Prayer – “Crying out to God” Basic Truths God wants His People to Know, Part 4a By Pastor Dan Kennedy © February 18, 2018 www.pastorkennedy.com How often do you talk to God? When do you pray? How do you communicate with God? You are not alone! There has never been a people group, tribe, language group, or nation, in the recorded history of the world, which has not acknowledged a deity or deities, to whom they have prayed. Prayer is a Language found in Every Human Heart! Some have been deceived out of fear or desire for power, to pray to demonic spiritual forces (sometimes substituting themselves instead), seeking to be worshipped like God, and some have prayed to the Creator God of Heaven. Those who pray to God often express their prayer through at least three dynamics: Crying out to God  Communication with God  Communion with God  Today, we are going to explore, Prayer – “Crying Out to God,” as seen in Scripture. When do human beings “Cry out to God?” Quite often we cry out to God when we are at the end of our own human ability and resources! We cry out to God… When we are in distress,   When we are anxious, When we are in agony –   When we are in need, sometimes desperate need for Supernatural help.  It may be that Crying out to God is the time that the majority of people interact with God. How old do you have to be for God to hear your cry to Him? One of the first “cries” which God heard, in the Biblical record, was that of a teenager. God Heard Ishmael, the Teenager’s Cry In Gen. 17:24-25, the Scripture records that Ishmael was 13, and Abraham was 99, when the covenant of Circumcision was given to Abraham and they both were circumcised. A year later, Isaac was born (21:5; 8-17). Abraham was 100 and Ishmael was 14. How long was it before Isaac was weaned? One year, two years, or more? Ishmael was caught sneering at Isaac’s weaning, which seriously aggravated Sarah and caused Hagar and Ishmael to be banished from the family, so Ishmael was at least 15 or 16 when he was crying for thirst in the desert. Was Ishmael just crying because of being so desperately thirsty, or was he also pleading with God, whom he had come to know, to spare his life from death? Remember for the first 14 years of his life, Ishmael was Abraham’s one and only favored, though somewhat obnoxious son (Gen. 16:12). Abraham was greatly distressed in banishing Hagar and Ishmael “because it concerned his son” (Gen. 21:11-12). Wouldn’t have Abraham taught Ishmael, his only son, about his God, YHWH (Yahweh), during those 14 years that Abraham mentored the one he initially thought was his promised son, before Isaac the son of God’s promise, was born by Sarah? If this is the case, Ishmael very possibly may have also been crying out to YHWH for deliverance, as he lay dying of thirst in the desert. In any case, did God hear his cry because Ishmael was Abraham’s son, or also because of Ishmael’s own cry to God? Note that the Scripture records that God heard and acted from “the boy’s (or young man’s [ נַעַר - naʿar]) cry.” Genesis 21:15–18 15 When the water in the skin was gone, she (Hagar) put the boy under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went off and sat down nearby, about a bowshot away, for she thought, “I cannot watch the boy die.” And as she sat there nearby, she began to sob. 17 God heard the boy [ נַעַר - naʿar] crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. 18 Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” It doesn’t matter if you are 14, 41, or 81, God hears an honest cry of a heart to Him. God not only heard Ishmael’s Cry, but many generations later, God also heard the Cry of a whole Nation born through the son of promise, Isaac. God Hears the Cry of Groups of Peoples across the Nations that Seek Him Remember the verse that we often quote today when speaking about the need for repentance and revival among us? We quote this verse today because we believe that if we as a Body of Christ, repent and appeal to God for revival and the healing of our land, that He will hear us! 2 Chronicles 7:14 14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. If we believe God will hear the corporate cry of His People today, we know that God heard the corporate cry of His Ancient People, crying to Him from affliction in Egypt. God Heard the Corporate Cry of His People – a Nation in Slavery, and sent them a Deliverer Moses had fled from Egypt after killing a taskmaster who was abusing an Israelite. He was found in Midian and married the Priest of Midian’s daughter. After being a shepherd tending his father-in-law’s flocks for 40 years, God revealed Himself to Moses at “the burning bush,” and told Moses he had been chosen to deliver Israel from their slavery in Egypt. During the 400-year period that Israel had been in Egypt, foretold to Abraham (Gen. 15:13-16), God allowed the Israelites to become a great nation, to be delivered under Moses’ leadership, by God’s Mighty Power. Israel was crying out to God for deliverance from the brutal abuse of their slave-masters. Exodus 2:21–24 21 Moses agreed to stay with the man, who gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage. 22 Zipporah gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, saying, “I have become an alien in a foreign land.” 23 During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. 24 God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. Exodus 3:1–10 Moses and the Burning Bush 3 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.” 4 When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.” 5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 6 Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. 7 The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” God hears the Cry of His People. God hears the cry of the abused. Are You Oppressed by Others? God Promises to Hear the Cry of the Oppressed After Israel was miraculously delivered from Egypt, God gave the Israelites His Laws and Statutes at Mt. Sinai. Some of those instructions reveal God’s willingness to hold accountable those who thoughtlessly, or knowingly oppress the vulnerable. Warning against Mistreatment of the Vulnerable Exodus 22:21–24 21 “Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt. 22 “Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan. 23 If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. 24 My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless. Warning for Lack of Compassion Exodus 22:25–27 25 “If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not be like a moneylender; charge him no interest. 26 If you take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, return it to him by sunset, 27 because his cloak is the only covering he has for his body. What else will he sleep in? When he cries out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate. Warning Against Those Who Give Begrudgingly Deuteronomy 15:7–11 7 “If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, 8 but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be. 9 Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and you say, ‘The seventh year, the year of release is near,’ and your eye look grudgingly on your poor brother, and you give him nothing, and he cry (appeal) to the Lord against you, and you be guilty of sin. 10 You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. 