“Do not be silent at my tears”—Psalm 39:12

“My tears have been my food day and night, while they continually say to me, ‘Where is your God?’”—Psalm 42:3

“One of the greatest gifts you can bring to your King is the gift of absolute sincerity. I’m talking about a purity of heart that says, ‘Lord, I’m coming to You because You really are the center of my universe. You truly are all that I live for. My heart is totally and fully set upon You.’ 

“Oh what delight when we can come boldly before His throne with a clean conscience! Even though we’re not yet perfected and even though we struggle with weakness, our hearts reach for Him with impassioned desire. I call this ‘sweet sincerity.’ This sincerity of heart has settled the issue once and for all: Jesus truly is the great love of my heart. This sincerity is ‘sweet’ because when you know you’re totally sincere in coming to God, you feel the sweetness of His reciprocating love. 

“When my soul longs for Him in sweet sincerity, even to tears, my awareness of His reciprocating affections is heightened. True love must function in total sincerity, void of duplicity or adulterous passions…When love is without hypocrisy, the sweetness of this sincerity is often accompanied by tears. 

“So the presence of tears is a profound statement to your departed Bridegroom. Tears are liquid words. Tears say more than words often can. Whereas words can sometimes contain the pretense of plastic platitudes, tears come straight from the heart. 

“We cry because we desire or because we’re in pain; so tears are the language of desire. We desire Him, even to tears. If we lack that desire, He will cultivate it within us by seemingly withdrawing from us in His mercy. It’s famine that makes us hungry; it’s drought that makes us thirsty. Deprivation produces desire. Do not despise the pain that gave you tears. Pour out your heart to Him; God is a refuge for us! Those who ‘love much’ still wash the Lord’s feet with their tears (see Luke 7:36-48). 

“David understood this when he wrote, “Put my tears into Your bottle” (Psalm 56:8). Not only does the Lord notice our tears, He actually bottles and stores them as an everlasting witness in His presence. 

There are two kinds of sickness in the Bible that produce tears…This heartsickness produces a groaning from the depths of the spirit and is expressed in tears…Heartsickness cries, “Oh God, visit me! Come to me in Your power and fulfill your word in my life!”…Lovesickness is the consequence of our Lord’s restrained self-revelation, who reveals Himself to us dimly as through a veil or a dark glass…Lovesickness cries, “Show me Your glory, Lord! I want to see You, I want to know You!” 

Heartsickness is the product of unrequited power; lovesickness is the consequence of unrequited love. David articulated both passions when, during his years of hiding in the wilderness, he cried, ‘So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory’ (Psalm 63:2). Heartsickness weeps, ‘Show me Your hand!’ Lovesickness weeps, ‘Show me Your face!’

“The inner chamber of prayer gains its impetus from the liquid power of tears. Do you long for a greater reality in your walk with God? Try tears.”—Bob Sorge

My Prayer

“I weep for You Lord; I weep for You. I weep, not because of any physical pain—but from the pain of living outside a growing and deeper encounter with my Lord. I weep Lord, because I want so much more—so much more of You. I need You, Lord, and tears well in my eyes because of that aching need. What is this whole life worth without definite and tangible encounters with You. I need to touch You. I need to feel You. I need to embrace You. My soul and spirit is so parched because I am not encountering You as I want to. Oh Lord, my sorrow multiplies because the world continues to drag me away from the place where I know I can really find You—the place of secret encounter. Oh Lord, have mercy and come to me quickly. Come and meet me Lord. Take me away with You. Drag me away. Hide me in the secret place with You…where I can enjoy gazing on You and basking in Your love. Oh Lord, that is when life has meaning. Life is truly meaningless if it is not captured in this embrace of God. What are we searching for that is not vain and transient? All of life is vain and transient. Only You are eternal and You are all I want. You are all I want. I weep because I don’t have You as I so dearly want and need. Please have mercy and come to me Lord. Come to me Lord, I weep and pray. Amen.”

The Challenge

Be ruthless to identify all that’s in this world as vain and transient—and let your soul weep for the enveloping presence of God. Don’t let go of your desire for His tangible presence. Weep until you begin to experience His warmth in new dimensions.