Day 9: What You Cannot Say
Read: Psalm 5:1–3
Give ear to my words, O LORD; consider my groaning.
— Psalm 5:1 (ESV)
Reflect
David asks God to hear two things in this verse: his words, and his groaning.
The word for "my groaning" is hagigi, and it comes from a root closely related to the "meditates" of Psalm 1:2 (Day 2). That is a striking connection. In Psalm 1, the righteous person murmurs God's Word day and night. In Psalm 5, the psalmist offers God his own murmur, the low sound that comes out of him when he is hurting.
One word family covers both. The thoughtful, intelligible meditation on Scripture. And the sound with no words in it at all.
That should encourage you. Some days you can pray in full sentences. You can name what you need, give thanks, and ask clearly. Other days you cannot. The grief is too heavy, or the confusion too deep, or you are simply too tired. What comes out is a sigh. A groan. Maybe just tears.
David's prayer tells you that sound is welcome. "Consider my groaning" means: pay attention to this, Lord, even though I cannot explain it. Understand what I cannot say.
God can read what you cannot articulate. He is listening for the murmur, not the grammar.
Across Scripture
When Israel groaned under slavery in Egypt, "God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant" (Exodus 2:24). In the New Testament, Paul says that when we do not know what to pray, "the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words" (Romans 8:26).
Sit With It
Some days the prayer is just a sound. Offer it to him without trying to translate it. He is listening for the murmur, not the polished words.
Pray
Understand what I cannot say.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.