11 For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’ The Apostle James Echoes Similar Evidence of God’s Hearing the Cries of those who have been Defrauded Just Wages James 5:4 4 Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. God not only hears those who are vulnerable who have been oppressed or defrauded, God also hears the cries of those who repent of their sin. God Hears the Cry of the Truly Repentant 1 John 1:9 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. When the Israelites sinned before God and God judged them through the oppression of their enemies, and they then cried out to the Lord in their oppression, the Lord heard their Cry. The Cycle of Israel’s Disobedience, Judgment, Repentance, Cry for Deliverance, and God’s Deliverance Judges 3:6–9 6 …They took their daughters in marriage and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods. Othniel 7 The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord; they forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs. 8 The anger of the Lord burned against Israel so that he sold them into the hands of Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram Naharaim, to whom the Israelites were subject for eight years. 9 But when they cried out to the Lord, he raised up for them a deliverer, Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, who saved them. Judges 3:11–15 11 So the land had peace for forty years, until Othniel son of Kenaz died. Ehud 12 Once again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and because they did this evil the Lord gave Eglon king of Moab power over Israel. 13 Getting the Ammonites and Amalekites to join him, Eglon came and attacked Israel, and they took possession of the City of Palms. 14 The Israelites were subject to Eglon king of Moab for eighteen years. 15 Again the Israelites cried out to the Lord, and he gave them a deliverer—Ehud, a left-handed man, the son of Gera the Benjamite. The Israelites sent him with tribute to Eglon king of Moab…. Judges 4:1–4 Deborah 4 After Ehud died, the Israelites once again did evil in the eyes of the Lord. 2 So the Lord sold them into the hands of Jabin, a king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth Haggoyim. 3 Because he had nine hundred iron chariots and had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the Lord for help. 4 Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at that time. Judges 6:1–6 Gideon 6 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites. 2 Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds. 3 Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the country. 4 They camped on the land and ruined the crops all the way to Gaza and did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys. 5 They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts. It was impossible to count the men and their camels; they invaded the land to ravage it. 6 Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the Lord for help. Jephthah follows Tola and Jair as a Judge to Deliver repentant Israel Judges 10:10–16 10 Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord, “We have sinned against you, forsaking our God and serving the Baals.” 11 The Lord replied, “When the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, 12 the Sidonians, the Amalekites and the Maonites oppressed you and you cried to me for help, did I not save you from their hands? 13 But you have forsaken me and served other gods, so I will no longer save you. 14 Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you are in trouble!” 15 But the Israelites said to the Lord, “We have sinned. Do with us whatever you think best, but please rescue us now.” 16 Then they got rid of the foreign gods among them and served the Lord. And he could bear Israel’s misery no longer. A Review and Warning Against Rebelling and Disobeying God Once Israel has a King Samuel Reviewed God’s past Deliverances for Rebellious but Repentant Israel, in his farewell message, when Israel had asked for and was given a king. 1 Samuel 12:8–15 8 “After Jacob entered Egypt, they cried to the Lord for help, and the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your forefathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place. 9 “But they forgot the Lord their God; so he sold them into the hand of Sisera, the commander of the army of Hazor, and into the hands of the Philistines and the king of Moab, who fought against them. 10 They cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned; we have forsaken the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtoreths. But now deliver us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve you.’ 11 Then the Lord sent Jerub-Baal, Barak, Jephthah and Samuel, and he delivered you from the hands of your enemies on every side, so that you lived securely. 12 “But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was moving against you, you said to me, ‘No, we want a king to rule over us’—even though the Lord your God was your king. 13 Now here is the king you have chosen, the one you asked for; see, the Lord has set a king over you. 14 If you fear the Lord and serve and obey him and do not rebel against his commands, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the Lord your God—good! 15 But if you do not obey the Lord, and if you rebel against his commands, his hand will be against you, as it was against your fathers. 1 Chronicles 5:19–20 19 They waged war against the Hagrites, Jetur, Naphish and Nodab. 20 They were helped in fighting them, and God handed the Hagrites and all their allies over to them, because they cried out to him during the battle. He answered their prayers, because they trusted in him. 2 Chronicles 18:28–34 Jehoshaphat Cries out to the Lord in the Midst of Battle; Ahab Killed at Ramoth Gilead 28 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up to Ramoth Gilead. 29 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will enter the battle in disguise, but you wear your royal robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle. 30 Now the king of Aram had ordered his chariot commanders, “Do not fight with anyone, small or great, except the king of Israel.” 31 When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they thought, “This is the king of Israel.” So they turned to attack him, but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the Lord helped him. God drew them away from him, 32 for when the chariot commanders saw that he was not the king of Israel, they stopped pursuing him. 33 But someone drew his bow at random and hit the king of Israel between the sections of his armor. The king told the chariot driver, “Wheel around and get me out of the fighting. I’ve been wounded.” 34 All day long the battle raged, and the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot facing the Arameans until evening. Then at sunset he died. Hezekiah Taunted by Assyria’s Superior Army, but Cries Out to the Lord 2 Kings 18:28–19:37 The Israelites were Taunted by Assyria’s Commander  Hezekiah Spreads out the Blasphemous letter before the Lord  God delivers Jerusalem from the Armies of Assyria – 185,000 slain by God’s Angelic Forces (annihilating all the fighting men and the leaders and officers in the camp of the Assyrian king [2 Chron. 