Interceding

In the same way the Spirit also helps our weaknesses; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groaning too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. Romans 8:26-27 (NASB)

If you have turned on your television to the news or spent time on the internet, you are aware of what is happening in Egypt. In a matter of days, protestors have taken over the streets and a once quiet Cairo has become a picture of unrest.

A few years ago, this would have been a distant news story. One that I may have watched off and on throughout the days. One that takes place in the land of the pyramids. One that was far from home and far from my heart.

However, after spending a few months in Egypt in the summer of 2009 and travelling there other times, this story is heavy on my heart. The streets being shown in the news are streets that I walked to work every day. These are not just thousands of people in the streets. These are the shopkeepers that sold me water, the taxi drivers that took me home, the guards that protected our building. These people are the men and women I walked past each day.

The ones protecting their homes are my friends, my brothers in Christ. The women in the homes are my sisters that I have laughed and cried with. Egypt is no longer a foreign country, a foreign news story, it is home. Their families have invited me into their homes and treated me as family. Egypt is no longer a foreign country, a foreign news story, it is home.

In a time when I have no idea what I should be praying, I rest in this verse. The Holy Spirit intercedes and groans on my behalf. For my brothers on the street that do not know what to pray, the Holy Spirit intercedes. For the women that sit in their homes, the Holy Spirit intercedes.

You may be experiencing something in your life and you do not know how to even begin praying. Rest in knowing the Holy Spirit intercedes for you.