Moving Mountains Group Discipleship Series
Chapter Three: The Cry of The Heart
“The Cry of the Heart is not something you have to arrange for, or practice, or even learn. It doesn’t require religious language. You do not have to kneel or close your eyes (and a good thing, too, because most of my praying takes place in the car or as I’m out walking in the woods). There needs to be nothing formal about it at all; in fact, do everything you possibly can to get rid of all formality, all those “thees” and “thous” and religious posturing. Just give it permission. Those prayers are in there.”
“It’s a beautiful expression of prayer, rising from the deep places in us, often unbidden, always welcome to his loving ears.”
“…there is permission here to have an emotional life, and to bring it all to God: “pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge” (Ps. 62:8).”
Intimacy is what comes to mind as I read this chapter. The cry of the heart prayer is first and foremost an act of vulnerability or openness with God. It assumes a safety, that God loves us and cares for us in our daily life. As we come to God with our emotional life, we will find a deeper intimacy with Him.
“These psalms are given to the church as our prayer book, our primer, and they are beautiful. Assuring us that not only can God handle the full span of our emotional life, he invites us to bring it to him.”
Eldredge often says that the bible is a book of examples, not exceptions. It is so helpful to read it this way, to put ourselves into the story. The psalms are beautiful examples of what it looks like to bring our emotional life to God.
“E. M. Bounds, that legendary nineteenth-century prophet of prayer, wrote, “The entire man must pray. The whole man—life, heart, temper, mind, are in it . . . it takes a whole heart to do effectual praying.””
“So I decided that if God could handle David’s full range of emotion, he could handle mine. (Really, I think we have this feeling that we have to hide most of us when we come to God in prayer, like a child tries to hide the mess he’s made as he comes to his mother’s call, even though she sees his muddy jeans. As if God doesn’t already know?)”
“Not only did I feel far more connected to God, my heart to his, but my prayers took on a whole new power as well."
One way to define intimacy is to be known by another. Now, God knows us, inside and out, better than we know ourselves. He also invites us to love Him with our whole heart, soul, strength, and mind. We cannot do this if we hold back, refusing to trust Him with our emotions. We can’t truly walk in step with God, if we only offer him part of ourselves. Daily, he invites us, with His help, to surrender more of ourselves to Him.
“Now, let me be quick to say, the Cry of the Heart is not only cries of heartache. It is not even primarily cries of sorrow or distress. It includes all sorts of joyful spontaneity and triumph as well.”
I love this. As we become quick to share with God our hearts, we will find Him in ALL of our emotional life.
“Now for a word of caution: be careful that your heart-cries do not subtly turn into agreements with despair or forsakenness. Do not let “Father—I feel abandoned!” turn into an agreement with, “I am abandoned.””
“The child who cries out in the dark feels very differently when Mother comes in and switches on a light. What felt so real and inevitable vanishes. Let us be careful we don’t embrace the pain in such a way that we forbid God to turn on the light and draw near.”
This is so important. We must remember why we turn to God in the first place. He is the source of light and life. We are turning to Him with expectation that He will lead and care for us. We keep our eyes fixed on God in order to keep our eyes fixed on the truth.
Scripture for Meditation
5 Let all that I am wait quietly before God,
for my hope is in him.
6 He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress where I will not be shaken.
7 My victory and honor come from God alone.
He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me.
8 O my people, trust in him at all times.
Pour out your heart to him,
for God is our refuge.
Psalm 62:5-8 NLT
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