May Your Prayers, Cries And Tears Ascend Before God, By Pastor Samuel OBAFAIYE
What is prayer?
A solemn request for help or expression of thanks addressed to God.
Communication to God the Father, in the name of God the Son, through the help of God the Holy Spirit.
God hears and answers prayers of His people. He may at times choose to be quiet, but He hears. He only tries to test us at such times. Even when what happens does not look like what we want, He still hears.
May God answer your prayers.
What is cry?
It is the shedding of tears in distress, pain or sorrow. It can also be a shout or scream in fear, pain or grief. God does not like His children to cry in pain. He however encourages us to cry unto Him for help at such times.
God does not turn deaf ears to the cry of His people, especially the widow and the fatherless. He comes to their rescue.
May your cry echoes in Heaven.
What are tears?
A profusion of salty liquid spilling from the eyes and wetting the cheeks, especially as an expression of emotions.
God does not take the tears of His children lightly. It is an insult to Him. He always moves swiftly to wipe such tears off. Though the tears may endures till a night, but by morning it’s gone. Such tears are however valueless if not combined with prayers. They must not be tears of despair, dejection or hopelessness.
May your weeping end tonight.
In Luke 7:11-15, the bible tells us of how Jesus raised the son of the widow of Nain from the dead. 3 sad things surrounded the woman: a dead child; the only son; and she was a widow.
Luke 7:11-15
And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people. Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother.
Jesus had compassion on her. It’s interesting that Jesus first address her crying before she went to raise the dead.
God is asking me to tell someone “Weep Not”.
You will arise again. You will be delivered.
In John 11:32-44, again Jesus performed a miracle that had never happened as at that time before. He raised up Lazarus who had died for four days. This was prompted by the crying of Lazarus’ sisters. Jesus began to groan in the spirit and became troubled, even though He had known that Lazarus had died before He got to Bethany. He too had to weep!
You have been sobbing for long. Your weeping ends today.
May the Power that brought Lazarus out from the tomb miraculously bring you out of any gravely situation in Jesus name.
In John 20: 1-18, there is the account of Jesus resurrection and the attention that Mary Magdalene enjoyed from the resurrected Christ. Peter and John could not find Jesus body in the tomb, instead of asking around and seeking help, they just went back home.
Mary however stood still by the tomb, seeking help and crying. She did get answer. Two angels gave her solution to her prayers, and when Jesus saw that she was still not satisfied, He had to abandon His trip to Paradise to attend to Mary first.
May the reason for your weeping be met.
May what you are seeking passionately announce itself or himself to you.
May Jesus come personally to deliver your request.
The children of Israel had been in captivity for over 400 years. They had suffered greatly in the hands of the Egyptians. But in Exodus 3:7, 9, God said He could no longer withstand their cry and sorrows.
Exodus 3:7-9
And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;
Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.
Have you been held in captivity for certain years.
Have you suffered in the hands of any Egyptian?
God asked me to proclaim and decree your deliverance. You are free in Jesus name.
In Isaiah 38:1-8, God demonstrated how He gives His attention to the prayer and crying of the saints directed to Him. He elongated King Hezekiah’s life and defended Judah from the powerful Assyrian kings.
Isaiah 38:1-8
In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live. Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the Lord, And said, Remember now, O Lord, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.
Then came the word of the Lord to Isaiah, saying, Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years. And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria: and I will defend this city. And this shall be a sign unto thee from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing that he hath spoken; Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees, which is gone down in the sun dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So the sun returned ten degrees, by which degrees it was gone down.
– May God acknowledges your tears shed unto Him.
May God use your service to Him and your good deeds to overturn any negative issues in your life.
In I Sam 1:10, the bible again said that while Elkannah and his family were making merry at Shiloh, Hannah went into the temple to pray and wept unto God. That same day, God grant her a long awaited attention.
1 Samuel 1:10
And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore.
If there is anyone going through bitterness of soul, may God removed such from you in Jesus name.
May God grant unto you today, your long awaited requests.
In I Sam 30:1-8, David and his men came back from looking for food and found that their families have been taken captive and their tents burnt. With tears, he asked God for direction and he got Divine attention.
Paul the apostle was a great apostle. He was used to do mighty wonders. Yet he had to cry unto God always regarding his ministry. Not because of the Gentiles, but his own people (Acts 20: 18-19).
And when they were come to him, he said unto them, Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons, Serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews:
Peter sinned against God by lying and denying Jesus thrice, he prayed and wept bitterly and he was converted (Luke 22:54-62).
Jesus is God, but when He came to the world in flesh, He had to cry unto the Father about His ministry (Heb 5:7).
Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;
It dawned on me as I prepare this message, that some of our prayers are not answered because we do not cry unto God enough. Our prayer ought to go beyond nice speeches. We must learn how to cry unto God and even at times weep unto Him.
Our cry and weeping must not be because we are hopeless, but because we are hopeful that God can help and attend to us.
Mark 10: 46-52, if Bartimeaus had not cried unto Jesus. He would have died a blind man. Jesus stood still because he cried a great deal. In church, many do not want to disturb their neighbour. No wonder, many prayers don’t get answered, because they lack fervency.
The sermon, May Your Prayers, Cries And Tears Ascend Before God, By Pastor Samuel OBAFAIYE was delivered on June 28th, 2015 at the Anointing Service.