When praying is hard and unanswered prayers leave you feeling disappointed, abandoned, or unsure of God's presence, you're not alone. Drawing from Romans 8:26, this Christian devotional explores how the Holy Spirit intercedes for us when we don't know what to pray, offering hope, comfort, and practical ways to rebuild trust in God after pain, grief, and spiritual struggle.

Ephesians 5:15-17 – Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. It happens to me. All. The. Time. I’m not realistic about how much time something will take. Or how much I can get done in a day. What I can achieve. I overestimate what I can get done and underestimate how long something will take. Day after day after day.

“Is Grandpa in the car,” our littlest grandchild asked as I picked her up from school one day. No, honey, he isn’t. “Where IS he?” she asked, which was followed by a conversation of how we could hunt Grandpa down. And then the line that made me smile, followed by a giggle. “You know, Grandpa is the funniest person in my family. Actually, he’s the funniest person I know.” Out of the mouth of a 6-year-old. Giggles abounded all around us as we walked to the car,

I consider myself a very fortunate person. I have a variety of friends. People I can lean upon when a day is difficult. Hard. When I’m feeling beat up and just need a cheerleader. I call them my tribe. People who will listen. Give advice if appropriate. Encourage me. Be there for me. These are my people. My tribe. We all need a tribe, whether we willingly admit it or not.

In the last 48-hours, I have been lazy, spent too much time scrolling on my phone, withheld information from Hubby Rick and thought about things that should have me run right out of town. I have spoken negatively about someone else, told white lies, gossiped and portrayed myself more highly than I ought. I have withheld forgiveness, wanted to draw attention to myself unnecessarily and avoided helping someone that I had the opportunity to assist. I am not a perfect Christi