When we suffer, we want answers, and we want them now. But most of the time we don’t receive an immediate response. Why does God delay in answering? Is He deaf to our cries? Maybe what He is really doing is silently drawing closer to us so He doesn’t miss a word of our complaint. Maybe he is honoring the liturgy of lament before He offers His beatific benediction. God’s perceived delay may actually be the precious time He gives us to ruminate on our circumstances and properly formulate our prayers.  I think we have all experienced moments in our lives when we responded too quickly to a perceived wrong and later regretted our hasty harangue. Maybe God’s perceived silence is an opportunity for us to engage in some primal scream therapy and let out our frustrations so that when we do pray, we can offer thoughtful petitions to the Lord. The good news is that he doesn’t leave us alone in this task but has given us the Holy Spirit to help us articulate our angst.

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. (Romans 8:26)