Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought.

Romans 8:26

Learning to Pray

When I was a child, 
I was convinced that 
my prayers would not be heard 
if I did not pray them properly - 
if I did not address you in the correct way, 
or use the right words, 
or pray them sincerely, 
and with true faith. 
And when my prayers were not heard, 
I knew that I was not praying as I ought.  

When I became an adult, 
I put away my childish ways. 
But when my prayers were still not heard, 
I became that child again, 
wondering what I was doing wrong. 
Was I still not praying as I ought? 

I am old enough now, I suppose, 
to realize that I see this world so dimly, 
even on my clearest days. 
I have never understood myself, 
or the world around me, 
and your ways have never been my ways. 
So why should I expect to know how to pray? 

Now, I am learning to pray, but not as I ought. 
Instead, I am learning to trust in 
your Spirit-breathed sighs, 
interceding for me in ways 
I cannot begin to understand. 
I breathe the air around me, 
unseen but always present, like your Spirit, 
my every breath a prayer, joined with yours, 
that fills my soul, and gives me rest.