Tears of Heaven
The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. James 5:16 NASB
Prayer – The Greek word is deesis. It comes from the word deomai. What is important about this word is that it involves personal needs. The verse could be translated, “The very strong very personal petitions.” There is nothing general about these requests. It is not, “Oh, God, bless everyone in the world” or “”Oh, God, save those poor lost souls.” These petitions are your special heartaches. They are cries to God for the things that matter to you.
I often wonder if we truly understand the process of prayer. While the Christian marketplace is flooded with books about prayer, perhaps we need much less instruction and much more honesty in this matter. I remember many times when just getting on my knees seemed so hard to do, as if the act of subservience before God caused a great resistance to swell up in me. Hopefully life has changed. Hopefully I can bend the knee because He has stripped away my false defenses. But when I begin to pray, I often find my mind wandering and jumbled. So these days I try to pray out loud. Even then I stumble. Now I actually keep a list in front of me. “Father, here are my very personal concerns today. I have written them down so that I won’t lose track of what I want to tell You.”
Even with this preparation for prayer, the times of real heart wrenching pleas are few. But I remember them. Tears streaming down my face, sobs and shakes, I laid my soul bare before the Lord. I came close to James’ description. It wasn’t the tears or the sobs. It was the vulnerability.
So many times our prayers take on a “manufactured” style. I find this especially true when I listen to the “professionals” in the prayer business. Somehow their prayers seem hollow, even if they might be sincere. Why? Because those prayers really aren’t about them at all. They are defined by the acceptable topics of prayer from our religious background. James tells us quite the opposite. Intense yearnings, very strong pleading and crying out to the Lord begin with complete openness. We are so protective that even in front of God we often try to shield ourselves. That inner resistance must fall before our petitions become “exceedingly strong.” How do we get to this place of complete vulnerability? Perhaps it starts with the obedience of a life broken before Him, willing to accept any answer that serves His purposes.
The paradox is that ultimately prayer is not about me at all. It certainly begins with my needs, but prayer shifts the focus from me to God so that my needs become the avenue for His purposes. That shift cannot occur until I am empty before Him. These days I can barely speak the manufactured prayer words. But I can cry.
Topical Index: prayer, deesis, deomai, vulnerability, James 5:16
I was just writing yesterday about the rain being heaven’s expression of joy over us. This morning I was seeing as I read your post how heaven’s tears of joyful expression are born from the vulnerability that was required at the cross and how they maintain the vulnerability of love that provides our hope; past,present and future…this was a good word…
“I often find my mind wandering and jumbled.”
Definitely my problem as well – so lately I just cry – for now. Its a terrible and good place to be.
The time will soon come to move on – until its only about Him: “Barukh attah Adonai Eloheinu
melekh ha olam..’
Come, let us cry together that someday we may rejoice together.
Amen to that Skip. This was definitely a word for me. Sometimes it takes a natural disaster to happen for us to realize how vulnerable we really are. I am in New Jersey that was recently hard hit by Storm Sandy. We were totally without power for days and there has been alot of destruction. It has been during this time that I see the vulnerability of life itself. It is a time where all control was taken away from me and all I could do was open up my heart and bare all because the pain that I was feeling for others was too great for me to handle. And in the middle of it all, He heard my tears because I didn’t even have any words to say. I’m thankful. I’m grateful. Thank you Skip, for what you are allowing God to do through you. Please pray for us in the Northeast that are recovering from Sandy. There are many who are in need. Please pray.
(EYES WIDE OPEN)
~ What shall we say to these things? ~ – “Amen!”
We ARE “laid bare” before Him. ~ Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account ~ (Hebrews 4.13)
~ For a man’s ways are in full view of the LORD, and He examines all his paths. ~ (Proverbs 5:21)
Who are we that we “think” we may hide anything from God? and do we honestly/remotely ‘think’ we may hide behind a fig leaf- or run away into a cave or under a rock and remain hidden from His view?
Remember Jonah? Remember his attempting to “run away” from God? ~ If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast ~ (Psalm 139.9,10) Just exactly where did Jonah “think” he was going to go? lol! I find, everywhere I go..- there I am. lol!- and God is too!
