I lit a candle for you today

Years ago, a friend told me a story about another person who sent her a message, just saying “I lit a candle for you today”. She thought it was lovely and so do I. So much so that I have remembered it often and think about said friend at the same time. I’m not in the habit of lighting candles, it’s not part of my own outworking of faith and the church I am part of doesn’t participate in that ritual. There is no biblical instruction about lighting candles to pray and it, practically speaking, is probably unnecessary. And yet….

There just seems to be something very special about knowing that someone far away has taken that moment to pause prayerfully and to honour you in their thoughts as they come before God. Perhaps in the absence of any meaningful words, lighting the candle is prayer enough. It says that I don’t know all the details of what is going on in their life right now, but I remember them, I love them, I care and I’m asking for Gods blessing upon them. Or perhaps it says I do know details of what’s going on, but I can’t fix it, I can’t do anything to help, I am just trusting God to hold them in the palm of his hand. Perhaps not all prayers have words.

“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 ESV

Romans 8:26 is one of my favourite verses. I love that our prayers don’t require words. I’ve often heard people say that they can’t pray or are struggling to pray. Can you groan? Yes? Well then, you’re onto it. If the spirit himself intercedes for us in groaning too deep for words then I assume it is OK for us to do the same. Sometimes, maybe often, we don’t know what to pray for. Sometimes pain is too deep or a situation too complicated or it seems too late or we don’t know all the details or we can’t force the hand of another. We are utterly helpless to bring any kind of resolution and words fail us. God sees. God knows. God can hear the groan in our hearts. It may not be pretty, but it is real and in the words of C.S. Lewis “We must lay before him what is in us, not what ought to be in us” (Letters to Malcom)

“Even before a word is on my tongue, behold O Lord, you know it altogether.” Psalm 139:4 ESV

God knows the contents of our hearts, even if we are struggling to think of what to say or how to verbalise it. He knows what we care about, he knows our hurts and struggles, he knows our passions and deepest desires. He knows better than we even know ourselves. Often I have found

myself telling God how to answer my prayers. I’ll tell him my issue and then tell him how I think it should be fixed. I’ve sort of realised now that a prayer with fewer words may well be the better option at times. I don’t know how and I may never know why, but I do know who. Taking a moment to just ponder that and bring him into any given situation may be just the thing.

But not all wordless prayers are groans or desperate struggles. Some are just lighting a candle for a friend. It’s a practical activity to focus our weak and wandering minds. It's a reminder of the light God brings into dark places, a gentle comforting flicker. It’s a symbolic gesture that we are trusting in him, even where words are few.

So this is for you my far away friend.

I lit a candle for you today.