“Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my sighing.” Psalm 5:1

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

 Sigh and Rest

 Twenty years ago my dad died. I had a hard time dealing with him being gone. I worked through all the stages of grief over a period of time. During this grief journey, I prayed, asking God for relief from the pain in my soul. Sometimes when I prayed, only tears came, because I found no words to express my sorrow. My tearful prayers encompassed a wordless sigh from a troubled heart. “All my longings lie open before You, O Lord; my sighing is not hidden from You.”

I sat quietly before the Lord reading His Word with tears streaming down my cheeks, my heart pounding, and my breath letting out a deep sigh. At times the only words that escaped my lips were “Jesus help me.” My soul was comforted with these words, and I took a deep breath and rested in His presence, knowing that the Holy Spirit was praying on my behalf. “We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot be expressed” (Romans 8:26).

 Jesus knows our grief. He experienced grief in the Garden of Gethsemane; at the tomb of His friend, Lazarus; and upon word from His disciples of John the Baptist’s death. During His ministry on earth in His humanity, He sighed. He wept. He grieved. He prayed (Mark 7:34, Mark 8:12, Matthew 14:12-13, John 17). Because Jesus experienced these things, He knows the depth of our sighing, the pain in our heart, and the tears on our cheeks. Because Jesus knows, God the Father knows, and we can trust Him with our grief, our longings, our tears, and our pain.

When a chapter in your life’s journey leads you on a path of grief and sorrow, go to the One who knows. Jesus has been on the same path as you. The Spirit will pray on your behalf when you cannot find the words to pray. Just fall into the arms of the One who loves you, and rest.

Jesus will pray for you. “I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those You have given Me, for they are Yours” (John 17:9). He will give you rest from what troubles your soul. “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew11:28).

He promised. He is faithful. He loves you.

“Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for Jesus and the Holy Spirit who prays for us when we can’tfind the words to pray. Thank You for comforting and loving us when we are lost in grief.  InYour presence, we rest. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”