Have you ever been to the point where you feel like you can’t even fight back?

Have you ever felt like you don’t have any fight left?

Do you feel like the best you can do is weakly attempt to deflect a blow or two while everything else just keeps pummeling you?

You are tired and beaten down. You feel like you have been spiritually mugged. Circumstances have robbed you of your joy, your rest, your peace, your energy. Maybe they have even robbed you of a loved one, your family or community, or part of your life. They left you for dead. You feel weak and frail and at the mercy of your circumstances. You have a big old spiritual black eye, you are in a beaten and bloodied heap, and you know you should be shaking your fist at the enemy and hollering, “Is that the best you’ve got? Come at me bro! THIS GIRL is an OVERCOMER! I am MORE than a conqueror through Christ!!” But instead it’s more like crying out to God, “Get me out of here Lord! I can’t take ANY MORE!! One more thing will send me over the edge.”

Y’all know what I am talking about. I’m referring to the seasons where you are so overwhelmed by the circumstances around you, that all you can do is melt into a heap and cry? Let me just tell you, I feel like I have been living in that place lately. “God, WHAT is going on?! Was this one situation not enough? Now I have it coming from all directions!! Why won’t You DO something?! Fix this! Or at least slow it down!”

The Word says in Psalm 46:8 NIV “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” And Psalm 147:3 NIV says, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” (The Passion Translation puts it like this, “He heals the wounds of every shattered heart.”)

The Word says in Romans 8:26-27 NIV “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.”

Some people say that verse is talking about praying in tongues (your spiritual prayer language), and other people say it refers to being in a place where you are so grieved and broken that you can’t even form words or sentences, and all you can do is just cry and groan. (Like Hannah in 1 Samuel 1:10-13) Personally, I believe it’s both. And I believe when we as Christians cry out to God, He hears us. Let me show you…

Today, as I was in prayer, and just crying out to Him, He reminded me of what happens when His children cry out. I got my Bible out and I started looking up instances of God’s children crying out. To be clear, we aren’t talking about what happens when you make a petition to God, or when you merely tell him of a need. We are talking about when you are completely overwhelmed by your circumstances and you CRY OUT to Him in desperation, anguish or heartache. This is what I found when I got out my Bible:

(Some parts of these verses have been italicized or bolded for emphasis. The emphasis is mine. For the sake of time I can only briefly note these scriptures. I encourage you to look them up for yourself, and really delve into the words.)

So what happens when you cry out to God?

In Judges 3, Israel had been involved in sin and bad decisions. They were in a bad spot, but they had put themselves there. But in Judges 3:9 it says that they CRIED OUT to the Lord and He sent them a deliverer, and they had peace for 40 years!

1Samuel 7:9 says that Samuel made a sacrifice and CRIED OUT to the Lord on Israel’s behalf. And the Lord answered him.

In 1 Kings 17:20, Elijah was staying with a widow and her son died. He took the boy up and laid him on the bed and he CRIED OUT to the Lord, and it says “The Lord heard Elijah’s cry,” and returned life back to the boy.

In Matthew 14: 30-31, Peter had started out in a good place! He was WALKING ON WATER…literally. Everything was going GREAT! He was going places that other mere men had not been. But then he took his eyes off of Jesus, and he sank. In vs 30 he CRIED OUT, “Lord, SAVE ME!!” And Jesus reached out His hand for Peter, and caught him.

1 Chronicles 5:20 tells about several of the tribes of Israel going to war against four different enemies! Verse 20 NIV “They were helped in fighting them, and God delivered the Hagrites and all their allies into their hands, because they CRIED OUT to Him during battle. He answered their prayers because they trusted in Him.”

Or how about this one! In 2 Chronicles 13:14, God’s people were warring between themselves over the kingship (which is more than I will get into here – but you can read it for yourself in chapter 13). The Israelites and their leader, Jeroboam (an evil king – 1 Kings 14:9), were fighting Judah (the other half of Israel) and their leader Abijah. It says that Judah was being attacked “both front and rear. Then they CRIED OUT to the Lord.” – does that sound familiar? Let me tell you, that feels pretty accurate for this old girl lately. I read that passage, and I think of the lyrics to that old song, “clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right. And here I am….stuck in the middle with you.” Y’all know what I’m talking about. In this case, when Judah was stuck in the middle, the priests blew their shofars and sounded the battle cry. And the NIV says, “At the sound of their battle cry, God routed Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.” And Judah was victorious. Judah cried out to God and He answered them.

Matthew 15:22 NIV says that, “A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, CRYING OUT, Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.” Jesus wasn’t going to respond to her because she was not an Israelite and the time had not come for the Gentiles yet. But she continued to cry out. And Jesus said to her (NIV), “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.

Jesus was passing by a blind man in Luke 18:38-42 and he CRIED OUT to Jesus and said, “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus told him, “Receive your sight. Your faith has healed you.”

In 2 Chronicles 14:11, another king of Judah is crying out to the Lord, “…Lord there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, Lord our God, for we rely on You, and in Your name we have come against this vast army. Lord, You are our God; do not let mere mortals prevail against You.” And the next verse says that the Lord struck down Judah’s enemy. The enemy ran, and Judah pursued them.

You might say to me, “But Vanessa, some of these are examples from the old Testament! That’s not pertinent to today! These are examples of God’s covenant with ISRAEL, not with me!” Friend, don’t let the enemy hit you with that! The TRUTH is, that if you are a Believer, and Christ is your Savior, then you are part of the family – you are the seed of Abraham! An heir of the Father, a child of the covenant, just like the children of Israel (Galatians 3:29). And, while it’s true that the shedding of Jesus’ blood brought a NEW covenant (Hebrews 8:6), it’s ALSO true that all the blessings provided in the first covenant are available to Believers in the new covenant. And HE is a covenant keeping God, y’all!

The bottom line is this: SOMETHING about hearing His children cry out, moves the heart of God. And why wouldn’t it? Anybody who is a parent knows that when your child sincerely cries out to you with a true need, you respond. How much more would be the response of our heavenly Abba Father? He is SO faithful y’all, be encouraged. He gives His children GOOD GIFTS (Matthew 7:11, Luke 11:13) and He watches over us (Matthew 10:29-31). His children are PRECIOUS to Him and he cares about the details of our lives!

So here’s the Reader’s Digest version: What happens when one of God’s children cry out to Him? He answers them.
That’s what happens, he answers them.

 

1 Peter 5:7 NIV     Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Psalm 34:6 NIV     This poor man called, and the LORD heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles.

Psalm 61:2 NIV     From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

Matthew 10:29 TPT     You can buy two sparrows for only a copper coin, yet not even one sparrow falls from its nest without the knowledge of your Father. Aren’t you worth much more to God than many sparrows?

Psalm 50:15 TPT     Honor me by trusting in me in your day of trouble. Cry aloud to me, and I will be there to rescue you.

Psalm 34:17 NIV     The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.

 

Please feel free to share our posts and our blog site, and leave comments below! We are so glad you are here!