When All You Can Say is ‘Help’

How Silence, Breath, and Honest Prayer Still Move God

Another day, another what? Word.

I just learned that not everyone gets this Monday off after Easter Sunday. Wild. Thankfully, I do and I’m not complaining. I figured I’d use the time to check in and post today because, truthfully, I’ve been M.I.A. for a week.

A week might not seem like much, but for someone who made it a point to post weekly…yeah. Let’s just say life’s been life’ing, as the kids say.

I hope your Easter weekend was peaceful and filled with love, whether with family, friends, or just some time to reflect. This season reminds us of the ultimate sacrifice Jesus made for us. Through His suffering, death, and resurrection, we’ve been given access to grace, forgiveness, and new life. Won’t He do it!

That same grace is what fuels me to keep showing up even when I don't feel like it, and to keep writing these reflections. My goal with Another Day, Another Word is to make Him known through my writing. Part of that means being real with you about the good and the bad, the wins and the losses—with wisdom, of course.

Lately, I’ve been in a funk. Praying has felt more like a chore than communion with my First Love. Reading the Word has felt like skimming a work email, and writing has felt like forcing out an essay on a topic I’m not even interested in. Not quite the Easter high, right? Truthfully, I’ve been feeling this way for a while, but I guess I’ve just gotten good at pretending.

Let’s go back to that line: “praying feels like a chore more than communion.”

Prayer, by definition, is talking to God. We’re told in Philippians 4:6 that in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, we should let our requests be made known to God. That reminds us that different types of prayers serve different purposes but ultimately, they all point back to connection with Him. Some are long. Some are short.

We also know from Ecclesiastes 3:1 that there's a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens. That includes our rhythms of prayer. There's a time for long, Spirit-filled intercession and a time for short, simple prayers that are just as sincere.

Today, I decided to pick up my Bible and catch up on a reading plan I’ve been doing (shoutout to everyone using the YouVersion app). I’m currently on a 6-month Bible plan. Crazy but possible. Today I found myself in the book of Nehemiah.

In chapter 1, we see Nehemiah deeply troubled after hearing that the survivors of the exile are in great distress and that the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, its gates burned with fire (Nehemiah 1:3-4). His response? He sits down and weeps. He mourns, fasts, and prays before the God of heaven.

When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.
— Nehemiah 1:4 [NIV]

You can read the rest of the chapter for his prayer, but the moment that got me is in chapter 2, verse 4.

Nehemiah, the king’s cupbearer, is standing before the king. Given the heaviness of his heart, his sadness must’ve been noticeable—enough for the king to ask:

“Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.”

Nehemiah 2:2 [NIV]

Nehemiah was afraid. I imagine he was shaking in his sandals—boots weren’t exactly in style back then. But when the king asked what he wanted, this is what happened next:

“Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king.”]

Nehemiah 2:4 [NIV]

The Message version puts it like this:

“Praying under my breath to the God-of-Heaven, I said…”

Nehemiah 2:4-5 [MSG]

This wasn’t a long, drawn-out prayer. He didn’t ask the king to hold on for thirty minutes so he could consult God, leave the room, speak in tongues for 20 minutes, or drop to his knees. That would’ve been unwise and potentially deadly. This was a quick, quiet, spontaneous prayer. Something like, “God, help me,” or “Lord, give me the words,” or even a breath. A moment. A whisper. And that was enough.

This convicted me. I don’t need long, elaborate prayers to be heard by God. Like Nehemiah, I too can offer short, sincere prayers right in the middle of life’s chaos. We see this in other parts of the Bible too.

Before Samson died, he cried out to God for strength one last time and God heard him (Judges 16:26). In Joshua 10:12–14, Joshua prays in the middle of battle for the sun and moon to stand still and God answers. These weren’t long, drawn-out petitions. They were real-time, faith-filled moments of connection.

Long prayers are beautiful and powerful. But so are the short, sincere ones. God sees you where you are. And if all you can muster is, “God, help,” and it comes from a place of trust and sincerity, He hears you.

So I’m here to encourage you: don’t wait for the perfect words or the perfect moment. Just pray. Right where you are, with what you have. Whether it’s whispered under your breath or cried out in your room, He’s listening. Keep showing up, even if it’s messy. Grace is still yours, and God is still near.

Until next time for another day, another word!

Blessings,

Eunice

Make your life a prayer.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 [TPT]