by Linda Cox



… the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we our to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. ~ Romans 8:26 NIV



Ever receive the kind of news that “kicks you in the gut” and sends you reeling? The kind that rocks your world? The kind where you know you can’t face it under your own power? The kind where you activate your prayer warriors to carry you through?


I’ve been in that situation for the last several months. The prayers of my friends have been holding me up. They are God’s skin-on touch in my life as He guides me through this valley. How I thank Him for my prayer warriors!


† Prayer warriors can cry out for us when we don’t have the words ourselves. They can pray for God’s will to be done and for the crisis to be handled in a Christ-like manner.


† Prayer warriors can offer advice in our time of need. Advice that will help us follow God’s will, reach out in love to others, even forgive others, and guide us through the situation.


† Prayer warriors keep confidences and combat gossip. Gossip that could bring embarrassment and further pain. Gossip that could even put a snag in any possible resolution.


† Prayer warriors stand by us, even “go to the mat” for us. Yet they also help remind us of what Max Lucado said in Just Like Jesus, “relationships don’t survive because the guilty are punished but because the innocent are merciful.”


We certainly need our prayer warriors lifting us up in a crisis. But we also have another prayer warrior on our side—the Triune God.



According to Romans 8:26, the Holy Spirit takes the groans and wordlessness of our hearts and lifts them to the throne of grace. Jesus the Son intercedes at that throne for us. And God the Father knows our every need, hears and answers our every prayer, and brings us peace and comfort in the midst of every trial.


So while our earthly prayer warriors help us when needed, it’s even better knowing that we already have the Greatest Prayer Warrior on our side. With that kind of prayer cover, we can face any “kick-in-the-gut” crisis that comes our way.


And all God’s children said, “Amen.”



Linda Cox is a regular contributor to DivineDetour. She recently retired after twenty-five years as a district office secretary for the State of Illinois. Her first loves are studying the Bible and reading, but she occasionally tries her hand at writing. Her work is published in All My Bad Habits I Learned from Grandpa (Thomas Nelson),The One-Year Life Verse Devotional(Tyndale), Life Lessons from Grandparents(Write Integrity), Love Is a Verb (a devotional from Bethany House), and Chicken Soup for the Soul’s I Can’t Believe My Dog Did That. She lives on a farm with the “Bone Mafia,” her two indoor/outdoor farm mutts.