32:21])  Hezekiah’s Terminal Illness and Cry to the Lord (2 Kings 20:1–11)  2 Kings 18:28–19:37 28 Then the commander stood and called out in Hebrew: “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! 29 This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive you. He cannot deliver you from my hand. 30 Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord when he says, ‘The Lord will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’ 31 “Do not listen to Hezekiah. This is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then every one of you will eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern, 32 until I come and take you to a land like your own, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey. Choose life and not death! “Do not listen to Hezekiah, for he is misleading you when he says, ‘The Lord will deliver us.’ 33 Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? 34 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah? Have they rescued Samaria from my hand? 35 Who of all the gods of these countries has been able to save his land from me? How then can the Lord deliver Jerusalem from my hand?” 36 But the people remained silent and said nothing in reply, because the king had commanded, “Do not answer him.” 37 Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary and Joah son of Asaph the recorder went to Hezekiah, with their clothes torn, and told him what the field commander had said. Jerusalem’s Deliverance Foretold 19 When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and went into the temple of the Lord. 2 He sent Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary and the leading priests, all wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. 3 They told him, “This is what Hezekiah says: This day is a day of distress and rebuke and disgrace, as when children come to the point of birth and there is no strength to deliver them. 4 It may be that the Lord your God will hear all the words of the field commander, whom his master, the king of Assyria, has sent to ridicule the living God, and that he will rebuke him for the words the Lord your God has heard. Therefore pray for the remnant that still survives.” 5 When King Hezekiah’s officials came to Isaiah, 6 Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master, ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid of what you have heard—those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. 7 Listen! I am going to put such a spirit in him that when he hears a certain report, he will return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down with the sword.’ ” 8 When the field commander heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish, he withdrew and found the king fighting against Libnah. 9 Now Sennacherib received a report that Tirhakah, the Cushite king of Egypt, was marching out to fight against him. So he again sent messengers to Hezekiah with this word: 10 “Say to Hezekiah king of Judah: Do not let the god you depend on deceive you when he says, ‘Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.’ 11 Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries, destroying them completely. And will you be delivered? 12 Did the gods of the nations that were destroyed by my forefathers deliver them: the gods of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph and the people of Eden who were in Tel Assar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, or of Hena or Ivvah?” Hezekiah’s Prayer 14 Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. 15 And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: “O Lord, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 16 Give ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O Lord, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to insult the living God. 17 “It is true, O Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands. 18 They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by men’s hands. 19 Now, O Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O Lord, are God.” Isaiah Prophesies Sennacherib’s Fall 20 Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I have heard your prayer concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria. 21 This is the word that the Lord has spoken against him: (see vs. 21-34) 35 That night the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp (annihilating all the fighting men and the leaders and officers in the camp of the Assyrian king [2 Chron. 32:21]). When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies! 36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there. 37 One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer cut him down with the sword, and they escaped to the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son succeeded him as king. (See also 2 Chronicles 32:20-23) 2 Kings 20:1–11 Hezekiah’s Illness 20 In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, “This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.” 2 Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 “Remember, O Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. 4 Before Isaiah had left the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: 5 “Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the temple of the Lord. 6 I will add fifteen years to your life. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.’ ” 7 Then Isaiah said, “Prepare a poultice of figs.” They did so and applied it to the boil, and he recovered. 8 Hezekiah had asked Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the Lord will heal me and that I will go up to the temple of the Lord on the third day from now?” 9 Isaiah answered, “This is the Lord’s sign to you that the Lord will do what he has promised: Shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or shall it go back ten steps?” 10 “It is a simple matter for the shadow to go forward ten steps,” said Hezekiah. “Rather, have it go back ten steps.” 11 Then the prophet Isaiah called upon the Lord, and the Lord made the shadow go back the ten steps it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz. King Hezekiah is not alone in his cry to the Lord. Have you found yourself in a similar cycle of crying to the Lord? If you have, you should be comforted through the Psalms. Cry Out to God Through the Psalms King David (and related author’s) Psalms are full of Cries to the Lord for deliverance, safety, forgiveness, retribution and deliverance from the hands of his enemies. Take a moment every day and join David as he cries out to God. Use the words of the Psalms to find a level of comfort from times of despair when life gets you stuck in a dark hole. Realize that when you have a desperate need, it is the appropriate time to cry out to the Lord! Realize that everyone has enemies from time to time, and those who wickedly reject the Lord are always present - (the Media in your own home will graphically show that fact to you)! And then, rejoice when God has delivered you! Use a Psalm to do it! That is why they have been written! God is not obligated to hear us; but, He always does hear us!  God is not obligated to deliver us; but, He often does…and   If He doesn’t do something, it isn’t because He can’t or won’t…it may be a matter of timing; or, it may not be in a way we think deliverance might come;   …And/or, it may be a matter we need to take care of in our own lives in our relationship with Him!  2 Samuel 22:1, 7 David’s Song of Praise 22 1 David sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. 