Suffering

A dear friend, who will likely read this posting, sent me a message asking me to pray for her grandchild who is a teenager and suffering so physically, that there can't help but be accompanying emotional and spiritual suffering.
I want to say something about this, and my fingers hover over the keyboard waiting for an entire cogent thought to precipitate out of the swirl of thought fragments.
God is faithful...but the child is in pain and too young to have had a lifetime of seeing God's faithfulness.
God can heal...but He has not yet chosen to do so.
God can insert Himself into our minds and hearts...but pain can cause us not even to be able to use our minds properly.
God must have a special plan for this dear one...but the enemy of our souls knows that and would like to thwart it.
We want an answer now...but God does not operate on our timetable.

Ah....sovereign Lord!
Thank you for the Holy Spirit who intercedes when we do not have the words.
When all that comes from our hearts is a groan of shared pain, He speaks for us.
We do not know what should happen, how it should happen or when.
Most gracious and merciful God, we cast our cares and concerns on you.
The shed blood of Jesus is sufficient for all the sins of mankind and for all the suffering that comes because we live in a fallen world.
Creator, Sustainer...have mercy on this young one who is your child.