Day 8: The Rosetta Groan
Question: What is a situation in your life that seems so daunting, that you don't even know how to begin to pray for it?
Bible Passage: Romans 8:18-23, 26-27 (NLT)— "18Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. 19For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. 20Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, 21the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. 22For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering...
26And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. 27And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will."
Reflection: I recently read that fasting can be thought of as, "praying with your whole body." So often, we in the modern church restrict our faith to be a mental and emotional exercise. But sometimes our minds and hearts fail us. Sometimes, we are faced with situations that our minds and hearts can't begin to make sense of. How do we pray in situations that are so broken that we can't for the life of us figure out what an answer to prayer would even look like? How do we pray when the hope we have does not seem to be compatible with the world we are seeing around us?
Paul tells us in Romans 8. In it, he paints a picture of a church with a front row seat to the corruption and depravity of a fallen world; a church that is simultaneously saturated in a glorious hope and a discouraging reality. In that tension, all of creation is groaning for what will one day come to pass. At the same time, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us with groanings that are too deep to be expressed by words. And alongside all of creation, we ourselves groan. Even though we have the Holy Spirit in us and we don't mourn as those who have no hope, we still groan.
As I have fasted this week, I have felt my stomach, and my whole body groan. Is it possible that one of the benefits of fasting is that in it we are learning the native tongue of the Holy Spirit? Is it possible that when we fast, we begin the process of becoming participants in a conversation between the Father, the Spirit, and all of creation that is constantly happening, and is slowly and surely bringing about the renewal and reconciliation of all things? Is that why there is power in fasting?
Is it possible that fasting is like learning a second language? A sort of Rosetta Stone that teaches us a way of communicating with God that is deeper than mere words?
Could be.
Either way, as we fast together, when you feel that groaning in your body, remember that you are in good company, and that without words, your whole body is joining in with a prayer that has been going on long before you, and will ultimately be answered in a way more glorious than we can imagine.
Prayer: Father, the world is full of trouble. I don't know what to pray for, but I trust that you do. Even in the face of hard things, fill me to the brim with joy and hope. As I fast, help me to remember that my groaning is not wasted. Keep teaching me to know and understand your voice, as I expectantly wait for my body and all of creation to be released from sin and suffering. Amen.
Bible Passage: Romans 8:18-23, 26-27 (NLT)— "18Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. 19For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. 20Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, 21the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. 22For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering...
26And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. 27And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will."
Reflection: I recently read that fasting can be thought of as, "praying with your whole body." So often, we in the modern church restrict our faith to be a mental and emotional exercise. But sometimes our minds and hearts fail us. Sometimes, we are faced with situations that our minds and hearts can't begin to make sense of. How do we pray in situations that are so broken that we can't for the life of us figure out what an answer to prayer would even look like? How do we pray when the hope we have does not seem to be compatible with the world we are seeing around us?
Paul tells us in Romans 8. In it, he paints a picture of a church with a front row seat to the corruption and depravity of a fallen world; a church that is simultaneously saturated in a glorious hope and a discouraging reality. In that tension, all of creation is groaning for what will one day come to pass. At the same time, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us with groanings that are too deep to be expressed by words. And alongside all of creation, we ourselves groan. Even though we have the Holy Spirit in us and we don't mourn as those who have no hope, we still groan.
As I have fasted this week, I have felt my stomach, and my whole body groan. Is it possible that one of the benefits of fasting is that in it we are learning the native tongue of the Holy Spirit? Is it possible that when we fast, we begin the process of becoming participants in a conversation between the Father, the Spirit, and all of creation that is constantly happening, and is slowly and surely bringing about the renewal and reconciliation of all things? Is that why there is power in fasting?
Is it possible that fasting is like learning a second language? A sort of Rosetta Stone that teaches us a way of communicating with God that is deeper than mere words?
Could be.
Either way, as we fast together, when you feel that groaning in your body, remember that you are in good company, and that without words, your whole body is joining in with a prayer that has been going on long before you, and will ultimately be answered in a way more glorious than we can imagine.
Prayer: Father, the world is full of trouble. I don't know what to pray for, but I trust that you do. Even in the face of hard things, fill me to the brim with joy and hope. As I fast, help me to remember that my groaning is not wasted. Keep teaching me to know and understand your voice, as I expectantly wait for my body and all of creation to be released from sin and suffering. Amen.
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