7 In my distress I called to the Lord; I called out to my God. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came to his ears. Psalm 18:6 6 In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears. Psalm 27:7 7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud; be gracious to me and answer me! Psalm 34:5–6 5 Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. 6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. Psalm 34:15–17 15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry; 16 the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. 17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. Psalm 40:1–3 1 I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. 2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. 3 He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord. Psalm 57:1–3 1 Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul takes refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed. 2 I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills his purpose for me. 3 He sends from heaven and saves me, rebuking those who hotly pursue me; God sends his love and his faithfulness. There are 39 more of the 46 References in the Psalms where David makes note of a heart’s “Cry” to the Lord. There are many more verses with concepts of “crying out to the Lord” through various nuances of wording. Other notable Biblical personalities cried out to God in their distress. When they were following what God told them to do; and, when they chose to run away from God…take Jonah, for example. Jonah Cried to the Lord Jonah Experienced a depth of Experience no one else has known and lived to tell about it. In Jonah’s prayer we glimpse the anxiety of his cry to God. Jonah 2:1–3 Jonah’s Prayer 2 From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. 2 He said: “In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From the depths of the grave I called for help, and you listened to my cry. 3 You hurled me into the deep, into the very heart of the seas, and the currents swirled about me; all your waves and breakers swept over me.” Crying out to God doesn’t automatically guarantee a positive response on God’s behalf! If we are sinning against God, don’t expect God to answer your cry and take pity on you, even if you are “shouting in His ears!” Crying out to God with an Evil Heart Blocks God’s Response to Our Cry Ezekiel 8:16–18 16 He then brought me into the inner court of the house of the Lord, and there at the entrance to the temple, between the portico and the altar, were about twenty-five men. With their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east, they were bowing down to the sun in the east. 17 He said to me, “Have you seen this, son of man? Is it a trivial matter for the house of Judah to do the detestable things they are doing here? Must they also fill the land with violence and continually provoke me to anger? Look at them putting the branch to their nose! 18 Therefore I will deal with them in anger; I will not look on them with pity or spare them. Although they shout in my ears, I will not listen to them.” Hosea 8:1–3 Israel to Reap the Whirlwind 8 “Put the trumpet to your lips! An eagle is over the house of the Lord because the people have broken my covenant and rebelled against my law. 2 Israel cries out to me, ‘O our God, we acknowledge you!’ 3 But Israel has rejected what is good; an enemy will pursue him. Micah 3:4 4 Then they will cry out to the Lord, but he will not answer them. At that time he will hide his face from them because of the evil they have done. Praise God for Jesus, Who Cleanses Us from Every Sin, through His Redeeming Blood, and has Reconciled Us to God! Romans 5:8–11 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10 For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (see also 2 Cor. 5:17-21) Jesus experience temptations and trials, while He was here on earth, to be a Faithful Eternal High Priest for us, and exampled Calling out to His Father in times of Distress. Hebrews 4:14–16 Jesus, the Great High Priest 14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. 16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Jesus Christ Cried out to His Heavenly Father for Deliverance Hebrews 5:7–10 7 During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered 9 and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him 10 and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek. Jesus was known to have spent nights in prayer (Luke 6:12; Matt. 14:23). Did He agonize and cry out to His Father in prayer about intentional demonic testings and attacks?   Did He cry out regarding those who hated Him, despised Him, would not believe in Him, and wanted to kill Him before His time of Atonement had come?   What about dealing with consistent grace toward the underhanded and deceptive man He had foreknown and knowingly chosen to be a disciple, who would consistently steal and ultimately betray Him to His death?   John 11:8 8 “But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you, and yet you are going back there?” (see also Matt. 12:15; John 8:50; 10:31; 11:53) We know in the Garden of Gethsemane Christ Experienced Extreme Agony in Prayer Matthew 26:37–39 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” 39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Matthew 26:42 42 He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” Luke 22:44 44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. At Christ’s Sacrificial Atonement there were those Final Cries of Death Throes Matthew 27:46–50 46 About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 47 When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.” 48 Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. 49 The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.” 50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. Prayer is: Communicating with God  Communion with God  and, Prayer is Crying out to God!  Final Cries before the Throne of God: The Martyrs’ In Revelation we have recorded some of the final Cries to God from those who were martyred for their belief in the Word of God and the witness they had borne. Revelation 6:9–11 9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. 10 They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been. Prayer is a Language found in Every Human Heart There has never been a people group, tribe, language group, or nation, in the recorded history of the world, which has not acknowledged a deity or deities, to whom they have prayed. Some have been deceived out of fear, or the desire for power, to pray to demonic spiritual forces (sometimes substituting themselves instead), seeking to be worshipped like God…and some have prayed to YHWH the Creator God of Heaven. Prayer is a Language found in Every Human Heart! We have the privilege of Praying to our God, the Creator of heaven and earth. We have the privilege of “Crying Out” to Him! We have the privilege of our God having shared His Word with us, with His Gospel of Jesus Christ, and His transforming Holy Spirit to empower us from within. Do not feel inhibited to Cry out to God. God hears the cry of His Children who Love Him and He will answer with what is best for them! “We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28

