I love Brazil and if it wasn’t for the COVID-19 virus, I would have made plans to visit there again in June. I love my Brazilian friends, the food in Brazil, the culture, and loved my two trips there.

During my first trip to Brazil in 2013, I tried to use Google translate to teach myself some phrases. I would type in a phrase in English and see the Portuguese translation. I would click on it to hear it and then practice it with my Brazilian friends.
My last few days I visited my friends in Belo Horizonte. I tried practicing Portuguese with them. One evening we went to a restaurant and my friends told me that I should order the food.
I looked at the server and wanted to say- “Estou aprendendo português e fazendo erros” – I am learning Portuguese and making mistakes. But what I said was- “Estou aprendendo português e fazendo arroz” – I am learning Portuguese and making rice. My friends laughed as the server looked at me confused. My friends told me what I said and I laughed.
When learning a language, mistakes are going to happen. When trying to communicate with other cultures it is easy for communication to not be clear.
Thankfully we do not need to worry about that when it comes to praying.

When we pray, we can be confident God understands us. Romans 8 says:
“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.”
When we pray, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us. He is our translator. He helps us to pray. Even if all we can do is groan and utter a few words, God understands us. We can also be relieved to know that God is the ultimate polyglot-a person who speaks several languages- because God knows every language spoken on earth.
So as we share our burdens, concerns, and worries with God during this time, we can be reassured that he understands us.
Thank you for reading. God Bless.




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