I had opportunity once again to pray with others. It’s a weekly blessing. I love prayer – I didn’t always.

In the beginning of my Christian walk, I thought prayer to be difficult. I remember listening to a comedian decades ago. He said we often think we need to pray in King James English, that our prayer language should resound with thee’s, thine’s, thou’s and art’s. We think that UNTIL we get in real trouble, then it is running, sliding on our knees to the altar all the while shouting “HELP GOD!” at the top of our lungs.

I also thought when I prayed that I needed to say all the right words and make sure I covered every contingency and alternative. I was sure that if I missed anything, God would not know what to do or how to answer. I was wrong. I was the one who did not know what to do or even what to ask for – God was (and always is) way ahead of me!

Romans 8:26 reminds us that “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.” [NLT]

I have an imaginary view of that verse. I pray as I think I should and somewhere between me and the Father, the Holy Spirit rewrites my prayer (with groanings) so that it matches the Will of God.