Stuck

A friend of mine shared a story about one of his grandchildren. It seems as if one of the first words this grandchild learned to say was stuck. It came about as the child learned to crawl. As the crawling became more frequent the child would sometimes get stuck in tight spots. It seems there was no panic, no screaming; the child would just repeat the word stuck until someone would come help; to unstuck the child.

This illustration caused me to think; it caused me to relate this child’s situation to my spiritual life. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I feel spiritually stuck. Perhaps I should just say stuck until someone comes to unstuck me? Perhaps there is more truth to that than we realize.

Philippians 4:6 reminds us;

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

But sometimes when stuck we don’t know what to pray for, but not to worry as we see in Romans 8:26-27;

26In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.

Maybe when we are stuck, the way we ask for help in getting unstuck is through prayer? We pray our way out of stuck and the Holy Spirit is there to help us. While this is pretty simple, can’t it be that simple? While simple it is truly amazing. In our weakness, in our stuckness, even when we don’t know what to pray for God is at work; the spirit intercedes for us. How comforting when I am stuck.

Many years and pounds ago, I played organized basketball. I love to shoot, but there were times when nothing would even come close to going in the basket. I would struggle, with no confidence; I would hesitate, I was uncertain as to what to do with the ball. A wise coach once told me the secret to overcoming a shooting slump was to shoot your way out of it. Don’t hesitate, just keep shooting.

Maybe that is a lesson for us all. Feeling stuck? Keep praying; pray your way our of being stuck.

God, in times of trouble and uncertainty; in times when we don’t even know what to pray for; in times when we feel spiritually stuck, thank you for your spirit to intercede for us and may we all pray our way out of the stuckness.

Grace and Peace!