Recently, we celebrated our anniversary. It was a GREAT day for us. But we also know that anniversaries can be a very painful day for many others who are struggling in their marriages. How our hearts grieve for those who are crying tears to God for their marriages!
We wish, with all our hearts, that we had a solution to “cure” everyone’s marriage that needs help! That is our desire. But unfortunately we can’t. The reality is that we live in a fallen world that is very complicated because of sinful choices. And unfortunately, all of us are affected by the bad choices that are being made.
Sadly, as human beings, we can only do so much. But God…
God can help you in ways that we cannot because our “Wonderful Counselor” — the Holy Spirit. He can guide, and comfort us, and He can also redeem that, which hurts us.
We pointed to this in the previous Marriage Insight. God can bring redemption and help us to Grow Through Our Marital Problems. (If you haven’t read it yet, we encourage you to do so.) But God can also minister to us in other ways, as well.
Crying Tears to God
We assure you that God cares—more than anyone else! You may not understand why He doesn’t answer prayers like you think He should. But that doesn’t mean God doesn’t care. There may be a whole set of circumstances going on that you just won’t see on this side of heaven. But please don’t stop going to Him, praying, believing, and trusting. We serve an amazing God who works miracles in many different ways!
With all of this in mind we want to share with you something we previously featured in a past Marriage Message, that was sent to us by a dear African subscriber. We believe that God has given the author, Millie Plastaras, some great insights to help you as you cry out to God.
Tears, the Liquid Prayer — God Cares
Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. (Psalm 126:5-6)
There are many different kinds of tears, and these are actually a sign of what is in the depths of our hearts. The Bible tells us that what we sow in life we reap. We are planting seeds, and when harvest time comes we reap what we sow.
Those wanting spiritual breakthrough for specific needs should really pay heed to this verse. For when we come before God he wants a broken vessel, one that is surrendered and seeking-one that listens for the voice of God, and seeks it with all his heart.
Tears of brokenness are blessed by God, as the word says God values them so much He keeps our tears in a bottle (see: Psalm 56:8). Throughout the Bible we find where men and women cried out to God from the deep anguish and agony of their heart. God heard their prayers and delivered them.
Tears of Faith
Tears spent in prayer will sow a seed of faith that will reap a harvest of results. Read that again, and keep it in your heart. Tears spent in prayer will sow a seed of faith that will reap a harvest of results. God does hear the cry of your heart!
Charles Spurgeon, the great orator and preacher said that the ministry of tears was “liquid prayer.” They are pouring our heart out before God, seeking Him with all our heart, soul and mind. They are a drink offering before the throne of God, poured out before his presence, surrendered unto his will. What a beautiful thing this is in his sight!
• In 2 Kings we learn of tears of sorrow or suffering.
• In Genesis 33:4 we learn that there are tears of joy.
Plus:
• In John 11:35 we learn that there are tears of compassion.
• In Esther 4:1-3 we learn that there are tears of desperation.
And:
• In Isaiah 42:14 we learn there are tears of travail or giving birth.
• In Joel 2:12-13 we learn there are tears of repentance.
Pouring Out Your Sorrow to God
These are indeed a great weapon in spiritual warfare. For this is the warfare of faith, and of brokenness before God.
It’s a final willingness to say, “God, I know you are in charge; I give you all that I have. I pour out my sorrows before you, in expectancy of your deliverance, hope and ultimate openness to the will of God. A broken person has realized their position in God, and seeks His will first.” This results in the blessings of God pouring out upon those who wait for God.
An Answer for Tears Sown in Sorrow
If you’re desperate for answers, if you’re seeking answers that seem impossible, if life has overwhelmed you and you feel anxious, if you desire to see changes in your life, if you feel alone and abandoned, if you’re at the end of your rope, there is a way through anything you face today.
There is one who is always available, full of compassion, full of wisdom, full of well planned things for your life. He has been with you since the beginning of your life. And He will be with you until you enter eternity. He knows everything about you. He has your best interest at heart. And He will never leave nor forsake you. HE is the Great I Am. I am whatever you need.
Cry out to God, and He shall hear and answer your prayers in the way that is best. He is your Father, after all.
Remember:
They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.
They shall mount up with wings as eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
and they shall walk and shall not faint. (Isaiah 40:31)Weeping endures for a night, but joy comes in the morning. (Psalm 30:5)
Wait I say upon the Lord,
and He shall give thee the desires of thy heart. (Psalm 37:4)He who dwells in the secret place of the most High,
shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge, My Fortress. In HIM will I trust. (Psalm 91:1-2)Remember… Only one life will soon be past
Only what is done for Christ will last.For the Christian Prayer is not an option but an opportunity.
“In prayer; expect setbacks, but refuse retreat.” (Richard Eastman)
Don’t tell the Lord how big the problem is.
