Don’t underestimate a groan

“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 prays for us through wordless groans…”

—Romans 8:26 (NIV)

I answered the phone to hear a friend’s frantic request: “Please pray for me. I’m stuck in the middle of an intersection and my car won’t start!”

Quickly searching for words, my initial response was a heartfelt groan.

“Ugh,” I replied.

It seemed less than a second later, my friend answered back, “Thanks. My car started. Talk to you later!”

I sat stunned. What just happened? I thought to myself.

Then I remembered a passage of scripture that described the incident perfectly. I realized it had to have been the groaning of God’s Holy Spirit praying through a groan before I could even bring up the words.

I’ve never been a big fan of moaning or groaning. Sometimes I consider it too much like a negative complaint. But like with many things, there’s a positive and negative side.

I believe a sincere groan works wonders in releasing physical or emotional pain. There are situations that are so painful, or that have such a tremendous urgency to them, that we can’t do anything other than let out a groan.

As a nurse there was many a time I assisted a laboring woman as she released groans while agonizing her way through the tremendous sweat and pain of childbirth. To anyone hearing her groans echoing through the halls, they may feel the sound was too grievous to bear. But to a laboring couple, it was the sound that reminded them they were one step closer to holding their dream.

There are moments when groaning is all you can do. I think we were created this way; that’s why the Spirit groans with us and for us in our moments of physical and emotional pain. By my experience with my friend, I found it’s also a quick form of prayer when there isn’t the time to release thoughtful words.

Our deepest or most urgent prayers are not always those prayed in church or shared in prayer groups; they are the private longings from our hearts. Oftentimes, we pray them through tears of desperation with a sigh or a groan, because they come from the deepest part of us.

Jesus groaned at his impending death, at the Garden of Gethsemane. Although he was deeply grieved, the groaning prayers within him resulted in his glorious resurrection. It appears groans release something mystical and unknown to us into the gates of heaven, summoning God and his angels to work on our behalf.

So my friend, if you go to pray and find all you can do is groan, don’t think that prayer is not good enough, for God’s Holy Spirit knows how to intercede on our behalf through groaning’s that can birth mighty miracles.

• Annettee Budzban is a Christian author of the book “Letters To A Friend,” speaker, life and writing coach and nurse. She can be contacted at annetteebudzban@aol.com.