The Upper Room Daily Devotional 21 June 2022 for Tuesday Message
Read The Upper Room Daily Devotional 21 June 2022 Message by Kevin Horne (Louisiana, USA)
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TOPIC: When Words Fail
TODAY’S READING
Romans 8:22-27
KEY VERSE: The Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. – Romans 8:26 (NIV)
The Upper Room Daily Devotional 21 June 2022 MESSAGE
Just as the world was shutting down due to COVID-19, I learned that I had aggressive prostate cancer that required immediate surgery. Fear overwhelmed me. I wondered if I could even receive treatment in the midst of a pandemic. The prayers of friends lifted me, yet my own praying was, in the words of Franciscan Richard Rohr, both “constant and impossible.”
READ: The Upper Room Daily Devotional 19 June 2022 – Showing Appreciation
In late afternoons during my days of waiting, I walked by the river and along tree-lined streets near my home. I babbled my prayers but soon ran out of words. Finally, I prayed, “Father, I have no more words. Please let my steps be prayers and my breath be praise.” I remembered how Paul wrote that the Spirit prays with us and for us when we can manage only groans and sighs.
My anxiety did not disappear; but I began to see beyond it as I walked and breathed. My mind became calm as it no longer grasped for words. I began to see and hear the birds along the river. I noticed the sunlight through the trees. I saw other people walking — no doubt bearing burdens of their own.
READ ALSO: June 21, 2022 – Our Daily Bread Devotional | God Fights for Us
The Upper Room Daily Devotional 21 June 2022, Tuesday
Eventually I had successful surgery, and I give thanks for caring doctors, nurses, and other dedicated healthcare workers. Most of all I give thanks for God’s Spirit that sustains. And I continue to pray — sometimes with words.
TODAY’S PRAYER
O God, you know our needs before we ask. Hear us when we pray with words and without them. Amen.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
I don’t always need words to pray.
PRAYER FOCUS
Medical workers
The Upper Room Daily Devotional 21 June 2022 Message. The Upper Room is a daily devotional magazine published in more than 30 languages and 100 countries around the world. The daily meditations are written by readers of the magazine and others interested in sharing their faith experiences through writing—both laity and clergy, published authors and new writers. Read More