Friends, I’m not “running” any more. I am resting. Is God able to “hobble the horse” and reach down and touch my thigh and put my leg out of joint? Then I would worship as Jacob did, leaning upon my staff. (Hebrews 11.21)
How many of us (I wonder) “know” (experientially) the “blessedness of brokenness?” The wild horse in me (Hard heart and/or hard head) must be “meeked.” ~ I have been crucified with Christ, nevertheless “I” live, yet not “I” but Christ ~
Looking for the meat in the nutshell? Bottom line? bottom-bottom line?..- “Not I,- Christ.” Don’t look at me- look at Him. He must increase- “I” must decrease.. As a matter of fact, “Carl” died a long time ago. He was crucified with His Savior on a hill called Mt. Calvary. ~ For you (Carl) are dead, and your life is (now) hid with Christ in God. (Colossians 3.3) ~ Oh Hallelujah!- Carl died with Christ. Goodbye Self. This is only part of the gospel good news. “Self” must die. One other thing.. (ha!- just one?) Crucifixion is a long, slow, painful process. “Self” in all its manifestations of selfishness does not die easily,nor lay down quietly. And “I” (must) die daily.
Every day I live, EGO (Edge God Out) attempts to rear its ugly head, and say “what about “me?”- What’s in it for “me?” I’ll tell you gladly! It is ~ Joy unspeakable and full of glory ~ Brothers, sisters- ~ to die is gain ~ We live by dying (to self). Who (Carl asked) was (and is) the most “selfless” Man- ever to have lived? ~ He saved others, Himself He cannot save ~ (exactly). He gave His life’s blood for even me. Christ died for sinners of whom (move over Paul)- “I” am chief. ~ Humble yourselves in the sight of the LORD (Yes- “bow the knee”- for this is the place of blessing!) and He will lift you up ~
His ways are NOT our ways-and the way “up” is “down!” Down on our knees, down on our face- lying prostrate before Him, the chosen ONE ~ the ONE before whose Presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them ~ (Revelation 20.11)
We (including me) have but a glimpse, of Who it is we are in blood-covenant union with. But I do know this, ~ As He approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it. ~ (Luke 19:41) Should I then, weep also? Yes, please. ~ (for) Jesus wept. ~ (John 11.35) If (according to His words found in His Book) we have the mind (and heart) of Christ, then where is our compassion towards Jerusalem? And have we followed His instructions? ~ Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love you ~ (Psalm 122.6) Truly, a day without prayer- (Ha!- could I make it more than ten minutes?) is like a day without sunshine. ~ How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! ~ (Psalm 139.17) And how often does the Son shine in and He (the Chief Musician) then gives “songs in the night?” He (our Giver/Lover) gives, we receive. We ~receive with meekness the engrafted Word which is able to save our souls. ~ We welcome the Word. ~ (both written and Living!)
Redeemed—how I love to proclaim it!
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed through His infinite mercy,
His child, and forever, I am.
Redeemed, redeemed,
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed, redeemed,
His child, and forever, I am.
Redeemed and so happy in Jesus,
No language my rapture can tell;
I know that the light of His presence
With me doth continually dwell.
I think of my blessed Redeemer,
I think of Him all the day long;
I sing, for I cannot be silent;
His love is the theme of my song.
I know I shall see in His beauty
The King in whose way I delight;
Who lovingly guardeth my footsteps,
And giveth me songs in the night.
Redeemed, redeemed,
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed, redeemed,
His child, and forever, I am.
~For you (Carl and _____ and _____) were bought/purchased/redeemed with a price..~ therefore glorify God in your body and in your breath, which are God’s ~ (1 Corinthians 6.20)
Who gave me my first breath? It was the LORD. Who gives unto me my “daily breaths?” It is the LORD. Who will take away my last breath? It will be the LORD.
Am I afraid of dying? What if the scriptures are true? ~and to die is gain?~ (Philippians 1.21) Blessed assurance – confident expectation – great anticipation!- And if I live? “Christ.” And if “I” die?- “gain!” To live- “Christ!” to die- “gain!” lol! – It’s all good! ~ for in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. ~ (Romans 8.37) – and when (Carl inquired) did He stop loving us? lol!- Never! ~ Therefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever lives to make intercession for them. ~ Have we forgotten (to remember) we serve a living Savior? and since God IS for us- who can be against us? ~Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? ~ (Romans 8.35) – lol! I’m about to get deliriously happy! (-good tidings of great Joy!) ~ Does it mean He no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (as I recall, “to die is gain!”-and “in all these things we are more than conquerors”) Can a Christian then be “threatened with death?” – when we should (as our Savior did) embrace it? ~ For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows ~ (2 Corinthians 1:5)
Are these (His) words faithful and true? Can I doubt His tender mercies, who through life has been my Guide?
