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Bible Question:
Is
it a good idea to talk to God about things that are on your
mind or things that you need? When I pray, does crying help?
Bible Answer:
Your
first question has been answered in a previous question entitled,
"What can I say in my prayers?" Your
second question is what we will focus on here.
Crying. Our
God does respond to a broken heart. He responds to the tears
from a heart that seeks Him. He is loving, compassionate, and
gracious. In the book of Psalms, we find many prayers which
were offered to God that reveal a broken heart over sin. Here
is a portion of one of King David's prayers.
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I
am weary with my sighing; every night I make my bed swim,
I dissolve my couch with my tears. My eye has wasted away
with grief; it has become old because of all my adversaries.
Depart from me, all you who do iniquity, for the LORD
has heard the voice of my weeping. The LORD has heard
my supplication, the LORD receives my prayer. (NASB) Psalm
6:6-9 |
God
heard his crying and responded to him. God
responded to his sincere heart and not to outward appearances.
God knows who we really are and what we really feel.
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If
we had forgotten the name of our God, or extended our
hands to a strange god; would not God find this out? For
He knows the secrets of the heart. (NASB) Psalm 44:20-21
And
God, who knows the heart . . . (NASB) Acts 15:8 |
Broken Heart. God
knew that King David was sincere because He knew David's heart.
We cannot
manipulate God with tears, but God does respond to a sincere
heart that is broken over grief and sin.
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The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and
a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise. (NASB)
Psalm 51:17 |
This
verse implies that God will not respond to prayers that are
not sincere. We are not in control. He cannot be deceived.
Conclusion:
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"In prayer it is better to have a heart without words
than words without a heart." - John Bunyan |
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