GOD SPEAKING DEVOTIONAL – #5
God’s call to Prayer
Pastor Calvin Cook
January 23, 2026
Scripture – In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will. (Romans 8:26-27 NIV)
I recently was invited to participate in an online prayer and worship service. I hesitated but decided that I would give it a try. From the very first moments I was captivated because it became a time of genuine worship and prayer. It paused me.
The worship centered around people reading various scriptures and then sharing a current reflection on how they felt the Spirit speaking to them. While this was happening, I was thinking of scriptures that had spoke to me and was humbled by God’s presence in this time. After about an hour of reflection of scripture and listening the leader suggested it was time to go to Lord in prayer.
Instructions were given to make this more than the usual prayer time. Not listing prayer concerns but being guided to a place when we are not sure what to pray for that the Holy Spirit prays on our behalf. Is this humbling or what the Spirit is willing to pray on our behalf.
The leader offered some areas to center our prayer. I was drawn into the suggestions and found myself humbly praying the suggestions and then allowing the Spirit to pray and for me to listen and to be drawn into the will of God.
This might be a new practice for you, but I want to encourage you to find a quiet place, empty your mind and come humbly before the Lord.
Here are some suggestions I would invite you to consider in prayer :
Pray first for yourself to know God, to be willing to seek forgiveness and experience redemption for the ways you have failed to be obedient to God and God’s will, to experience and understand redemption and be drawn into a place where it is just you and God – (Pause – Listen)
Pray for people to know God – whether they be family, friends, or strangers pray for people to know God. (Pause – Listen )
Pray for the Prodigal to come back. Many have left the faith may we pray for their return. (Pause – Listen)
Pray for a stronghold to be removed. Not just forgiveness of sin but a stronghold you have never been able to pray through and leave behind. (Pause – Listen )
If you are hungry or thirsty right now to be filled by the Spirit, seeking direction, just pause as the Holy Spirit draws you closer —- Asking God to be filled with the Holy Spirit in a fresh way. (Pause – Listen )
These are deeply spiritual soul changing requests. Maybe we have never prayed with a focus like this because of being consumed with, things other than God. Pray that the atmosphere and environment of your life be changed. (Pause – Listen )
Some other prayers to pray – Here I am Lord – Heal my inner self and make me whole – Renew the right Spirit within me. (Pause – Listen )
Now that the hair on the back of my neck is standing up on end. In ending pray “I Love You God” say it again “I Love You Lord” say it again and keep saying it until you believe it and God knows that your heart is in the right place.
Jesus Himself modeled this depth of prayer. In the garden, with the cross waiting, Jesus’s prayer was raw and honest: “Not my will, but Yours be done.” Even now, Scripture tells us that Jesus continues to intercede for us—standing before the Father on our behalf (Hebrews 7:25). When you pray, you never pray alone. Christ prays with you and for you.
God’s invitation today is simple and holy: Come deeper. Sit longer. Speak less if needed. Trust more. Let your prayer be presence before it is petition. Grab a pen and paper and write down how you are feeling, so when doubt enters in, fear takes over, anxiety runs wild, return to this Holy moment.
You don’t have to carry the burden of getting prayer “right.” The Son intercedes. The Spirit groans. The Father listens.
Thoughts from the Edges 
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