Prayer – “Crying out to God”

Basic Truths God wants His People to Know, Part 4a

By Pastor Dan Kennedy

www.pastorkennedy.com

How often do you talk to God? When do you pray? How do you communicate with God?

You are not alone!

There has never been a people group, tribe, language group, or nation, in the recorded history of the world, which has not acknowledged a deity or deities, to whom they have prayed.

Prayer is a Language found in Every Human Heart!

Some have been deceived out of fear or desire for power, to pray to demonic spiritual forces (sometimes substituting themselves instead), seeking to be worshipped like God, and some have prayed to the Creator God of Heaven.

Those who pray to God often express their prayer through at least three dynamics:

•Crying out to God
•Communication with God
•Communion with God

Today, we are going to explore, Prayer – “Crying Out to God,” as seen in Scripture.

When do human beings “Cry out to God?”

Quite often we cry out to God when we are at the end of our own human ability and resources!

We cry out to God…

•When we are in distress,
•When we are anxious,

•When we are in agony –
•When we are in need, sometimes desperate need for Supernatural help.

It may be that Crying out to God is the time that the majority of people interact with God.

How old do you have to be for God to hear your cry to Him?

One of the first “cries” which God heard, in the Biblical record, was that of a teenager.

God Heard Ishmael, the Teenager’s Cry

In Gen. 17:24-25, the Scripture records that Ishmael was 13, and Abraham was 99, when the covenant of Circumcision was given to Abraham and they both were circumcised. A year later, Isaac was born (21:5; 8-17). Abraham was 100 and Ishmael was 14. How long was it before Isaac was weaned? One year, two years, or more? Ishmael was caught sneering at Isaac’s weaning, which seriously aggravated Sarah and caused Hagar and Ishmael to be banished from the family, so Ishmael was at least 15 or 16 when he was crying for thirst in the desert.

Was Ishmael just crying because of being so desperately thirsty, or was he also pleading with God, whom he had come to know, to spare his life from death?

Remember for the first 14 years of his life, Ishmael was Abraham’s one and only favored, though somewhat obnoxious son (Gen. 16:12). Abraham was greatly distressed in banishing Hagar and Ishmael “because it concerned his son” (Gen. 21:11-12). Wouldn’t have Abraham taught Ishmael, his only son, about his God, YHWH (Yahweh), during those 14 years that Abraham mentored the one he initially thought was his promised son, before Isaac the son of God’s promise, was born by Sarah? If this is the case, Ishmael very possibly may have also been crying out to YHWH for deliverance, as he lay dying of thirst in the desert. In any case, did God hear his cry because Ishmael was Abraham’s son, or also because of Ishmael’s own cry to God? Note that the Scripture records that God heard and acted from “the boy’s (or young man’s [ נַעַר - naʿar]) cry.”

Genesis 21:15–18

15 When the water in the skin was gone, she (Hagar) put the boy under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went off and sat down nearby, about a bowshot away, for she thought, “I cannot watch the boy die.” And as she sat there nearby, she began to sob.

17 God heard the boy [ נַעַר - naʿar] crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. 18 Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.”

It doesn’t matter if you are 14, 41, or 81, God hears an honest cry of a heart to Him.

God not only heard Ishmael’s Cry, but many generations later, God also heard the Cry of a whole Nation born through the son of promise, Isaac.

God Hears the Cry of Groups of Peoples across the Nations that Seek Him

Remember the verse that we often quote today when speaking about the need for repentance and revival among us? We quote this verse today because we believe that if we as a Body of Christ, repent and appeal to God for revival and the healing of our land, that He will hear us!

2 Chronicles 7:14

14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

If we believe God will hear the corporate cry of His People today, we know that God heard the corporate cry of His Ancient People, crying to Him from affliction in Egypt.

God Heard the Corporate Cry of His People – a Nation in Slavery, and sent them a Deliverer

Moses had fled from Egypt after killing a taskmaster who was abusing an Israelite. He was found in Midian and married the Priest of Midian’s daughter. After being a shepherd tending his father-in-law’s flocks for 40 years, God revealed Himself to Moses at “the burning bush,” and told Moses he had been chosen to deliver Israel from their slavery in Egypt. During the 400-year period that Israel had been in Egypt, foretold to Abraham (Gen. 15:13-16), God allowed the Israelites to become a great nation, to be delivered under Moses’ leadership, by God’s Mighty Power. Israel was crying out to God for deliverance from the brutal abuse of their slave-masters.

Exodus 2:21–24

21 Moses agreed to stay with the man, who gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage. 22 Zipporah gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, saying, “I have become an alien in a foreign land.”

23 During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. 24 God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob.

Exodus 3:1–10

Moses and the Burning Bush

3 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”

4 When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”

And Moses said, “Here I am.”

5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 6 Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

7 The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”

God hears the Cry of His People. God hears the cry of the abused.

Are You Oppressed by Others? God Promises to Hear the Cry of the Oppressed

After Israel was miraculously delivered from Egypt, God gave the Israelites His Laws and Statutes at Mt. Sinai. Some of those instructions reveal God’s willingness to hold accountable those who thoughtlessly, or knowingly oppress the vulnerable.

Warning against Mistreatment of the Vulnerable

Exodus 22:21–24

21 “Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt.

22 “Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan. 23 If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. 24 My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless.

Warning for Lack of Compassion

Exodus 22:25–27

25 “If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not be like a moneylender; charge him no interest. 26 If you take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, return it to him by sunset, 27 because his cloak is the only covering he has for his body. What else will he sleep in? When he cries out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.

Warning Against Those Who Give Begrudgingly

Deuteronomy 15:7–11

7 “If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, 8 but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be. 9 Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and you say, ‘The seventh year, the year of release is near,’ and your eye look grudgingly on your poor brother, and you give him nothing, and he cry (appeal) to the Lord against you, and you be guilty of sin. 10 You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. 11 For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’

The Apostle James Echoes Similar Evidence of God’s Hearing the Cries of those who have been Defrauded Just Wages

James 5:4

4 Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.

