It's All About Me

By Robin Sheeves

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.
Romans 8:26-27 (NIV)

My five year old got into a fight with his eight year old brother and hurt him, yet it was the five year old who ended up crying uncontrollably. It’s tough being five.

“Why are you crying when your brother is the one who got hurt?” I asked him.

“But mommy, you don’t understand. It’s always all about me!” he wailed. I had to hold back a laugh.

Most moms know that when something like that is said, some interpretation needs to be applied. What my son was really trying to say was, “But mommy, it’s always my fault.” He was feeling like he couldn’t do anything right. He was always getting into trouble. Such is the life of a five year old.

Anyone who doesn’t know my child as well as I do (can anyone know a child as his mother does?) would have heard my son’s comment and thought he was a very self-centered little boy. But I know him, and I understand what he means even when he can’t express it very well. He needs me to interpret for him sometimes because he doesn’t always know what he is trying to say.

Like a little child who can’t clearly express his feelings, wants and needs, I often need an interpreter, too – especially when I am praying.

Romans 8:26-27 tells us that even though we don’t know what we should pray for, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us. He interprets our prayers because our words cannot always properly express what is in our hearts. Often, we don’t even know what’s in our hearts in the first place.

Exactly how does this interpretation work? I don’t know for sure, but I do have a scenario in my head of how it might work. Here’s an example. I, like many other women, often have a “blue” day. I usually have no idea why I feel that way. It could be hormonal. It could be there is a problem with one of my kids that hasn’t surfaced yet. It could be I’m worried about money. It could be I’m out of close contact with God. Or it could be one of a hundred other things that I just can’t put my finger on.

So I pray something like, “God, please make this feeling go away” because all I’m interested in is getting rid of the blues. Of course there is an underlying reason to the feeling and just getting rid of the blues won’t solve the problem. I think this is where the Holy Spirit’s interpretation comes in.

I pray for the feeling to go away, but the Holy Spirit is changing my words for me so God hears something like, “God, Robin’s really busy right now and hasn’t taken the time to figure out why she feels so blue. She’s worried about being able to afford the family vacation this year, but she and her husband are forging ahead with the plans anyway. She’s uneasy and it’s making her feel blue, even though she doesn’t realize it. She needs help to understand what she is feeling and help explaining it to her husband so they don’t spend more than they should on their vacation. Can you take care of that, God?”

Is this the way it really works? I can’t say for sure, but I like to think so. My prayers might be much more effectual this way. If it’s not how it really works, that’s okay. That only means that it works in an even better way – God’s way – so I know that whatever I’m praying about, God knows what is right at the heart of it.

 

Robin Shreeves is a freelance writer and work at home mom of two. She holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Bible from Philadelphia Biblical University. More of her work can be seen at robin.shreeves.net.  If you would like to comment on this article, feel free to email writers@blessedlady.com.

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