~ The thief comes not, but to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I AM come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly ~ (John 10.10)
~He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters.. (Psalm 23.2)
~ They feast on the abundance of Your house; You give them drink from Your river of delights ~ (Psalm 36:8)
~ I Myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign LORD ~ (Ezekiel 34:15)
~ In completeness/soundness/welfare/peace I will both lie down and sleep, for You alone, O LORD, make me to dwell in safety ~ (Psalm 4.8)
~By Him (and because of Him) therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His Name ~ (Hebrews 13:15)
~ Let the Name of the LORD be praised, both now and forevermore ~ (Psalm 113.2) Amen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqYlKgpf9zU
Oh dear brother I am no more righteous than you but I just this weekend received a mighty answer to 18 years of heartbroken prayer .
My grand daughter is finding that her spirit guides are hard taskmasters and she’s begun to cry out to YHVH. Her prayers have been added to mine as a testimony of two and Avinu Malkeinu has come down to visit her in Egypt.
My grand daughter’s biggest complaint is the same as mine was 30 years ago when I was trying to break free from the same familiar spirits that have plagued the girls in our family for generations. She’s uncomfortable in the church. There are varying reasons for that but one legitimate one is that the church promotes the very things she needs to flee from including unbiblical prayer.
There are three things I’m reminded of AGAIN this weekend that are important.
1. YHVH is listening and He cares deeply.
2.There are three answers to prayer; yes, no, and not yet wait!
3.The Church is little if no help.
No sooner did I send praise reports out than I sensed the heaviness roll in. The battle has just begun so now I’m crying out for et Yeshuath YHVH the salvation of YHVH. But there’s a process that needs to take place before she makes it to the Sea of Reeds. He will test her first to see if she’s ready to leave Egypt for the wilderness.
I’ve been preparing for a season of intense prayer for a while now not knowing why. It will take steadfastness to come through to the other end of this with her.
This is the season of the later rain where the soil is prepared for the next harvest. It appears (of course I don’t really know) that you are out in so many fields that none of them is really getting plowed. Is your focus scattered because you’re exhausted.
Moses went to one group of people and rescued them and a mixed multitude followed them.
Paul was a globe trotter but he stuck in one place for periods of time and there was mutual ministry. He was able to rest and teach in a concentrated way so that when he went on to the next group there were men equipped to maintain and duplicate his effort and he had enough strength to do it again. But his most lasting work it seems is the epistles he wrote while incarcerated.
I know you have heard the call. Perhaps your prayer for awhile could be, Here I am Lord put me where you will. Just a thought.
One thing I find helpful when it’s a struggle to focus is to read a prayer of repentance from a prayer book or the scriptures. If my focus is really fuzzy I write my prayers out.
Please get some rest.
Shalom shalom
Skip I do not believe that you are scattered. There has been a consistent thread running through your TW blog for weeks now. You have been concerned that you are not reaching people not meeting their needs, that you have been losing people from the web site, you have been worried that you have been too strong or too weak, you have asked for feedback on what you could do better than you have been doing. You have shown us your vulnerable side, shared your hopes and fears, cried out to God for guidance. You are exactly where you should be. God hears the broken-hearted, and His spirit intercedes with the Father for us with groaning that cannot be uttered. It may seem that you are soft peddling it a bit but you are showing your heart and that is a good thing.
God has been chastising US for years now, droughts, storms, brush fires. forest fires, and more storm, more droughts. It didn’t start with Katrina and it won’t end with Sandy. He is calling this country to repentance. He hit sin city south with Katrina, and we forget He hit Florida just after with another big one just before a big gay convention. NY got 911, no matter who did it, and now Sandy with another coming in and a cold front with no power. Everyone suffers, but only the people with ears are listening, and you have ears.
We had a phone call from a minister in the NY area during our Sabbath meeting and he said the media are not tell the whole story about how bad it was. He related that the way the two storms converged was uncanny. The way the wind switched direction several times to maximize the storm surge, and that it was much higher in some areas than is being reported, as much as 24′ in some places. He also related that none of his congregation were injured nor were their homes damaged. And that he was the only one in his neighborhood with power. His neighbors were plugging in extensions to his house. Maybe this will get their attention.
You are right hubris and canned prayers are not going to cut it, so keep right on keeping on.
I appreciate your encouragement. Yes, I am sure God is moving us all toward greater dependence on Him. But my real, personal concern is, frankly, what’s happening to me. I am really at a point of crisis, probably of my own making. I have been pushed to the edge of my understanding and ability and I realize that it is so easy for me to fall back into the intellectual dualism that I once knew so well. What I want is the PRESENCE of God, and what I find is continual resistance to fully trusting Him and letting go. So many old Greek concerns. So few new cultural norms. I didn’t grow up in Jerusalem, so I often don’t know where to turn living in Babylon. Which will become the theme of my new book – hopefully.
Vulnerable? You bet. I quake at the thought that my resistance to Him might lead me to a place of unrepentant obstinacy. I’m too scared to quit and too scared to continue. So I write. I hope He listens.
