When You Run Out of Words
By Pastor Jerry A. Burns
Have you ever tried to move a heavy dresser by yourself? You tip it and push it, and it barely moves an inch. Then someone takes hold of the other end, and together you lift what you could never lift alone.
Paul uses a word in our verse that paints that same picture. The word “helpeth” carries the idea of taking hold of a load with someone. The Holy Spirit does not stand back and watch us struggle in prayer, because He takes hold of the other end.
Prayer can feel like that heavy dresser. Sometimes the trouble is too big, the hurt is too deep, or the way ahead is not clear, and we do not know what to pray. There have been days lately when I did not know what to ask for my own family, and all I had was a sigh.
Hannah prayed like that in the temple. Her lips moved, but her voice was not heard (1 Samuel 1:13). God did not need her words to be polished, because He heard the cry of her heart.
The same is true when you pray. You may see only a weak and broken prayer, but God sees the Spirit’s own groaning inside it. You may think you have said nothing at all, but God hears the Spirit praying for you, and He always prays according to the will of God (Romans 8:27).
So when you run out of words, the Spirit does not run out of prayer. Do not stay away from the throne of grace because you cannot find the right words. Come anyway, and let Him take hold of the other end.
Find ten quiet minutes this afternoon and bring the Lord the one burden you have not been able to put into words. Simply say, "Father," and sit before Him, trusting the Spirit to lift what you cannot carry or say.
"I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving." — Psalm 69:30
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This Week's Radio Program
Week Forty-Five • November 8, 2026
What are you Seeking? (Part 2)
In this message, "What are you Seeking? (Part 2)," Pastor Burns explains how many people search for meaning and purpose in all the wrong places. Just as Solomon sought fulfillment in worldly success and great wealth only to find it vanity and vexation of spirit, listeners will learn that true answers cannot be found in dead works, rituals, or philosophies.
Turning to John 20, listeners will hear how Mary Magdalene went to the tomb searching for Jesus and discovered that He had risen. Pastor Burns shares how the reality of Christ’s resurrection provides eternal life, encouraging everyone to choose life, since Jesus is "the way, the truth, and the life."
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