Have you ever struggled to find the right words to tell a story or express your feelings? Communicating effectively seems to be something we struggle with at home, work, and just about in every relationship. Everyone can relate with some form of miscommunication but parents of young children tend to constantly question what their baby or toddler wants as they work on their language skills. 

Luckily for us, we’ve had a surprising advocate that loves to help us figure out what’s going on. We’ve been thankful that our oldest son (Knox) seems to always know what his little brother (Eli) wants even when we can’t understand what he’s saying. The scene goes something like this: Eli is screaming and flailing his arms in the car seat (nothing raises blood pressure like driving with a screaming kid!) and during a brief moment of silence we can ask Knox what Eli needs. Knox will cut his eyes over at him and tap his index finger against his bottom lip as he says, “Eli just wants his window rolled down some.” We roll down the window and just like magic the crying and hollering stops. There are countless examples of Knox telling us things like,

“Eli just needs some milk.”

“I think he’s a little bit sleepy.”

“Eli is mad because he dropped his Buzz Lightyear.”

“Eli wants to be outside.”

“He needs more sauce on his chicken nuggets.”

Even though he has become much better at verbalizing his needs, he still doesn’t know what to ask for or even how to ask for the thing he absolutely knows he wants. There are even times that his happiness has left him speechless. 

It has blown our minds how many times Knox has been spot on with knowing what he wants. We joke at home that no one knows Eli better than Knox. Eli more than likely doesn’t realize how much his big brother advocates for him right now but hopefully one day he’ll read this to remind him after one of those sibling knockdown drag out fights. In the same way, I forget how the Holy Spirit wants to step in and help me in my own weakness and it’s only reading scripture that reminds me how He intercedes when I can’t find the words to pray or say. 

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 through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. Romans 8:26-27

I’m sure you don’t have as many weaknesses while praying as I do but this is something to praise God for! Why? Because we don’t always know God’s will in prayer. When our words run out, the Spirit intercedes for us through wordless groans. 

But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Matthew 10:19-20

Again we see in Matthew that we have a helper when we get anxious about what we need to say. The Spirit walks with us and whispers to us because sometimes we don’t know what we’re doing.

God wants to help us in every part of our life, and communication is no exception. Our sadness, frustrations, anger, anxiety or even happiness can leave us speechless just like it does for little Eli. Let us take a lesson from him and allow our advocate to be our words in times of weakness. 

Just fishing with my daddy, 

Ryan