her to scream out. I could not nurse her without her starting to wail again as soon as she finished nursing. I called my pastor and told him I didn’t know what to do. He stopped right then and prayed for me on the phone. Countless times during her first six months, I had to plead with God for relief and comfort.

God did send family and friends to help me and in time His nearness made a difference.  I am not good with babies even now. I want them to be able to tell me what is hurting them. I do know, however, that our prayers from the depths of our souls reach God, and He comes and carries us in His arms when we can’t go it on our own.

Prayer is like our journaling with God. We talk to Him as our dearest friend, and He replies to us if we stop our anxious thoughts, wait, and listen for His sweet voice.  We all must crave that “Sweet Hour of Prayer”.