Thoughts for Life: #78 Your Ministry of Tears

Dr. Wesley L. Duewel: Yearning intercession for your people often enables God to anoint your heart with tears.

Tears in your heart as you intercede alone, as you speak of Christ personally to the spiritually needy—inner tears as you minister publicly and as you look out upon your community and your world—these can add spiritual power to your leadership and ministry.
(Google image, Jesus praying)

Tears so deep in your heart that they are also noticed in your voice as you pray or speak, and noticeable in your eyes on special God-anointed occasions—these can add a whole dimension of unusual influence and spiritual authority to your role as a person of God.

How much do you know in your own life of a ministry of tears? How deeply have you shared the heartaches of God? Dr. Bob Pierce, founder of World Vision, was deeply moved by the physical and spiritual needs of the world.

He was known for his oft-repeated statement: "Let my heart be broken with the things that break the heart of God."

Our world can be moved Godward only by leaders who have shared to a deep degree His heartbreak as He looks in compassion and love on the world.

Until you sense the suffering tears in the heart of God, until you share to some extent our Savior's suffering passion in Gethsemane, until you come close enough to God to enable the Spirit to yearn within you with His infinite and unutterable yearning, you are not prepared to minister about the cross.

Ceaselessly He [Jesus] weeps as He looks out across our world. As He weeps over our cities and villages, our nations and races of people, our families and our suffering people from our children to our aged—how constantly He longs to save, bless, and deliver! The Jesus who wept is the Jesus who still weeps. Do you share His tears?

While ministering in Manchester, England, forty years ago I wrote these words:

Where Are Your Tears?

There are tears in the sinner's eyes.
Habits of sin binding heart, hand, and feet;
Broken with shame at his sin and defeat,
Hot burning tears coursing down his hot cheek—
There are tears in the sinner's eyes.

There are tears in the suff'rer's eyes.
Long weary hours of disease, weakness, pain,
Praying that health be restored once again,
Waiting for healing, but waiting in vain—
There are tears in the suff'rer's eyes.

There are tears in discouraged eyes.
Misunderstood by the ones who should know;
No one to love, to compassion bestow,
Fainting, discourage, with hope burning low—
There are tears in discouraged eyes.

There are tears in non-Christian eyes.
Calling to idols of wood and of stone,
Calling in vain, Christ and Savior unknown,
Comfortless, helpless, without God, alone—
There are tears in non-Christian eyes.

There are tears in the Savior's eyes.
Tears for those sinning, discouraged, and ill,
Tears for the straying ones, out of His will,
Tears for the millions unreached by us still—
There are tears in the Savior's eyes.

But where are the tears in your eyes?
Can you not weep with the millions who weep?
Have you no tears for the other lost sheep?
Jesus is weeping! Are you still asleep?
OH! WHERE ARE THE TEARS IN YOUR EYES?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Used by permission of the author and Duewel Literature Trust, Inc., Greenwood, Indiana. Creative reading style by Jean.

Ablaze for God
#78 Your Ministry of Tears
by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel
(pp. 237- 239) ZondervanPublishingHouse

Today's post suggestion:

# 8 God Needs Some Time, from Healing Thoughts and Prayers

Should we cry
in front of kids?

Father, enable us to have a yearning intercession for our people, whether we're a pastor or a leader of a group in our church.
Anoint our prayers with tears from our hearts, so when we speak, study or minister to others, they will add the spiritual authority in our role as a person of God.
Help us sense the suffering tears in the heart of our Savior's suffering passion in Gethsemane. We yearn to be close enough to You to enable Your Spirit to prepare us to minister about the cross.
Draw us to Your Heart of tears. Cause us to humble ourselves and weep for lost and hurting souls. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Today's Bible verse-

Is. 49:16 (KJV) "Behold, I have graven thee upon the
palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me."

Is. 65:24 (MSG) "And it shall be that before they call I
will answer; and while they are yet speaking I will hear."

Ps. 126:6 (KJV) "He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing
bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with
rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him."

Today's quote-

~ Jim Cymbala- "Charles Finney, the lawyer turned evangelist, once said that as long as an audience kept looking at him while he preached, he knew he was failing. Only when their heads began to drop in deep conviction of sin did he know that God was working alongside him, producing a heart change inside. The words of sound doctrine alone were not enough.

In fact, revivals have never been dominated by eloquent or clever preaching. If you had timed the meetings with a stopwatch, you would have found far more minutes given to prayer, weeping, and repentance than to sermons."

(p. 149, FRESH WIND, FRESH FIRE, What Happens When God's Spirit Invades the Hearts of His People).

Today's popular post- #35 Pastors Have More influence and Visibility

C. Peter Wagner tells us from his book, PRAYER SHIELD:

#4. "The fourth reason why pastors need intercession more than other Christians is that by the very nature of their ministry they have more influence on others."