“For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” Romans 8:15
As Eli has been growing, I have started to notice that he has different cries, different sounds he makes based on what he is feeling or going through. For you parents out there, you know what I am talking about. First there is the “I am hungry” cry, a louder, feisty type cry. Then there is the “I am tired,” “fighting sleep cry, where he is rubbing his eyes, yawning, barely keeping his eyes open but screaming at the top of his lungs because he doesn’t want to miss anything. Then there is the “I am bored,” tired of being stuck in the carseat, get me outta here cry, which if ignored can turn into an all out ear piercing noise. How about the “diaper needs changed” cry, not really a way to describe that one until you have experienced it firsthand.
In all these different cries it is Eli’s way of reaching out to tell us something is wrong. As I listen to him cry, I catch myself going Eli, just talk to me, tell me what is up. I don’t understand what these different noises mean. Talk to me bud, Talk to me. Then he starts to reach out to me, crawl over to my leg and grab on, pulling himself up my shin, just reaching up. I just wish he could tell me what was actually taking place within his body, let me know what his pain was, or what was causing his discomfort As he cries, All I can do is reach down, pick him up and hold him. Guess what, most times that is exactly what he want. He wants his daddy and mommy!
What if that is exactly how we are designed to be when it comes to God. What if we were meant to just cry out to him, to speak to him, to tell him what is taking place in our lives. As Christians, many of us would probably say, yeah I get that, we are called to pray, but how many of us actually do it in our times of need. What if when we are hurt, or in pain, or even just seeking purpose we would just reach up and cry out.
I believe it is exactly what God is asking of us, for us to tell him what is taking place, and allowing Him to reach down, to pick us up and just hold us. We may feel like what we are going through is not that big of a deal so we don’t want to bother God with it. Look back at that verse in Romans 8, God wants to be your “DADDY,” he wants you to talk to him about what is taking place in your life. He wants you to turn to him, to run to him. He isn’t just an image in the sky or some dictator pointing down at you saying. “I caught you again.” He is your heavenly father saying, “just talk to me.” Maybe our issue is that we think we need just the right words for God, to make him understand our situation, like if we say it just right, or add a couple thee’s and thou’s to our prayers. I know I have been there before where I feel like my prayers are hitting the ceiling and I look up and just shake my fist saying, “God, are you hearing me?” Okay, if that prayer didn’t work, lets try and reword it a little bit, then maybe He will hear it sooner. If that is you, please consider this verse.
“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.” Romans 8:26
It is not about the words we use though, like I said, He just desires us to cry out. To hit our knees, to reach up, and allow Him to do what he does best. As our heavenly Father, He reaches down, picks us up, and says, “I got this, Trust me my child.”