When We Don’t Know What to Pray Have you ever felt intimidated by prayer? I have. Early in my ministry, I thought that, as a pastor, I needed to offer a well-crafted prayer: clear points, elegant language, something sophisticated enough to show I was a “with it” pastor. I remember a hospital visit during Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE), the chaplaincy training required of seminarians before completing their preparation to become pastors. I was at the bedside of someone facing surgery. He might not survive the operation, but without it, he would certainly die. I wanted to say something that could meet the seriousness of that moment. Instead, I remembered Paul’s words in Romans: “the Spirit helps us in our weakness … with sighs too deep for words.” That sigh was where my prayer began. I also prayed for the surgeons and the surgical team, and gave thanks for the promise that, whatever the outcome, we were held in God’s loving embrace. I didn’t need to find perfect words before I could pray. The sigh itself held fear, hope, and a plea for God’s presence. Sometimes prayer comes easily. Sometimes all we have is a name, a silence, or a breath that feels more like a sigh. That is enough to begin. We can trust that God hears us, and that the Spirit is praying with us—even when we don’t know what to say. Blessings! Pastor Steven +