One of Man's Greatest Fears

One would think that after preaching 54 years I would have lost the fear of speaking before an audience of, in most cases, sympathetic people. But I still grow nervous prior to the first words. In most public opinion polls speaking in public is listed as one of man's greatest fears. People actually list fear of public speaking right along side the fear of illness and death. My Dad said that the first time he was asked to pray at church his words became as big as a steering wheel in his mouth.
   
I found praying with others hard to do, mainly because your prayers are more intimate as you share your heart out loud for others to hear. And when you pray privately it is hard to know what to say to God because God is so awesome!
   
But fear not, a Christian has the Holy Spirit to express our fears and what we can't put into words. "The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. " (Romans 8:26)