Prayer and Bible Band

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Background Reading:  

Exodus 2:6, Psalm 30:5, 34:15-16; Revelations 21:4

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Devotional Reading:

Genesis 21:10-20

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Central Verse

“Jesus wept.” John 11:35, KJV.

“Then Jesus wept.” John 11:35, NLT

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Key Terms

Wept - Past and past participle of to show emotion and especially sorrow by shedding
tears.

Weeping - Flowing with, accompanied by, or causing tears.

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Cry - To shed tears often noisily: a fit of weeping.

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Introduction

There have been many misconceptions taught to people concerning crying. It has been viewed as a sign of weakness in many circles. But the believers need to see the value that God gives from a situation that moves their hearts to cry. Some issues moved Jesus’ heart to weep, and

the believer needs to know that some issues demand that the believer respond by weeping. People cry because of hurt, as well as crying for joy.

There is much comfort that can come from weeping. Believers need to learn how to embrace God's comfort and His strength that can be received through crying.

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Discussion

Crying is a common human action that many emotions can trigger. God allows humans to cry because one of the benefits of crying is it gives the Person a sense of relief. It allows all the

pent-up pressure on the inside of their mind to relax when the tears are released. When a crisis hits it can shake a believer’s faith and cause him to question his beliefs.

He sometimes Questions whether his trust is really solid in God. To know that even when he

can’t feel God, even when the situation seems to be a hopeless one, he can always trust the character of God. He has learned that during times of crisis, he can cry unto God, and God will hear him and provide an answer for him. Crying brings a soothing feeling to a person, tears are meant to be a temporary release that can help dull the pain. It then allows a person to calm his spirit, and he can begin to make plans to come out of his crisis.

The crying not only soothes the pain but also helps lift a person’s spirit. A believer must not be afraid to cry, but he cannot allow crying to he his solution to his problems. After he finishes crying, he must plan to move forward, for if a person continues to cry uncontrollably, he can find himself becoming depressed, which is not good for him or anyone else.

In many societies, it has been said that boys and men don’t cry, but when Jesus’s friend
Lazarus got sick and died, Jesus cried. When Jesus was notified that His friend was sick, He lingered where he was for two days. Jesus always has a purpose for what He does, even when people don’t understand. When He finally got to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, he was already dead and had been buried for four days. The mourners were there crying; Lazarus two sisters were weeping, grieving, and very sad.

The human part of Jesus began to groan in His spirit, and He asked where they had buried Lazarus. After He finished weeping, He went to the business of calling Lazarus forth from the dead. The people needed to know that Jesus is the Lord of the dead as well as the Lord of the Living. Jesus knew that Lazarus’ dying would bring glory to God and allow the people to see

who He really was.

When He called Lazarus by his name, Lazarus heard Him in the grave, got up, and came forward. At Jesus’ instruction, he was released from his grave clothes into a new life. Believers need to know that if the grave couldn’t hold Lazarus down, nothing is powerful enough to hold them down. At the sound of Jesus’s voice, troubles, and woes must let them go.

Hagar was a servant girl who found herself in a situation that was not of her making. Sometimes life gets a person caught in an unhappy situation, which leaves them helpless. Man times in helpless situations, people tend to let go of their reserved spirit and cry. After she gave birth to

a son for Abraham because of Sarah, his wife’s advice, Sarah got pregnant and gave birth to a son. Sarah saw Hagar’s son mocking and making fun of her son, and this caused her great anger. She told Abraham to put Hagar and her son out of their home.

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Abraham did what his wife asked him to do. He told Hagar she must take her son and return to her homeland. He gave her a small package of food and water, and she and her son left. They had to cross a large wilderness to get to her country. Their provision ran out they had no water and were not able to find any. Hagar loved her son and did not want him to die, but she knew

that if she could not find water, he would die of thirst.  So, she set him away from her and began to cry. God heard the voice of the lad and sent an angel to see about them. The angel of God cried out to Hagar out of heaven and asked her what was wrong. The Angel told her to be not afraid, for God had heard the cry of the lad, and He knew where he was. The Angel told her to get up and take her son by the hand, for God would make him a great nation. Then God opened Hagar’s eyes, and she saw a well of water. She filled the water bottle and then gave her son a
drink, and she went on her way.

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Conclusion

God wants to heal and rescue the believers, for He is not willing that any should perish.  His

great steadfast love can pull the believer from where they are place them where He designed for them to be. He said that believers could call and or cry unto Him and He would answer them and show them great and mighty things that they had not known.  He will save, redeem, and bless

the righteous when they cry unto Him. His transforming love is available to every believer that cries to Him in faith

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Questions

1. What are some of the things people cry about?

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2. What are some of the benefits of a believer crying?

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3. What happened to Hagar to cause her to cry?

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4. How did God respond to her and her son when they cried?

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5. Why did Jesus cry?

 

​Essential Thought

Crying to God gets his attention like a crying baby gets his mother's attention.