God not only hears those who are vulnerable who have been oppressed or defrauded, God also hears the cries of those who repent of their sin.

God Hears the Cry of the Truly Repentant

1 John 1:9

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

When the Israelites sinned before God and God judged them through the oppression of their enemies, and they then cried out to the Lord in their oppression, the Lord heard their Cry.

The Cycle of Israel’s Disobedience, Judgment, Repentance, Cry for Deliverance, and God’s Deliverance

Judges 3:6–9

6 …They took their daughters in marriage and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.

Othniel

7 The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord; they forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs. 8 The anger of the Lord burned against Israel so that he sold them into the hands of Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram Naharaim, to whom the Israelites were subject for eight years. 9 But when they cried out to the Lord, he raised up for them a deliverer, Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, who saved them.

Judges 3:11–15

11 So the land had peace for forty years, until Othniel son of Kenaz died.

Ehud

12 Once again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and because they did this evil the Lord gave Eglon king of Moab power over Israel. 13 Getting the Ammonites and Amalekites to join him, Eglon came and attacked Israel, and they took possession of the City of Palms. 14 The Israelites were subject to Eglon king of Moab for eighteen years.

15 Again the Israelites cried out to the Lord, and he gave them a deliverer—Ehud, a left-handed man, the son of Gera the Benjamite. The Israelites sent him with tribute to Eglon king of Moab….

Judges 4:1–4

Deborah

4 After Ehud died, the Israelites once again did evil in the eyes of the Lord. 2 So the Lord sold them into the hands of Jabin, a king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth Haggoyim. 3 Because he had nine hundred iron chariots and had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the Lord for help.

4 Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at that time.

Judges 6:1–6

Gideon

6 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites. 2 Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds. 3 Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the country. 4 They camped on the land and ruined the crops all the way to Gaza and did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys. 5 They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts. It was impossible to count the men and their camels; they invaded the land to ravage it. 6 Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the Lord for help.

Jephthah follows Tola and Jair as a Judge to Deliver repentant Israel

Judges 10:10–16

10 Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord, “We have sinned against you, forsaking our God and serving the Baals.”

11 The Lord replied, “When the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, 12 the Sidonians, the Amalekites and the Maonites oppressed you and you cried to me for help, did I not save you from their hands? 13 But you have forsaken me and served other gods, so I will no longer save you. 14 Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you are in trouble!”

15 But the Israelites said to the Lord, “We have sinned. Do with us whatever you think best, but please rescue us now.” 16 Then they got rid of the foreign gods among them and served the Lord. And he could bear Israel’s misery no longer.

A Review and Warning Against Rebelling and Disobeying God Once Israel has a King

Samuel Reviewed God’s past Deliverances for Rebellious but Repentant Israel, in his farewell message, when Israel had asked for and was given a king.

1 Samuel 12:8–15

8 “After Jacob entered Egypt, they cried to the Lord for help, and the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your forefathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place.

9 “But they forgot the Lord their God; so he sold them into the hand of Sisera, the commander of the army of Hazor, and into the hands of the Philistines and the king of Moab, who fought against them. 10 They cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned; we have forsaken the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtoreths. But now deliver us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve you.’ 11 Then the Lord sent Jerub-Baal, Barak, Jephthah and Samuel, and he delivered you from the hands of your enemies on every side, so that you lived securely.

12 “But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was moving against you, you said to me, ‘No, we want a king to rule over us’—even though the Lord your God was your king. 13 Now here is the king you have chosen, the one you asked for; see, the Lord has set a king over you. 14 If you fear the Lord and serve and obey him and do not rebel against his commands, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the Lord your God—good! 15 But if you do not obey the Lord, and if you rebel against his commands, his hand will be against you, as it was against your fathers.

1 Chronicles 5:19–20

19 They waged war against the Hagrites, Jetur, Naphish and Nodab. 20 They were helped in fighting them, and God handed the Hagrites and all their allies over to them, because they cried out to him during the battle. He answered their prayers, because they trusted in him.

2 Chronicles 18:28–34

Jehoshaphat Cries out to the Lord in the Midst of Battle; Ahab Killed at Ramoth Gilead

28 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up to Ramoth Gilead. 29 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will enter the battle in disguise, but you wear your royal robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle.

30 Now the king of Aram had ordered his chariot commanders, “Do not fight with anyone, small or great, except the king of Israel.” 31 When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they thought, “This is the king of Israel.” So they turned to attack him, but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the Lord helped him. God drew them away from him, 32 for when the chariot commanders saw that he was not the king of Israel, they stopped pursuing him.

33 But someone drew his bow at random and hit the king of Israel between the sections of his armor. The king told the chariot driver, “Wheel around and get me out of the fighting. I’ve been wounded.” 34 All day long the battle raged, and the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot facing the Arameans until evening. Then at sunset he died.

Hezekiah Taunted by Assyria’s Superior Army, but Cries Out to the Lord

2 Kings 18:28–19:37

•The Israelites were Taunted by Assyria’s Commander
•Hezekiah Spreads out the Blasphemous letter before the Lord
•God delivers Jerusalem from the Armies of Assyria – 185,000 slain by God’s Angelic Forces (annihilating all the fighting men and the leaders and officers in the camp of the Assyrian king [2 Chron. 32:21])
•Hezekiah’s Terminal Illness and Cry to the Lord (2 Kings 20:1–11)

2 Kings 18:28–19:37

28 Then the commander stood and called out in Hebrew: “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! 29 This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive you. He cannot deliver you from my hand. 30 Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord when he says, ‘The Lord will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’

31 “Do not listen to Hezekiah. This is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then every one of you will eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern, 32 until I come and take you to a land like your own, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey. Choose life and not death!

