Donald Bishop posted this on his Facebook page:

Did you know there’s a prayer called the “I don’t know” prayer? You just go off somewhere quiet and hidden and you walk right up to the heart of God and you say, “I don’t know.”

I don’t know where to go from here. I don’t know what is happening. I don’t know how to process this. I don’t know what to do with these emotions. I don’t know how to handle this situation.

It covers a lot of I don’t knows.

And then with whatever dusty little sand grain of faith you have, you say,

“But You know.”

And you leave it there. (end quote)

I can surely identify with those thoughts. Many a time I’ve come to God and prayed a similar prayer, telling Him I don’t know how to express my thoughts and feelings. Did you know the Bible speaks to that exact problem? Romans 8 says,

And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. [verses 26, 27 NLT]

Be encouraged that you don’t have to pray to God with certain “correct” words? Just pray the “I don’t know” prayer and leave it up to the Holy Spirit to do the rest, for the Spirit pleads for us according to God’s will.

The next verse in Romans 8 is so encouraging: “And we know that God causes everything to work together^[ for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” What a promise!