Ben Brzeski, director of communications and stewardship at St. Anthony on the Lake in Pewaukee, admitted to readers of the weekly church bulletin that, “These days, I most assuredly don’t 'know how to pray as I ought,'” referring to the following line in Romans 8:26:

“The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit intercedes with inexpressible groanings,” St. Paul said to the Romans. 

Brzeski wrote that the COVID-19 pandemic and the despair that comes with it has led him to question if he is praying as he should be. But, wrote Brzeski, the coronavirus leading him down a path other than despair. 

“Far from leading to despair, though, this not knowing is leading me toward something I know that I need more and more of – surrender,” Brzeski wrote. “Our lives are an initiation into surrender, opportunity after endless opportunity to learn the art of letting go. And yet, how often do we circumvent that surrender wherever possible, holding on to whatever vestiges or illusions of control we might manage over our circumstances?”

Brzeski wrote that saying he does not know “how to pray as I ought” is equivalent to saying “I don't know what to say to you right now, God.” In this situation, he said, it's best to ask God for guidance. 

“In particular, the request that God might provide the daily bread needed for today’s walk,” Brzeski wrote. “I’ve become accustomed to simply repeating the phrase 'daily bread' as the centering intention in my heart. It is a statement of trust, an affirmation of belief, an acceptance of limitation, a celebration of communion and a surrender into the hands of God’s providence.”