What to Pray When You Don’t Know What to Pray

What to pray when you don’t know what to pray. Honestly, it doesn’t matter. Just let it out to God. He understands. You can talk to God, yell at Him, cry, scream until you’re hoarse, argue (not usually successfully) or even be silent. He knows, He understands, He loves you!! 

Jesus has been through all we have (Hebrews 4:15 – For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin). 

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. Romans 8:26-27 

Jesus our intercessor, Hebrews 7:25 Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them and 1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

Revelation 8:4 The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand. 

“Jesus wept” is famous as the shortest verse in the Bible (John 11:35), but the real power of that two-word passage from the story of Lazarus is the reassurance that Jesus understands what life is like for us. 

He doesn’t ask anything of us that He wasn’t willing to do Himself, and He promises to be with us in all we have to go through. Check out some of the things Jesus went through. Surely He can understand your pain, hurt, anger and frustration. Jesus knew

• Temptation: “He was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan” (Mark 1:13, Luke 4:1).
• Poverty & homelessness: “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20).
• Frustration: “He scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.… ‘Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!’” (John 2:15-16).
• Weariness: “Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well” (John 4:6).
• Disappointment: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem… how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks… but you were not willing” (Luke 13:34).
• Rejection: “From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him” (John 6:66).
• Sorrow: “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death” (Matthew 26:38).
• Ridicule: “Again and again they struck him…and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid [mocking] homage to him” (Mark 15:19, 14:65).
• Loneliness: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” He endured complete and utter separation from God so that you would never, ever, ever have to! (Matthew 27:46).
• His family thought he was crazy (Matthew 12:46; Mark 3.21; John 7:5)
• Abandonment: His best friends turned their back on him (Matthew 26:56)
• One of his closest confidants sold him to be killed for pocket change (Matthew 26:46)
• Death (John 11:1)
• Gossip and slander (Matthew 12:24; John 8.52)
• Suffering for righteousness’ sake (John 15:20)
• Hunger (Mark 11:12 ff)
• Criticism of his ministry (John 5:1; Matthew 12)
• Mocking & rejected of His theology & message (John 5:1)

Finally, Hebrews 12:2-3 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart!!