Prayer of Tears

Week 13 Day 5

7During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.
Hebrews 5:7

Prayer for so many of us has turned into a kind of cosmic vending machine. We pray when we need something and it forces us to turn to God. Although it’s destructive if this is the only part of you’re prayer life, these prayers of tears and prayers of crying out to God can be some of the most strengthening times in your life.
However, we need to consider what our tears are normally about. Thinking about the last few weeks, what has made you upset? So often we get tied down by our own personal and selfish desires, and then that begins to dominate our prayer lives. So keeping in mind what has been making you upset, think about the kind of guy Jesus was. What made him upset. Jesus is not this completely quiet calm. We’ve read about him flipping over tables in the temple and getting upset with so many things of the time, but Jesus got upset because the children of God were not living as God intended. Jesus got upset when he saw people starving on the street, people being rejected by society, or people not honoring the God they said they believed in. It sadden Jesus when he didn’t see the love that should be in this world.
Does it make you sad when you see the news? Or how about as you pass the loners at school that no one talks to? Do the things you see everyday make you sad and they would make Jesus sad?
Now this sadness isn’t meant to be a mournful damper on life. It can be the fuel for passion! A passion that is ready to live for Christ and go out and work for change in this fallen world, to see these things and PRAY about them, to go out and be a true disciple and soldier for Jesus with Prayer being your foundation and connection to our God.

Reflection Questions

1. What has made you sad/upset in the last few weeks?
2. What type of Prayers have you said in the last week? Were they all for yourself?
3. What things do you see in your life that would make Jesus sad/upset?

Take the Next Step

Identify these things in your life that would make Jesus sad so that you can begin to pray about them and make a difference in the world! Prayer is the most powerful thing we can do to fight against all of the troubled, sad, and horrible things in this world. Prayer is the start and the end to bringing the Joy of Christ to all and it begins with each of us. Don’t sluff it off it’s too huge to do so. To many peoples eternal lives depend on it.