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WE COME IN CLOSE CONTACT WITH GOD WITH TEARS AND CRIES FROM THE HEART

By Michael H. Brown

A short while ago we had an article about laughter -- and how, even in times like these, we need to have a sense of humor. Laughter clears out our emotions; it removes bad feelings like removing boulders from a well.

The same is true of tears. Every once in a while, it does us good to sit down and have a good cry. You heard me right. Crying is a gift from God and it has a cleansing effect, it empties us, it releases emotions that can eat away at us like acid. They're important because when we cry the heart is engaged (whereas a dry eye can indicate a parched heart).  

Christ wept. And so did those whose prayers He answered. There was the blind man in Mark 10:47-51. He cried for healing and Jesus heard those cries. He responded to the man's cries because Jesus responds to all prayers from the heart. 

The Spirit Himself bears witness when we cry out. It is the strongest form of prayer. It can be a wail. It is the strongest request. We're told that this is how the Pope has prayed: directly, with a wailing that has been heard outside of his chambers. There is even a charism know as the "gift of tears." My wife has this. Whenever she comes across something that's anointed -- something that's especially powerful -- tears fill her eyes and she can't stop them. 

That's the Holy Spirit at work -- touching us, cleansing. We are healed by the tears of miraculous statues. One man we know who has this gift says he knows regular crying from spiritual crying because when the gift of tears comes, his nose doesn't run!

For the longest time, I had trouble crying. I couldn't do it even when I tried to force myself to. Then, in 1995, during a trip to France, I visited the tomb of St. Therese the Little Flower, and as I approached it I suddenly found myself in a flood of my own tears. In an instant emotions were released that had been pent up for years. I have cried since then and am happy about that. As one preacher noted, if you look at the Son of God without tears to protect your spiritual eyes you'll go blind. The greatest reapers, he said, are the greatest weepers!

In our tears, heaven touches us. God saves them up. Did you know that? The tears we weep with a good heart are gathered in heaven like precious jewels that are kept in a spiritual bank. "My wanderings you have counted," says Psalms 56:9, "my tears are stored in your flask."

I have actually spoke with people who had the near-death experience and testified that all their tears had been kept by the angels like jewels.

With God, nothing is wasted, no emotion is unnoticed, and no cry -- when righteous -- is passed. Jesus said that to get to heaven we must be like children and children cry. As they depend on adults so we must depend on God. Did not Jeremiah cry out for his eyes to be a "fountain" of tears?

"I have heard thy prayer," says II Kings 20. "I have seen thy tears." We suffer because we are joint heirs with Christ. Did He not cry out to the Father? 

So must we. In weeping, our souls, our needs, our anxieties are poured forth. "They that sow in tears shall reap in joy," the Bible (Psalms 126:5) promises us.  What a promise that is! The Lord wants our emotions engaged. He doesn't want crybabies, but He wants us to put our hearts into everything, especially at times like this. Our hearts are more important than our minds. Let us remember how valuable -- how precious -- it was when the woman who had sinned wept tears on the Lord's feet! 

Weeping is a source of revelation. When we weep we are in touch with God and new things come into our heads. There is clarity. The boulders are moved. In our tears is our humanness. "I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee," says 2 Kings 20:5.

So now and then, go ahead and wail. Let your eyes gush forth with waters. Cry up to God. Let Him know what you need. Let Him know where you're at. Show Him your tears -- and watch how powerfully He responds.