When Words Fail
by Cynthia Bezek, editor of Pray!

Sometimes when I most need to pray, words are hardest to find. I can usually manage a “Jesus, help me!�?or “Lord, have mercy!�?but often not much more. My family faces a severe crisis right now. And so I’ve been praying a lot of those quick, desperate prayers. There’s nothing wrong with my simple prayers—I’m glad I can call out to the Lord with even one word, confident He hears me.

This morning, however, I was reminded of another way to express my heart to God when words are hard to find. I awoke praying through a traditional prayer I memorized recently. It gave me simple, beautiful language to invite the Holy Spirit to fill me with His love, instruction, wisdom, and consolation. It was exactly what I needed, exactly what I wanted to say to God—and yet never would have if I’d had to come up with the words on my own.

Some Christian traditions encourage us to find our own words for prayer, to be spontaneous and original. Others depend largely on prayers others have crafted, such as the prayers of Scripture or prayers passed down in liturgies and prayer books. Personally, I find much value in both types of praying. The first is more familiar to me. From my earliest training at both home and church, I was encouraged to speak to God in my own words. And I’m glad I’ve learned to do that. It’s great to be able to speak to Him as I would a friend, not worrying about sounding poetic or even grammatical.