Tell the problem how GREAT the Lord is!
We hope this will inspire and help those of you who are crying out to God for help.
In Closing:
Below are two more articles we encourage you to read. We truly believe they will also minister to you as you cry out to God:
• GOD IS AWARE OF EVERY TEAR YOU CRY
As you cry out to God here’s a wonderful prayer to lift up to God:
“Lord, I ask You to take Your big eraser and wipe out all those hurts, those grudges, those disappointments I have been carrying with me. The load is getting too heavy to carry. I have been feeling like dropping by the wayside. I don’t just ask You, Lord, to carry this load for me or to shoulder half of it for me. This is a load I need to get rid of. I need your strength to throw it away once and forever.
“Please Lord, help me to dump it so that I can stand upright ready to press on and reach toward what is ahead. Now, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I cut the bonds that have been tying this load of negatives to me, and I throw them to the winds. I will cast them aside as many times as I need to until they are totally forgotten and gone. I thank you, Lord Jesus, that You have given me Your perfect example to follow. In Your Name I pray. Amen.” (Fred Littauer)
In all of that has been written here, please know that our love and prayers are with you. We don’t say this lightly. We truly do care. And above all, God cares. Look to Him to guide you through this tearful time.
Steve and Cindy Wright
— ADDITIONALLY —
To help you further, we give a lot of personal stories, humor, and more practical tips in our book, 7 ESSENTIALS to Grow Your Marriage. We hope you will pick up a copy for yourself. (It’s available both electronically and in print form.) Plus, it can make a great gift for someone else. It gives you the opportunity to help them grow their marriage. And who doesn’t need that? Just click on the linked title or the picture below:
ALSO:
If you are not a subscriber to the Marriage Insights (emailed out weekly)
and you would like to receive them directly, click onto the following:
Filed under: Spiritual Matters
(INDIA) I am now so depressed. I feel sad about my future but God is not leaving me alone. That is the God’s love.
(AUSTRALIA) I have always believed but perhaps not had faith. After my husband of seven years told me last Saturday that he didn’t know if he wanted to stay married but was afraid of losing the children aged 2 and 5, I realised there was something greater at work. My husband and I had always fought. He feels I redicule him and I feel he doesn’t help enough. Both are true, but it wasn’t until he met someone whilst studying at police school that things became a problem.
I did not see it- I was working full time five days a week with the two kids by myself and had also taken three students on to tutor to help pay the bills while he was away and not being paid. I now see that I lost my faith in our relationship and God was testing us! He gave me ample oppotunity to fix things -the fights and even once at the beginning of our life together a nightmare in which a women whom in the dream I knew to be his friend was trying to kill me. In my dream I told him but he did not beleive me. I have seen a photo of this other girl (they are not sleeping together and I am sure this is the truth) and she looks like the girl in my dream!
God, I pray for all of us whom you have already tried to help. Please help me to do what is right and please help my husband to choose the correct path! Give me courage if it is not with me. I love him enough to want him to be happy. If the path is me, please know that I will try to heed your warnings- you will never break me. In you I can trust. Also please continue to help me help others -protect the children of this world and stregthern our families! You are the Father and you know best but please know that it is hard and forgive me if my faith is weakened! May everyone else on here know that I pray God reveals his plans to you soon.
(EA) Please pray for us. We’ve separated after 9 years of marriage due to my wife’s unwillingnes to apologize. She admits the things she has done/said are bad, yet won’t apologize or change. I couldn’t take it any more.
(USA) My heart goes out to all of you. I am also going through my husband leaving me for another woman. He has been gone for 4 months and I have no way to contact him. I pray daily for GOD to give me strength to get through the day. God has provided for me in many different ways. I know everything in life happens for a reason. This has got me closer to God. In our busy lives we sometimes forget what is really important. I have come to realize that God is all we real need. I do believe he will not put more on us than we can take. So please cry out to him. He will take care of you cause he has taken care of me. GOD Bless all of you. Let’s keep praying for each other.
(USA) I’m sorry your husband is having an affair. I encourage you to visit an attorney to ensure you receive legal protection. My wife left me and our 3 children for another man. I filed for divorce immediately and it was recently finalized. We cannot control the actions of others. We can only control how we respond to their actions. Do you have children with your husband?
(SOUTH SFRICA) I have just been married for 2 months. I am having serious issues at the moment with my step-daughter and my husband is not supportive when I address the issue, but rather defensive. I don’t feel that my husband cleaves to me since he constantly talks to and agrees with his mother’s advice even after we make descisions together. I am deeply hurt and am feeling lost in this marriage and very lonely.
I constantly live with him saying that I am prideful and arrogant when I disagree on certain things. I have prayed about this constantly but there is no answer. We got into a terrible argument and I asked him to make a descision on whether or not we should get divorced. Even though I hate divorce and don’t want it I feel it’s the only way to restore peace in my life and that of my 7 year old who is also subjected because of my choice to this enviroment of constant anger. I have said horrible things and I regret them deeply but I don’t want a divorce. I don’t think anyone who gets married does it with the intention of getting divorced in two months.
