When I was 19 years old, I drove my car about 600 miles north from Illinois to Walker, MN to attend camp on Leech Lake. I drove in a caravan with another friend who loaned me a CB. Maybe you remember the days without cell phones. To talk vehicle to vehicle, I had to put the magnetic base for the long antenna on the top of my car and plug everything in. Of course, lots of other people could talk on that channel, too. During the trip, we had to change channels several times to be able to keep talking without being interrupted by other conversations. In this case, I had trouble communicating because there were many people using the same channel.

Once we got to the camp, it didn’t take me long to launch a windsurfer. It was so much fun to hang from the mast by my hands in a strong wind with the spray from the front of the board hitting my face. I felt so alive. Over the course of two weeks, I got out on the boards as often as I could. One afternoon as I was windsurfing, I noticed storm clouds gathering. I should have headed for the dock. But I was young and didn’t have much sense. The wind picked up. I decided to stay out a little longer because it was so much fun with more wind and bigger waves. A responsible adult sent someone to the dock to call me in. I couldn’t hear them but saw them waving. I waved back and kept going. Pretty soon, I noticed a motor boat approaching, the captain was instructed to tow me back to the safety of the dock before lightning hit me. This situation shows how inexperience and sometimes youth can keep us from understanding danger.

During this same trip, I headed out with the guys to shoot clay pigeons. One of the other shooters would say something but I wouldn’t hear because I had earplugs in my ears. In this case, the earplugs kept me from hearing others.

I’m so thankful that God isn’t hindered by lack of experience and that He is all knowing. Sometimes during a difficult situation, I don’t know what to pray. The crisis seems to have no good solution. Frankly, I’m glad I’m not alone in not knowing what to pray. But God the Spirit knows the answer and during those times when I don’t know how to pray, He doesn’t have earplugs in his ears. He doesn’t have to cut through CB static to get through. The sound of the spray and wind doesn’t keep Him from understanding. Knowing He’s praying for me – and getting through – is a great comfort.

Let’s keep praying even when we don’t know what to pray. And let’s take comfort in the fact that God the Spirit is praying for us even when we don’t know what to say.