Two thousand years ago the Lord Jesus Christ called upon the women of Jerusalem to weep for themselves and their children. Luke 23:28. He was responding to their lamentation over His sufferings, v. 27. It was not just a sarcastic comment or a rebuke. The blessed Lord, as He was going to be crucified shortly and complete His mission on earth, one of his last instructions to the people is to weep.... to mourn... looking at the condition of their land and their offspring.

Present circumstances
Today, as we look around the globe, is it not the same terrible situation everywhere? Evil has penetrated into every aspect of human life that many tend to think that is the norm. On one side, in the name of freedom and tolerance all kinds of wicked ways are allowed in the society; and on the other hand, religious extremism has been growing to the extent of mass murder and destruction as never before.
          Unexpected and unimaginable tragic events are being unfolded in different places. We have come to realize that there is no safe place on earth, and at any moment anything can happen anywhere. Many are so worried and confused thinking what to do and where to go for protection.
          In the midst of such chaos and perplexity, what is our responsibility as Christians? We definitely know what is happening and we are sure that our Lord has the answer for all the problems. But we cannot stay cool and quite with that faith doing nothing.
          If we have any concern for our generation, it is high time to consider weeping... the Lord is calling upon every Christian to pray with tears that our land and our children may be saved from such anarchy and devastation.
          It’s quite interesting to notice that weeping is basically part of the hell-fire experience, Cf. Matt 8:12; 15:42; Luke 16:24. Yet, the Lord Jesus exhorts us to weep! Not only that, He even exalted the weepers, promising blessings for those who mourn and woes upon those who refuse to do so, Cf. Luke 6:21, 25. “Blessed are you who weep now”…. "Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.” That means, weep today and rejoice later or rejoice today and weep tomorrow!

Past examples
The Word of God says much about the tears of the saints and how the Lord responded to it. We can notice that all the great servants of God wept during their service. Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet. He wept much seeing the state of his people and Jerusalem, Cf. Jer 9:1, 2; 8:18, 21, 22; 13:17.
          The Lord Jesus Christ also wept seeing the terrible state of Jerusalem as well as the sufferings of mankind, Luke 19:41; John 11:35. Apostle Paul says to the elders of the Ephesian Assembly that he served among them with many tears, Act 20: 19, 31. His writings also were born out of tears, Cf. 2Cori 2:4. No, wonder the Psalmist states, “He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.” Psalm 126: 6.
          Tears are an essential part of our spiritual life. That is particularly true in connection with the work of God; weeping is its basic ingredient! Without tears there is no success, no fruit and no rejoicing.
          Results in the past How does God look at the tears of His people? Plenty of examples show that God does take our tears very seriously. Our cry to Him will never go waste. He measures and stores our tears in a container, Psa 56:8. He will answer us graciously as we pray with weeping, Cf. Isa 30: 19, 20; 38:5. Notice some examples:

• Hagar and the child cried, God saw it and did the needful, Genesis 21:16, 17.
• Israelites in Egypt cried, the Lord heard and came down to save them, Exodus 3:7.
• Israel cried when the enemy subjugated them, the Lord heard and provided a deliverer, Judges 3:9.
• Hannah poured her heart with tears, she found the answer, 1 Samuel 1:10.
• Hezekiah cried bitterly and the Lord answered his prayer with miraculous healing, Isaiah 38:5; 2 Kings 20:5.
• Jews mourned with fasting at the danger of ethnic cleansing and found miraculous escape, Esther. 4:3.

So many scripture portions gives us enough light on the need of special prayers with weeping and even fasting. As Mordecai reminds Esther, it is our responsibility to act today, for God has placed us in our respective locations for that very purpose, Cf. Esther 4:13, 14.
          Alas, so many Christians, it seems, are just lethargic and apathetic; they just take life casually. Where is the result of the daily Bible readings, weekly sermons and all kinds of so-called spiritual activities? What progress or change is taking place in the lives of Christians today? The major reason is the unresponsive and indifferent attitude of the evangelical Christians, Cf. Jeremiah 7:13, 23, 24.

Look ahead
Beloved Christian believers, wake up. Our indifference is costly. Consider seriously the state of affairs today and the days to come. Let us open our eyes and see what is happening around us and to which state we are heading. Waste no time to plead with the Lord God Almighty to intervene. If we refuse to do that, the Lord Jesus foretold the consequences, Cf. Luke 6:25.
          The Lord is calling upon His people everywhere to confess their sins and come to Him with weeping, Cf. Jeremiah 3:21–25; 6:26b; 7:29b; Joel 2:12. He is searching for weepers, people who will intercede for the new generation and their land. Let us understand the condition of church today and make use of every opportunity to call upon the Lord.
          On another occasion the Lord Jesus said, “This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting,” Mark 9: 29. There are occasions when we need to take spiritual activities seriously. A higher/different level of spiritual exercise is needed to face the ever increasing satanic tactics. Prayers with tears is one such area that we should not neglect.

Divine Touch
However, tears come only out of pain and intense feeling. A heart touched and broken by the wonderful work of the Spirit of God using God’s precious word is the basic requirement for true weeping before God. Without this divine touch our tears may be just a show and it has no value! (Refer to: ‘Worthless Weeping,’)
          Psalm 84:6, 7 shows that all those who trust in the Lord have to go through the valley of weeping, but as they face it joyfully, they go forward with increased strength. That means weeping is part of our spiritual path, which results in more power. Only at a later stage we come to understand that the painful occasions in the past and the tears we shed have contributed for our blessing.
          The Lord also promises that He will wipe away all our tears one day, Isaiah 25:8. “Weeping may stay for the night, but joy comes in the morning,” Psalm 30:5.

Conclusion:
All over the world we see spiritual services are being degenerated to entertainment programmes. Talented men and women perform various activities and entertain the audience. All are happy, for the artists got an opportunity to perform and the listeners enjoyed it.
          In the midst of such a mind-set, the word of God is calling upon us to weep! It may look contradictory, but the past examples prove its necessity. Also the present times demand it. Tears will not go waste. Let us weep for our children today and not later. Cry for the local assemblies, especially the leadership. Dear reader, when was the last time you prayed with tears?

NTK
Related topics:
     Pray or Perish!
     Nedd Prayer Warriors
     Prayer in the Church - a study on 1Timothy 2: 1 – 8

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Out line:-

Worthless Weeping

1. Numbers 11: 10, 11:- Complaining and murmuring.
2. Judges 2:4: – False weeping – just a temporary show. Cf. 3:9
3. Ecclesiastes 4:1:- Tears of the oppressed. Cf. Malachi 2:13
4. Hebrews 12:17:- Foolish weeping....cf.v16 based on foolish decision.

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Anecdote: -

“Try Tears”

        In the beginning of the twentieth century two Salvation Army officers were sent out to serve among the slums of Los Angeles. Their tireless work for three years brought no fruit other than opposition from the people. Tired and frustrated they wanted to close the mission. In their telegram to General William Booth, they wrote, “It just won’t work. We have tried everything. The gospel is just not being received here.”
        General Booth sent back a telegram with just two words on it, “TRY TEARS”. They followed the advice and they witnessed a mighty revival. Yes, even now, it’s time to 'try tears'!