“Prayer is the burden of a sigh, the falling of a tear; the upward glancing of an eye, when none but God is near.” I read that little poem in a book by Margaret Clarkson – it must have ministered to her and it has ministered to me lately. Margaret was a missionary in Canada who wrote many wonderful poems – and virtually each one was born out of her life of physical pain. The last time I was with Margaret was at Ontario Bible College – we spent lunch time together talking, me in my wheelchair, and there she was having to lie down on her side on a cot. She was in that much pain. She simply could not stand up for any length of time. As a result, Margaret taught me so many lessons about praying through pain.
You’ve probably experienced aching, sleepless nights when prayer seems impossible, when you simply cannot summon up enough physical or mental energy to put two sentences together in prayer. Or you wake up to face another day watching a suffering loved one – you are utterly exhausted and completely unable to gather the shreds of your shattered personality and bring your unspeakable need before the throne.
Margaret Clarkson had days like that. She experienced many a painful time like this and I'll never forget when she said, “Joni, the first thing we must realize is that it is neglect of prayer or refusal to pray that is sin, not the inability to pray. If the earnest desire to pray is present, we must not condemn ourselves because we find prayer hard or even impossible.”
Looking back, I believe my missionary friend was harkening to Psalm 38 where the psalmist cries, “Lord, all my desire is before Thee; and my groaning is not hid from Thee.” And then elsewhere it says in Isaiah 26, “The desire of my soul is to Thy name, and to the remembrance of Thee.” That was true of my friend, Margaret. Her struggle to pray was never out of neglect or refusal… it was simply at times an inability to order her prayers before the Lord in a clear and concise way. Rather, she offered Him her groanings. And because of that, God fulfilled the desire of this extraordinary woman who truly feared the Lord. Yet this dear saint waged a never-ceasing warfare against allowing her infirmity to gain the place of power in her life, a warfare against allowing her physical pain to come between her and Jesus.
Are you in pain today? If you are – and if you find your prayers occasionally feeble and faint – be encouraged by Psalm 145. “The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.” Jesus stands at the right hand of God's throne on your behalf and He is touched with the feeling of your infirmities. Are your prayers weak and faint? Take heart. Jesus is praying for you.
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 93176
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