“Do not listen to Hezekiah, for he is misleading you when he says, ‘The Lord will deliver us.’ 33 Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? 34 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah? Have they rescued Samaria from my hand? 35 Who of all the gods of these countries has been able to save his land from me? How then can the Lord deliver Jerusalem from my hand?”

36 But the people remained silent and said nothing in reply, because the king had commanded, “Do not answer him.”

37 Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary and Joah son of Asaph the recorder went to Hezekiah, with their clothes torn, and told him what the field commander had said.

Jerusalem’s Deliverance Foretold

19When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and went into the temple of the Lord. 2 He sent Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary and the leading priests, all wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. 3 They told him, “This is what Hezekiah says: This day is a day of distress and rebuke and disgrace, as when children come to the point of birth and there is no strength to deliver them. 4 It may be that the Lord your God will hear all the words of the field commander, whom his master, the king of Assyria, has sent to ridicule the living God, and that he will rebuke him for the words the Lord your God has heard. Therefore pray for the remnant that still survives.”

5 When King Hezekiah’s officials came to Isaiah, 6 Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master, ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid of what you have heard—those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. 7 Listen! I am going to put such a spirit in him that when he hears a certain report, he will return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down with the sword.’ ”

8 When the field commander heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish, he withdrew and found the king fighting against Libnah.

9 Now Sennacherib received a report that Tirhakah, the Cushite king of Egypt, was marching out to fight against him. So he again sent messengers to Hezekiah with this word: 10 “Say to Hezekiah king of Judah: Do not let the god you depend on deceive you when he says, ‘Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.’ 11 Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries, destroying them completely. And will you be delivered? 12 Did the gods of the nations that were destroyed by my forefathers deliver them: the gods of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph and the people of Eden who were in Tel Assar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, or of Hena or Ivvah?”

Hezekiah’s Prayer

14 Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. 15 And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: “O Lord, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 16 Give ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O Lord, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to insult the living God.

17 “It is true, O Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands. 18 They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by men’s hands. 19 Now, O Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O Lord, are God.”

Isaiah Prophesies Sennacherib’s Fall

20 Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I have heard your prayer concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria. 21 This is the word that the Lord has spoken against him: (see vs. 21-34)

35 That night the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp (annihilating all the fighting men and the leaders and officers in the camp of the Assyrian king [2 Chron. 32:21]). When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies! 36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there.

37 One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer cut him down with the sword, and they escaped to the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son succeeded him as king.

(See also 2 Chronicles 32:20-23)

2 Kings 20:1–11

Hezekiah’s Illness

20 In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, “This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.”

2 Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 “Remember, O Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

4 Before Isaiah had left the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: 5 “Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the temple of the Lord. 6 I will add fifteen years to your life. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.’ ”

7 Then Isaiah said, “Prepare a poultice of figs.” They did so and applied it to the boil, and he recovered.

8 Hezekiah had asked Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the Lord will heal me and that I will go up to the temple of the Lord on the third day from now?”

9 Isaiah answered, “This is the Lord’s sign to you that the Lord will do what he has promised: Shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or shall it go back ten steps?”

10 “It is a simple matter for the shadow to go forward ten steps,” said Hezekiah. “Rather, have it go back ten steps.”

11 Then the prophet Isaiah called upon the Lord, and the Lord made the shadow go back the ten steps it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.

King Hezekiah is not alone in his cry to the Lord.

Have you found yourself in a similar cycle of crying to the Lord?

If you have, you should be comforted through the Psalms.

Cry Out to God Through the Psalms

King David (and related author’s) Psalms are full of Cries to the Lord for deliverance, safety, forgiveness, retribution and deliverance from the hands of his enemies.

Take a moment every day and join David as he cries out to God. Use the words of the Psalms to find a level of comfort from times of despair when life gets you stuck in a dark hole. Realize that when you have a desperate need, it is the appropriate time to cry out to the Lord!

Realize that everyone has enemies from time to time, and those who wickedly reject the Lord are always present - (the Media in your own home will graphically show that fact to you)!

And then, rejoice when God has delivered you! Use a Psalm to do it! That is why they have been written!

•God is not obligated to hear us; but, He always does hear us!
•God is not obligated to deliver us; but, He often does…and
•If He doesn’t do something, it isn’t because He can’t or won’t…it may be a matter of timing; or, it may not be in a way we think deliverance might come;
•…And/or, it may be a matter we need to take care of in our own lives in our relationship with Him!

2 Samuel 22:1, 7

David’s Song of Praise

22 1 David sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.

7 In my distress I called to the Lord;

I called out to my God.

From his temple he heard my voice;

my cry came to his ears.

Psalm 18:6

6 In my distress I called to the Lord;

I cried to my God for help.

From his temple he heard my voice;

my cry came before him, into his ears.

Psalm 27:7

7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;

be gracious to me and answer me!

Psalm 34:5–6

5 Those who look to him are radiant,

and their faces shall never be ashamed.

6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him

and saved him out of all his troubles.

Psalm 34:15–17

15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous

and his ears are attentive to their cry;

16 the face of the Lord is against those who do evil,

to cut off the memory of them from the earth.

17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;

he delivers them from all their troubles.

