Now in the same
way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know what to pray for as
we should, but the Spirit itself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and the One who
searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because the One
intercedes for the saints according to God. (Romans 8:26-27)
Beyond the visceral cry, “Help!” it can be
hard to find the words for prayer.
That’s
when I turn to this passage, whether it’s for a dementia patient who is no
longer verbal or those times when something is so overwhelming, there are no
words. To me, this passage is a promise
that even our deepest sighs and moans are lifted up as prayer. We are heard, even when there is nothing that
can be said, when it’s too hard to put our feelings into words.
This passage begins with ‘in the same way,” or
“likewise.” Like what? In the same way that creation groans its prayers to the
Creator (Romans 8:18-25), an anguish compared to the travail of childbirth, one
that is filled with pain and struggle, fear of death, but also hope for new
life. Stenazo (groaning) comes from stenos, meaning a
constriction or compression and that is certainly what it feels like, not only
in childbirth, but when life presses down on us, when the weight of the world
is on our shoulders, when we feel caught between a rock and a hard place. These are experiences which are inexpressible,
alalétos, without words, unutterable, unspoken.
But the Spirit is there to help us: sunantilambanomai. This tongue-twister first contains sun:
‘with.’ We are not alone! Lambano
has the sense that the Spirit is aggressively taking the initiative in
helping us. It is not passive. It is working to counter our weakness, our astheneia,
literally ‘without strength.’ It refers
to an ailment that deprives someone of enjoying or accomplishing what they would
like to do. Does that not sound
like what we go through with treatment!
The One who examines
our hearts listens to the phronema of the Spirit,
literally the visceral opinion, the gut feeling, that deep down inside Something
you can’t put into words. (It comes from the same root as ‘diaphragm.’) And the
Holy One intercedes. Entughcano means to meet someone to converse and
consult with them. If harmartano (traditionally, sin) means to miss the
mark, entugchano is its emphatic opposite. It’s what puts us back on target, aligning us
with the Divinity’s Desire.
Through this whole process, we are called
saints, hagios, the root of the term ‘hag.’ Some days we feel (and even look) like one! To
be hagios is to be holy, in likeness to our Master. It is to be set aside for a different
purpose. Having cancer can leave us
feeling ‘set aside,’ unable to participate in life as we once did. But instead of feeling bitter, we can see it
as holy, a sacred space in which the Sacred Spirit meets us, that we may come
to know her as Comforter, Advocate, and Guide.*
On those days you are too weak to pray, in
those times when there are no words, when you don’t know how to pray, trust the
Spirit to hear your innermost prayers.
Take a few deep, slow breaths to pull her in. Hold her there that she
may sort through all that’s within you, then slowly release her back to the Holy
One. Know that your prayers are
heard. You need only keep your heart
open to hear the Divine Answer.
*(One of the terms for the Holy Spirit is Paraclete,
a legal term for a defense lawyer or advocate.
It is also translated as Comforter or Helper. See John 14:16, 26; 15:26.
In Hebrew, the term for spirit, breath, and wind is ruach. It is feminine, as it is in Aramaic. In Greek, pneuma is neuter. Never is
the Spirit masculine, despite our translating it so. Her attributes are considered more feminine
in our culture – comforting, listening, teaching, nurturing – a strong image
for women going through breast and other cancers. See Psalm 104:30; Ezekiel 37 etc.)
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