Hi Steve and Cindy, I have been married for 17 years and we don’t have children. Can you please help us with a prayer? Kind Regards, Sipho
We pray for you Sipho, and for your marriage. … Dear Lord, please help this dear couple as they look to you for their everything in marriage. As they do so… even if it’s just one of them that does so, we pray that You will bring the help that is needed, when faced with problems that attack them as a husband and wife. Help them to be strong in the Lord; give the wisdom needed to be over-comers who allow your light to shine in the face of adversity. Please don’t allow anyone to come between them. Break the bonds of those outside of marriage so they do not permanently hurt them within their marriage. Help them to remember to give into love… to love as you do and to be intentional in loving each other, and then reaching out to others as that love strengthens. Please meet their needs and bless them beyond their imagination. May you give them favor, we pray dear Lord. We ask this in the Blessed name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Dear Lord, please help me to overcome come single life, I’m 35 years of age and I have never been married, have no children. I have been praying and fasting; nothing is working out. I tried dating sites and those I get asked for nudes and weird videos. I asked God if I don’t have a purpose at least to take me away, But after that prayer I went to sleep and I heard something telling me to wake then I realized that God loves me and he has something special for me.
Ask you to pray for me to have faith and never give up no matter what I go through because I believe soon I’m to get married coz all strong holds shall bow down. I’m believing that the next time I am here it be only testimony.
Praying for you Doreen, that you keep your eyes upon Jesus and that no matter how much you want to marry that you don’t make getting married into an idol where your eyes and hopes and prayers are more centered upon getting married than they are upon “being content in whatever situation I am in.” It’s understandable that you want to get married, but don’t let it draw you away from following the Lord’s will if it’s not your will. God DOES give us the desires of our hearts when He knows it fits in with His plans for us. We’re praying for God’s will and yours to line up. And we’re praying that God will bless you beyond your wildest imaginations. God loves you and we’re praying with you that you know and experience His love in amazing ways.
In closing I want to share with you something that I hope will help you in this prayerful journey. I encourage you to pray the Serenity Prayer.
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life and be supremely happy with Him forever in the next. Amen.
Please pray for me. Almost every day for the last 5 years has been agony with debt, health and relationship issues in our home. My wife wants out and I am desperately praying and trying to get her to stay –the majority of the issues are paying our bills. Please pray for me and her to re-unite in love respect and honesty. I am in bits and every day is a nightmare. Please pray for me.
Does anyone respond to this website anymore?
Yes Ben, when and as God leads. Sometimes He lets the article speak as the answer that would stand alone, and other times He leads others to add to it, as He impresses them to do so.
Thanks Cindy, you are a good person. Please pray for my wife and me; it means so much.
Thank you Ben, your kind words are very much appreciated. I pray that the Lord leads you and your wife to the place where you are both able to listen to God and follow His promptings to make it your mission to improve the areas of your marital life, which lack the love and support for each other that you are to have. If there are articles posted on this web site, or others, that can help you in that mission, I pray the Lord will lead you to them and give you additional counsel. I pray that God will open your hearts to each other, so you consistently treat each other with love and respect, even when you differ. I pray that the Lord will help you to reveal and reflect the heart of Christ, both within the home and outside of it –that when others are with you, there will be a prompting in their spirit which says, “I want to know their God better.”
“May the Lord direct your heart into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.” (2 Thessalonians 3:5) …”And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ –to the glory and praise of God.” (Philippians 1:9-11) “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit!” (Romans 15:13)
“May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!” (Romans 15:5-6) And “may He grant you your heart’s desire and fulfill all your plans!” (Psalm 20:4) This is my pray for you Ben, and for your wife.
Cindy, What a beautiful prayer and to say it for a virtual stranger is amazing (or awesome as you say in your part of the world). It is very much appreciated and I will say a Rosary for you and your family. Best Regards and God Bless, Brendan
Praying God can open my wife’s heart…31 years married
Thank you for posting my devotion. How lovely to know it blessed someone in Africa. I wrote devotions for a few years that went around the world. It was wonderful to meet fellow Christians and fellowship, pray together and for the privilege that God allowed me to write in His name for His glory. God knows just what we need. His timing is perfect.
Thank you Millie. I know that God has used your devotional thoughts in POWERFUL ways! Isn’t it amazing how He inspires, uses what we write, and then sends it to just the right people to read all over the world? We serve an amazing God! Thank you for sharing your gift for writing with us and so many. You have blessed us.
Praying for my husband who just woke up one day and left the home without any reason. My prayer is that God opens his outer and inner eyes. I know one day he is going come back.