Psalm 40:1–3

1 I waited patiently for the Lord;

he turned to me and heard my cry.

2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit,

out of the mud and mire;

he set my feet on a rock

and gave me a firm place to stand.

3 He put a new song in my mouth,

a hymn of praise to our God.

Many will see and fear

and put their trust in the Lord.

Psalm 57:1–3

1 Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me,

for in you my soul takes refuge.

I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings

until the disaster has passed.

2 I cry out to God Most High,

to God, who fulfills his purpose for me.

3 He sends from heaven and saves me,

rebuking those who hotly pursue me;

God sends his love and his faithfulness.

There are 39 more of the 46 References in the Psalms where David makes note of a heart’s “Cry” to the Lord. There are many more verses with concepts of “crying out to the Lord” through various nuances of wording.

Other notable Biblical personalities cried out to God in their distress. When they were following what God told them to do; and, when they chose to run away from God…take Jonah, for example.

Jonah Cried to the Lord

Jonah Experienced a depth of Experience no one else has known and lived to tell about it. In Jonah’s prayer we glimpse the anxiety of his cry to God.

Jonah 2:1–3

Jonah’s Prayer

2 From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. 2 He said:

“In my distress I called to the Lord,

and he answered me.

From the depths of the grave I called for help,

and you listened to my cry.

3 You hurled me into the deep,

into the very heart of the seas,

and the currents swirled about me;

all your waves and breakers

swept over me.”

Crying out to God doesn’t automatically guarantee a positive response on God’s behalf!

If we are sinning against God, don’t expect God to answer your cry and take pity on you, even if you are “shouting in His ears!”

Crying out to God with an Evil Heart Blocks God’s Response to Our Cry

Ezekiel 8:16–18

16 He then brought me into the inner court of the house of the Lord, and there at the entrance to the temple, between the portico and the altar, were about twenty-five men. With their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east, they were bowing down to the sun in the east.

17 He said to me, “Have you seen this, son of man? Is it a trivial matter for the house of Judah to do the detestable things they are doing here? Must they also fill the land with violence and continually provoke me to anger? Look at them putting the branch to their nose! 18 Therefore I will deal with them in anger; I will not look on them with pity or spare them. Although they shout in my ears, I will not listen to them.”

Hosea 8:1–3

Israel to Reap the Whirlwind

8 “Put the trumpet to your lips!

An eagle is over the house of the Lord

because the people have broken my covenant

and rebelled against my law.

2 Israel cries out to me,

‘O our God, we acknowledge you!’

3 But Israel has rejected what is good;

an enemy will pursue him.

Micah 3:4

4 Then they will cry out to the Lord,

but he will not answer them.

At that time he will hide his face from them

because of the evil they have done.

Praise God for Jesus, Who Cleanses Us from Every Sin, through His Redeeming Blood, and has Reconciled Us to God!

Romans 5:8–11

8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10 For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (see also 2 Cor. 5:17-21)

Jesus experience temptations and trials, while He was here on earth, to be a Faithful Eternal High Priest for us, and exampled Calling out to His Father in times of Distress.

Hebrews 4:14–16

Jesus, the Great High Priest

14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. 16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Jesus Christ Cried out to His Heavenly Father for Deliverance

Hebrews 5:7–10

7 During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered 9 and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him 10 and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.

Jesus was known to have spent nights in prayer (Luke 6:12; Matt. 14:23).

•Did He agonize and cry out to His Father in prayer about intentional demonic testings and attacks?
•Did He cry out regarding those who hated Him, despised Him, would not believe in Him, and wanted to kill Him before His time of Atonement had come?
•What about dealing with consistent grace toward the underhanded and deceptive man He had foreknown and knowingly chosen to be a disciple, who would consistently steal and ultimately betray Him to His death?

John 11:8

8 “But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you, and yet you are going back there?” (see also Matt. 12:15; John 8:50; 10:31; 11:53)

We know in the Garden of Gethsemane Christ Experienced Extreme Agony in Prayer

Matthew 26:37–39

37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

Matthew 26:42

42 He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”

Luke 22:44

44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

At Christ’s Sacrificial Atonement there were those Final Cries of Death Throes

Matthew 27:46–50

46 About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

47 When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”

48 Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. 49 The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”

50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

Prayer is:

•Communicating with God
•Communion with God

and, Prayer is

•Crying out to God!

Final Cries before the Throne of God: The Martyrs’

In Revelation we have recorded some of the final Cries to God from those who were martyred for their belief in the Word of God and the witness they had borne.

Revelation 6:9–11

9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. 10 They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.

Prayer is a Language found in Every Human Heart

There has never been a people group, tribe, language group, or nation, in the recorded history of the world, which has not acknowledged a deity or deities, to whom they have prayed. Some have been deceived out of fear, or the desire for power, to pray to demonic spiritual forces (sometimes substituting themselves instead), seeking to be worshipped like God…and some have prayed to YHWH the Creator God of Heaven. Prayer is a Language found in Every Human Heart!

We have the privilege of Praying to our God, the Creator of heaven and earth. We have the privilege of “Crying Out” to Him!

We have the privilege of our God having shared His Word with us, with His Gospel of Jesus Christ, and His transforming Holy Spirit to empower us from within.

Do not feel inhibited to Cry out to God. God hears the cry of His Children who Love Him and He will answer with what is best for them!

“We know that for those who love God

all things work together for good,

for those who are called according to His purpose.”

Romans 8:28