When wordless groans are prayer…

My soul took a stagger-step this afternoon when I read that Pastor Rick Warren’s 27 year-old son Matthew died as the result of suicide after a lifelong battle with mental illness. As the news is moving at the speed of a forward around the internet, expressions of sympathy and sorrow are popping up everywhere.

The family doesn’t know me, and will never hear my expression of sympathy on the loss of their beloved child. I am trusting that God will hear my prayers mingling with the prayers being prayed for the family around the world tonight. My tears and wordless groans are the best thing I can offer to God on behalf of the Warren family this day.

In the same way, I am praying today for the other families I know who have lost a child to suicide.

Finally, I am praying for the families I know who are walking the path the Warren family has, dealing with mental illness in a cherished spouse or child. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, “an estimated 26.2 percent of Americans ages 18 and older — about one in four adults — suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year.” If this is your family, and you’ve not reached out for support, I’d like to commend the National Alliance on Mental Illness to you. If you’d like to know more about why I’m pointing you their way, click here to contact me privately.

“The Lord cares deeply when his loved ones die.” – Ps. 118:15 NLT