Skip I can only pray that you find the answers you are looking for. I personally have been finding surprising and unexpected answers to prayers, that in some cases, were not even prayers. This has been very encouraging to me. I hope you find that well spring of peace you so dearly need. I know He listens, but it can be hard to hear. I find that I have come to care for you like family, my heart hurts for your pain. {{{hugs from a sister}}} toni
I believe He is listening, not just to your words but also to your heart. What would prayer be if we thought
God wasn’t listening, even though there are many times when our prayers seem to be going nowhere.
I get a lot out of your studies, especially this one where you are going word for word in one verse.
I appreciate when you share your own struggles; it helps me tremendously.
This verse continues to be convicting for me; it is not very often that my prayers are “very strong very personal petitions,” and I think that God does want that emotional intensity from me. The weakness in my prayer life mirrors the weakness in my relationship with God, and that weakness comes entirely from me.
I have not been passionate in my pursuit of God; that is why my prayers have been lacking in passion.
Thank you.
Skip, not to make light of your heaviness, but sometimes a little mirth is good medicine. Remember the old Jeff Foxworthy jokes that stated: “you might be a redneck if you __________. (example: take a load of junk to the dump and bring home more than you took!)
Your statement about living in Babylon caused me to rephrase it to read: You might be a Greek thinker living in Babylon if you___________.
Some personal examples: You might be a Greek thinker living in Babylon if you think that knowledge makes you spiritual.
…. if you think of time only linearly.
…. if you are still a Calvinist.
…. if you still hope to be raptured.
…. if you adhere to replacement theology.
… if YOU _________ (fill In the blank). Any one want to add something “Greek” or Babylonian they have had to overcome (or are still struggling to do so) as a result of Skips teachings? Shalom, Michael
Amein, Skip. Thank you for bringing this forth.
Sometimes while folks are ‘praying’, I will say to them in my spirit, ABBA knows what you wish to say before you open your mouth, and, we are not heard for the many words we utter before Him.
Such long ‘prayers’ are a bother as it robs others who have real concerns to bring before ABBA, and they are ‘blocked’.
Do we truly know YHWH, or are we set in old habitual ways each time we come before Him with our petitions? Often times repeating the same prayer request over and over again.
Pleading is simply coming before YHWH in worship, He sees through us, and our heart cries. In the midst of my marriage break up, I turned on His music, knelt and worship Him, it was an amazing time with Him and Him alone, no words were spoken. HIS shalom and joy filled me. I did this every day, as my cry to Him, no words could express the pain I was going through, HE knows!
How awesome is our King!
YHWH’s hand upon you, Skip, as you go through this phase, for a purpose surely.
You have blessed, and strengthened so many of us with your words of encouragement, and inspiration.
You will come through drawing closer to Him than ever before, with better insights, and more victorious than ever before. Amein!
Be encouraged, Skip, stay under His wings. Shalom!
Hi again, Skip, this is for you!
Psalm 61:1-5
“Hear my cry, O YAH, attend to my prayer.
From the end of the earth I will will cry to You when my heart faints,
Lead me to the Rock that is too high for me.
For You have been a shelter for me and a strong tower from the enemy.
I will abide in Your tent forever;
I will trust in the covert of Your wings.” Jerusalem Bible.
Blessing you, ABBA’s Ruach upon you, His Shalom fill you,
Ester
Skip, What would be these words be in Hebrew since James (Jacob), half brother of Yehshua, would have spoken and written in Hebrew? Would those words bring greater depth of meaning to this Scripture? Dennis
Ah, now you are going to make me work. We have only the Greek text, so all we can do is guess at the Hebrew. Let me go investigate. In the meanwhile, you might consider searching the Tanakh for similar thoughts.
Thank you so much for posting this. To know that the Lord desires to hear and accepts my personal, albethey imperfect prayers is comforting and encouraging to me today. The Holy Spirit will edit and interpret as needed right? I can tend to judge my prayers as “good” or “bad” or, more often, as self-centered or selfish. Children don’t analyze the quality or delivery of their requests before bringing them to their parents when they need something. They just ask. That vulnerability. That word. That understanding and living out of our recognition of our total state of in-dependence on and in the Lord Jesus Christ is something I have to remind myself daily. Or maybe He in His grace reminds me. I don’t know. Thanks for the reminder here though. I love your blog. I discovered it when I was researching the meaning of my name, Rachel, and came across your beautiful explanation written for your daughter on her birthday. What a blessing to me. I have frequented it ever since. Much gratitude and thanks to you and the others who comment. These insights shape my thinking and therefore my life and for that I am exceedingly thankful.
Thank you, Rachel. A great name, indeed.
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