Prayer

When You Don’t Know What to Pray

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I had been unplugged from almost all forms of media for the past couple weeks, not because I wanted to escape the uncomfortable uncertainty and loss that has become our new reality. It was more of an intentional decision to help me be more fully present in everything leading up to my son’s wedding.
The ceremony and celebration would look a lot different from what they had planned: a very small gathering of immediate family and the bridal party — all standing and sitting at least six feet apart. But the things that mattered most would still be the same.
Ever since they got the news that COVID-19 regulations were shutting down venues or limiting gatherings to only ten people, our families and friends started praying. We asked God to do more than they could imagine and to show up in ways that were undeniably Him on their wedding day. We asked Jesus to give them peace and direction as they made hard decisions and faced big, new, and unexpected expenses.
The wedding was beautiful, and we all enjoyed every God-soaked moment of their day, and all the little celebrations leading up to it.
The day after the wedding, I knew it was time for me to step back into the non-wedding world to find out what was going on in our country and around the world. I googled COVID-19, looking for an update from someone I trust to tell me where we were with antibody testing, virus testing, vaccine studies, hoping that confirmed cases and deaths had come to a big stand still.
As my eyes scanned through the details of an online article, I read that the U.S. was inching towards 100,000 COVID-19 deaths and worldwide cases were over 2.5 million. I didn’t just see numbers, I felt the weight of loss for others who had said unexpected and sorrowful goodbyes to family and friends, neighbors and co-workers, schoolmates and grandparents.
No one I know personally has been infected, but that doesn’t matter. God has put a passion in my heart to pray for those walking through this valley of the shadow of death. I want to pray so powerfully and effectively that heaven and earth are moved and this disease is stopped.
But sometimes when I pray, the words I am saying don’t feel like enough; it’s as if I am only scraping the surface of the overwhelming needs of hundred’s of thousands of people and those who are caring for them. I want God to give me powerful and specific words to pray.
And just as I notice the weight of pressure I am putting on myself to say the right things so God will take action on what I am praying for, I remember:

Prayer isn’t about saying or asking the right things — it’s about building a relationship with God by talking and listening to Him.

Have you felt this struggle too? The pressure of what to say when you pray. If so, you are not alone. That day I had to remind myself that there isn’t a formula for getting prayer right and that God isn’t listening for the perfect combination of words or measuring how well I pray.

But when we do long for more power and confidence in our prayers, Scripture tells us how to find it: This is the confidence which we have before Him — that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

Basically, when we pray God’s Word, we pray God’s will.

In recent weeks when I haven’t known what all to pray, I’ve reminded myself that God’s Word is “alive and active.” And I’ve looked for scriptures to pray, asking Jesus to make His Words come alive in each family’s and individuals’ lives who have lost someone to COVID-19.

And on those days when this pandemic leaves me feeling like my life is spinning out of control, I’ll pray through Jeremiah 29:11-13:

Lord, You know the plans You have for me and my family, plans to give us a future and a hope. You promise to listen and lead when we come and talk to You. Today I choose to trust Your heart and Your plans when my life doesn’t look at all like I thought it would right now. Lord lead my decisions and align my direction with Yours. Even though things are hard and uncertain right now, I trust the plans You have for me.

I’m so grateful for the gift of being able to talk to God, even when I don’t know what to say. And I’m getting more comfortable with just sitting still and letting Him whisper His promises and then simply asking for their fulfillment in my prayers.

What is a favorite verse of yours that you could pray for others and for yourself today?

Click here to visit Renee’s blog for a FREE download of 5 Powerful Scripture Prayers.

[bctt tweet=”When we pray God’s Word, we pray God’s will. -@ReneeSwope:” username=”incourage”]

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About the Author

Renee Swope is a Word-lover, heart-encourager, and grace-needer. She's also a wife and mom of three Joshua (27), Andrew (24), and Aster (13) and the best-selling author of "A Confident Heart" and her newest book, "A Confident Mom," released in February! Renee loves making memories with her family, creating beautiful...

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Comments

  1. Renee,
    One scripture that comes readily to mind is John 14:18: I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you.
    I think of this one when someone has lost a loved one. No words can bring their loved one back, but God’s unfathomable love can step in to comfort them. I believe that God allows pain so that we can experience His peace that passes understanding. I know that I would never have the close and intimate relationship with God that I do if pain had not been allowed to enter my life. Congratulations on the expansion of your wonderful family!
    Blessings,
    Bev xx

    • I love this verse Bev, and it is so perfect when praying for someone who is hurting from a loss of a loved one, or any other sorrow. Thank you for sharing it! I am definitely adding “promises to pray” list. 🙂 And thank you for the congrats. Our new daughter-in-love is a sweet gift to us all!

  2. “May the Lord grant you your heart’s desire and fulfill all your plans.”
    (Psalm 20:4, 5)
    So many disappointments in this season. We will all need to learn how to dream big (God-sized) all over again.

    • You are so right Michele! I love this verse to pray over our hearts that will be hesitant to dream again. Thank you for sharing the verse and the insight. 🙂

  3. Jeremiah is my go to, but I also love Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

  4. Philippians 4:13 (NKJV)
    I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

    This is my banner, my inspiration, my promise,
    my go to when I feel I can not accomplish anything!

  5. Psalm 116:2 Because He bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath.

    Isaiah 40:10 I will strengthen you, yea I will help thee.

    Some of my “go to” verses.

  6. These are all wonderful scriptures! Here’s one I also love:

    Romans 12:12 “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”

    • Romans 12:12 is such a great verse, and one I need to pray for myself daily. Lord, help me be joyful in hope, patient in affliction and faithful in prayer.

  7. The verse I keep coming back to lately:

    Joshua 1:9

    “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

    • Joshua 1:9 is such a great scripture to pray. I think it’d be a good one to put it on a sticky note on our mirrors to remind ourselves during in this long season of sorrow and uncertainty.

  8. Thank you, Renee. This is exactly what I’ve been struggling with lately, and this was a Godsend.

  9. Renee,

    First off congratulations on the wedding. So glad everyone had a good time in spite of all the ups & downs with the virus. I just got through reading “Dangerous Prayers” by Craig Groeschel. He gives us three powerful prayers to pray-“Search me, Break me & Send me”. They can be hard to pray but their impact is enormous. They pack a powerful punch. I’ve been ruminating on Psalm 23:4-5 Yea though I walk through the valley of shadow of death I will fear no evil for thou art with me. Thy rod & staff they comfort me. Jeremiah 29:11 is my life verse. We must remember that He is in control of the universe. Only He can get us through this pandemic. Praying God’s word is a great deterrent for the devil. He must flee when those words come out.

    I have simply been praying Abba Father & then let the words flow from there. Nothing fancy or big words. Just speaking from my heart. I believe that is what God wants from us.

    Blessings 🙂

    • Beth, thank you for all that you shared. I love hearing your heart and how you are praying through this season of sorrow and uncertainty. I know God is moving in powerful ways that we can’t yet see, but we can trust HIM with all our hearts to bring beauty from the ashes of all of this.

  10. Renee,
    Thank you for your post. After all of the rioting that’s taken place, I am heartbroken, and to be honest, at a loss of what truly to pray for. Obviously, I pray for peace and for justice, but even those words seem to bounce off of God. Through everything that’s happened this year, I know I need to simply let my heart cry out for God.

    Thank you again for sharing.

    • Jennifer, I have felt the same. My heart is crushed with the pain, devastation, division, hatred, injustice and sorrow of our nation. Some times all I can pray is Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. There is power in His name. He is the only ONE who can heal, redeem and restore all that is broken in our country and our hearts.