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"Hannah answered and said...'I am a woman of sorrowful
spirit...I have poured out my soul before the Lord.'"
1 Samuel 1:15 There was a prayer
chapel on the first floor of the men’s dorm at the college I attended. It
was a small, carpeted room with an altar up front. I would often go there
at night to pray. The fellows who went in there to pray usually left the
lights off and sat in the soft light that passed through the stained glass
in the door. I would sit on the wooden pews or kneel, but often I would lie
on the floor. It was there, during my freshman year of college, that I
discovered a deeper level of intercessory prayer. I would begin to weep
before the Lord, sometimes vehemently, as I cried to Him in behalf of
various family members and other areas of concern. During these intense
times of prayer, I was not able to speak much or say anything but could
only cry before the Lord.
I described this to one of my professors, and his explanation made a deep
impact upon me. “During those times,” he said, “the Holy Spirit is working
through you and leading you into a deeper level of intercession. Much is
being accomplished through those prayers.” He then quoted the Apostle Paul
who said, “…the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings
which cannot be uttered.” (Romans 8: 26).
I learned that prayer is not just an exercise of the mind, but also an
exercise of my spirit working together with the Holy Spirit, and sometimes
it involves travail.
Prayer should include praise and thanksgiving; and It is often a time of
joy and sometimes quietness, but these verses show us there is also a place
for passion and intensity. This does not speak of an emotional ritual, but
rather an expression of the genuine burden we have for those people
and situations for which we pray. The "agony and the ecstasy."
These are two things often missing from the lukewarm church. But in the
last few years God has raised up an army of prayer warriors who know
Jesus Christ and walk with Him in the joy and peace that come with
faith in Christ. They know the comfort that comes with His word and
with His presence. But they have seen the need to cry out
to the Lord for themselves, their families, their friends, for the
nation, and for the world. It is a time for serious intercession.
Christians in this season must be pouring out their
souls before the Lord.
“Who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and
supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save
Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear.” Hebrews 5: 7
“And being in agony He prayed more earnestly…” Luke 22: 44
“Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you, always
laboring fervently for you in prayers…” Colossians 4 12
“Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.” Psalm 62:8
“Arise, cry out in the night…pour out your heart like water before the face
of the Lord. Lift up your hands toward Him for the life of your young
children.” Lamentations 2:19
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