Three More Ways To Pray

Prayer of Brokenness

“Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning” (Joel 2:12).

1. On the Day of Pentecost the crowd was “cut to the heart” (Acts 2:37).

2. A woman with much sin came to Jesus, and “stood at His feet behind Him weeping” (Luke 7:38).

3. Not all people weep when they get saved.

God is more likely to answer us when we cry

1. Some weep because of sin.

2. Tears represent disappointment or anguish.

3. Some weep because of great disappointment. May went “to the tomb to weep there” (John 11:31).

4. Some weep because of memory. “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept when we remembered Zion” (Ps. 137:1).

5. Job in his anguish cried out, “My eyes pour out tears to God” (Job 16:20).

6. The “weeping prophet.” Jeremiah cried out, “Oh, that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people” (Jer. 9:1).

7. Paul had the prayer of brokenness for his unsaved Jewish brethren. “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved” (Rom. 10:1). “I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh” (Rom. 9:2-3).

8. There are many times when it is appropriate to weep. “A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance” (Eccl. 3:4).

Why Are Tears Important?

1. Tears show the sincerity of our heart.

2. Tears show the depth of our emotions.

3. Tears are a sign that God has touched the very center of our being.

4. Tears show God’s message is penetrating our hearts.

5. Your “ego” does not want second place in a life, just as God does not want second place. God uses anguish . . . disappointments . . . ruin . . . and physical hurt to unseat the “ego.”

6. David sinned against God. He couldn’t get the sight of his transgression out of his eyes. He confessed, “For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me” (Ps. 51:3).

7. Sometimes we just cannot make ourselves repent. Then God breaks our heart so that we weep over our sins.

8. Peter Cartwright continually wept before God for two weeks seeking salvation.

9. To be a better intercessor, we must have a “weeping heart” before God.

10. Anytime you see someone with tears, know that they are in transition.

11. Anyone who has prevailed with God probably has cried themselves to a new day and a better tomorrow.

Prayer of Crucifixion

“But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Galatians 6:14).

1. Self-crucifixion has been one of the most abused phenomena of Christianity. Maybe it’s because of the misinterpretation of Paul’s statement, “And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Gal. 5:24). Some have used whips on themselves, as Jesus was scourged. Some have isolated themselves in monastic towers.

2. To enter the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, you must follow the principles used by Paul, “I have been crucified with Christ” (Gal. 2:20). Paul is not initiating the crucifixion, he received it.

3. Christ was crucified in the past and Paul identifies with what had already happened. “I . . . died to the law that I might live to God” (Gal. 2:19). This is a past-tense action.

4. Again, look at the past-tense action, “In the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ . . . the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Gal. 6:14). When we crucify ourselves, we identify with Christ as if our worldly lust has died.

5. The prayer of crucifixion is more yielding yourself to God, than it is aggressively asking for answers or aggressively dealing with sin.

6. The prayer of crucifixion is more receiving Christ’s power than trying to crush your sinful desires.

7. Jesus said, “Take up your cross daily and follow Me” (Luke 9:23). In the prayer of crucifixion, you identify with all the pain and trials of Christ as you follow Him.

8. The prayer of crucifixion is losing your life or giving up your desires to do what Jesus desires. “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it” (Luke 9:24).

9. When you enter the prayer of crucifixion, you can’t “act it out” nor can you play a role, you let Jesus “act” in you.